Activated carbon n Ferts?
 

If carbon is made to take chemicals out tha water is that taking away from the ferts I give my plants or should I remove the carbon part of the filter?

it will not remove your ferts
its also a lot more expensive to use carbon than to have good water change habbits, and the plus side to good water changes is happy healthy, plants and fish

really? i thought that the carbon at least lowered the nitrates. you could be right but I never used carbon because of the fertilizer issues and now I'm hearing I could have kept the carbon in :icon_eek:

I use carbon with no problems, I also do a lot of water changes, my plants don't act like they are not getting the ferts I add.

they reduce dissolved organics. so decaing food and such yes.. inadvertently they reduce nitrates
not the ones you dose as a salt

Chemical (Carbon) Filtration
 

Hello New...

You can safely remove the carbon, provided you'll commit to larger water changes and to doing them a bit more often. I change out half the water in my tank every week and don't use carbon.

The water changes do a much better job of removing floating particles and toxins in the tank water than chemical medium.

Just a suggestion, though. You're the "Head Waterkeeper".

B

Carbon is really helpful at startup probably thru the first few months since it's another way to remove dissolved organics like HD Blazingwolf stated. It's effect on ferts and plants is way over-stated especially if your relying on the inorganic salts that most of us put in. Once the tank is especially with a good bio filter you might not need it, but it won't hurt.

this was very helpful! thanks :icon_smil

Thanks to all who responded. I do water changes every week about 50-80% of the water more along the lines of 65-70% tho in all my tanks plus I still keep the carbon in the filters. I was setting up a new one (filter) and just had the thought that's all plus like someone else posted my plants don't act like their not gettin nutrients my plants are goin and growing crazy its only been a month and for some but my Anubis which is supposed to be a slow growing plant but I can see day to day growth also in my broad leaf Anubis. The only plant that's slow growing is my java fern but I got that about a week ago anyway so we'll see. I wanna get some swords. Anyway THANKS!

I haven't used carbon for years. And I do (maybe) two water changes per week of about 5% or so...usually it's just once per week. I do NOT ever recommend doing such massive water changes unless you have a very large stock of fish and little plant mass. If you need to rely on massive weekly water changes, you are keeping your tank in a state of flux and will probably experience algae issues that will take a really long time to go away. At the very least, you are doing a ton more work than you need to do, and if you need such enormous water changes to keep the tank healthy, then there is a serious underlying issue.

I'm certainly not advocating that you go my route. But, I wouldn't necessarily be aiming to do huge water changes either, at least, down the road. Especially if you plan on having a heavily planted tank.

Good looken out. As far as the work its nothing with the Aqueon water changer and the faucet hook up 5 ft a way. Thanks for the info tho.

Uh there is nothing like fresh water especially for fish. I haven't really seen to many systems, especially hi-tech that don't rely on the water change it's for me an no-brainer. The difference between doing a water change and not doing one is this. If you do a regular large water changes and dose back in you are in a preventive mode, stopping anything before it starts. Sure some tanks with high plant mass, low stock can get by with few water changes, but why guess where that balance is. As long as you dose back in your removing waste. When a tank is new, there is no bio-filter so carbon for example acts as a bridge removing waste before the bio-filter (plants/media) gets established. Large water changes also allow alot more wiggle room with light, stock and plant load. Not every tank is filled with plants. In scaping there is alot of negative space, especially in an iwagumi type setup.

Thank you House for repeating what I just said. ;). The point is that in a heavily planted low stocked tank, huge water changes and the use of carbon is not necessary. If the water is fine prior to a water change, then why waste time and energy and water? Making fine water more "fine"? Uhh....

What may blow your mind is that I don't even measure my parameters either! Haven't for years! gasp!!! No need to when you know what you're doing and what to look for. You don't have to "go by the book" if you can think and use your common sense.

But, what do I know, right?

Bottom line is that there is more than one way to arrive at the same end point.

i dont measure, or test, but i do change lots of water weekly. plants grow faster with them as well
dont doubt the power water changes :)

Very informative thanks guys.