Charcoal or no charcoal?

[BRANDX]

All these product filters come with some sort of activated charcoal. Some at my lfs say, this is just hype. Charcoal can only handle so much, you never really know when its used up...etc. They say manage solely through water change and water test.

Opinions, anyone?

My 15g currently has two undergravel filters, no charcoal filters at all. Water tests turn out same as my 5g which has a charcoal hang on back pump with bio-wheel. Is this charcoal thing just hype?

 

[wilsonriverfish]

it will give your water a little crispness and extra clean looking. I use to ponder the same question you are asking when i had a undergravel filter. Once i put the charcoal in the next day the water looked real clean. Also I Think alot of good bacteria lives in there as well. My opinion is that the charcoal is a option not a requirement,

 

[angel51431]

sounds like your lfs gives good advice. Charcoal is usually used temporarily for meds removal by some. I don't use it at all, personally. It really is just hype, for the most part. It lasts for like two or three weeks supposedly, and afterwards rumor has it that it starts to leak out the bad stuff back into your water.

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

all mine come with charoal, and i havent noticed any effects good or bad.

 

[SkwidsLair]

This isn't the same as carbon, is it?

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

dont think so

 

[Submariner]

Charcoal = Carbon

 

[Orion]

Yes charcoal is the same thing as carbon.

Anything that carbon does to your tanks water is just a temporary measure. There is no substitute for a quality filter and regular maintance.

I always have at least a little bit on hand for the reason that angel said, to remove meds. To run it always in your tank is not going to help anything. Some say that leaving it in too long is bad because it will start to release the stuff that it absorbed back into the water. Don't know if this is true or not, but the biggest voice's about this are also the makers of the filter cartridges so you be the judge.

 

[noncentric]

Just thought I'd add to the other replies here, that using charcoal/activated carbon in tanks with live plants can have negative effects. Live plants need trace nutrients that are supplied by tap water (even after dechlorination) and these trace materials will be absorbed by the charcoal/carbon and unavailable to the plants.

So, the effects of running carbon in a non-planted tank may be debatable - but there's a fair consensus that running carbon in a planted tank is a negative (unless temporarily for meds or tannins).

 

[SkwidsLair]

I removed my carbon to medicate one of my fish (the hospital tank isn't quite ready yet)...would it be safe to say that I should just leave that carbon pad out of my Eheim 2215?

 

[FishLuvr]

leave it out until your done medicating, then leav it in for say 24 hours, a 2215 should pull enough gph in 24hours to remove any of the meds then take the carbon out its useless other than removing odors and meds

 

[SkwidsLair]

leave it out until your done medicating, then leav it in for say 24 hours, a 2215 should pull enough gph in 24hours to remove any of the meds then take the carbon out its useless other than removing odors and meds

Isn't removing odors a 'good thing'?

 

[FishLuvr]

lol yes it is, i was just saying that its only other purpose

 

[Pure]

WEll if you take proper care of your tank you shouldn't have any foul odors. It is not in the nature of a clean tank to stink.

For some species of fish like Discus carbon has been a direct link to HTH diseas.

Only tank I use it in are ones with a lot of driftwood. Other than that I rarley even use it to remove meds. Waterchanges work almost as good, if not better and faster.

 

[SkwidsLair]

Well...one less thing to replace, then.

 

[Toam]

WEll if you take proper care of your tank you shouldn't have any foul odors. It is not in the nature of a clean tank to stink.

For some species of fish like Discus carbon has been a direct link to HTH diseas.

Only tank I use it in are ones with a lot of driftwood. Other than that I rarley even use it to remove meds. Waterchanges work almost as good, if not better and faster.

How come you use it in tanks with a lot of driftwood?

 

[SkwidsLair]

If the charcoal is for odour, I would assume that would be the reason. Wet wood has a strong odour. Up at our cottage, you can smell the driftwood just walking down the beach.

 

[FishLuvr]

driftwood can leech tannins into the water causing the water to turn a yellowish/brown, charcoal/carbon will remove the tannins

 

[Pure]

Correct about the tannins.

The smell of wet driftwood is somewhat of an earthy smell in our tanks, even with a lot of driftwood in the tank it shouldn't be strong enough of an odor to make you want to do something about it. If you do want to do something about it carbon will help.