Carbon?

[Caper]

What is the purpose of the carbon?

[alanmin4304]

It is so the pet shop can make a profit.

[ljtan55]

To absorb chemicals in the water

[Caper]

But, I've read where some people don't use it :-? :-?

[Fishkeepa]

You use it to take medications out of the water - it is not needed always

[DiverJohn]

HI Caper,

IMO Alan is about 80% right, and to be fair i think most people dont need to run it.

IN simple terms carbon is used to take 'chemicals' out of the water, things the filter cant pick out. One example has already been mentioned medicines. The one that springs to mind is melafix the instructions say to remove carbon from your filter 'cause the carbon will filter it out.

Another example of what carbon is used for is to remove tanins from the water. Tanins are the brown stain you may get in your water when you put a piece of drift wood into your tank.

I have also read that some people use carbon to 'polish' the water, to make it crystal clear.

You should also be aware that after a while the carbon breaks down and actually releases back into the tank the bad stuff it has absorbed - hence why it needs to be replaced regularly.

HTH

DJ

[me love fishy]

I don't use carbon at all, never have.

If I need to use medication after I have finished the course I do a good 30-40% water change.

Normally I do a 25-30% water change every two weeks as well.

I don't have any probs because i don't use carbon either.

[Fishkeepa]

I have read that carbon does not leech what it has absorbewd unless fired at 300 degrees+ dont know if this is true - or different to what MLF has said

[alanmin4304]

If you fire carbon at 300 deg you will not have much carbon left

[sharn]

i beleive that some lesser quality carbons can leach back into the water but the higher quality ones can be recharged. warren made a post on it somewhere else

i never use carbon in my tanks unless im removing particularly nasty meds. there have been theories flying around for quite some time about carbon and its role it plays in some illnesses (like HITH), i am unsure if its true or not though. when it comes down to it it really isnt necessary to maintain a healthy tank so its a personal choice

[Fishkeepa]

If you fire carbon at 300 deg you will not have much carbon left

lol my bad then :bounce: so you shouldnt always trust the internet

[Freakyfish]

I wouldnt say its only use it for a shop to make some profit

Its a great product for removing anything foriegn in the water

Ammonia is a good one

Its used alot in salt more the freshwater

Dont be worried about it leeching back into the tank water as it will not do this

Its need to be heated very high to be reactivated which is how the toxins are released from the carbon

The reason it has to be replaced so often is because it works so well

90% of its effectivness is used within the first 2 days

Generally useless after about 4 weeks though this depends on the tank

Its not something that you have to have in your filter though in the right cirsumstances its worth having it

Brad

[alanmin4304]

When they make charcoal they heat wood to a high temperature without the presence of O2. If you heat charcoal to a high temperature in O2 it will burn but without O2 it will only drive off the volatiles (everything else will remain but may change a bit through being cooked)

[nor_wester]

After reading all these comments, do tanks / fish actually benefit from the use of carbon in filters??

It seems strange that a lot of top line cannister filters ie Fluval / Enheim package it with there new filters if it plays no major part.