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Myths of Activated Carbon

37K views 38 replies 29 participants last post by  Jalopy 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Yep seems so. I have a friend who works making the water filter cartridges and he said that heating the contents to over 200C will recharge it but only for a little while(the cartridge makers seal them to prevent / discourage this).
This is not viable with sponges impregnated with activated carbon dust for obvious reasons.
 
#3 ·
The only problems I see there are.. coconut carbon is also used in RO filters... hydrogen sulfide is inorganic.. they say changing AC out periodically is probably needless but then say it should be thrown away once exhausted (I have read it can take as little as a few weeks), they also seem to consider the expulsion of PO4 afterward and the possibility to induce algae. Seems like more than one person contributed here. And lord knows I have a big problem with ants dropping their carbon dust in my tank. :tongue:

I don't go there, not sure if I ever will.
 
#4 ·
In my opinion carbon has it's good and bad points. Among more advanced aquarists it seems to go through fads, being in one day and out the next. There does seem to be a lot of questionable information published about it. Some information has got to be wrong, because it contradicts other information. They both can't be right.

My take on carbon is that you use it when you have a specific problem to solve. If there is no problem, you don't need carbon. I highly recommend that you rinse the carbon clean before use. That carbon dust is a mess to get out, and has been blamed for other problems.

There is also a great deal of variation in the quality of carbons out there. I believe in only using a top quality carbon. No point in causing a problem and messing up your tank because you saves a few dollars on cheep carbon.
 
#21 ·
In my opinion carbon has it's good and bad points. Among more advanced aquarists it seems to go through fads, being in one day and out the next.
IMHO Truer words have never been spoken. Some people swear by it, some people swear at it.

I run the AQW, this article causes us the most greif. When I moved to SW I got some online flame (and never went back to that forum) for suggesting carbon may not be all that it is cracked up to be.

I beg of you, if anyone finds good sourced information please add it or at least PM me with a link. The more sources, supporting either position, the more accurate we can keep the article.
 
#6 ·
ADA uses it and suggests, it, it must work right??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Penac etc questions.........gets much much more press, the basic stuff, water changes, how to scape and prune, carbon in the start etc..........??????

Nope.:icon_roll

Carbon is not a bad idea, removes organic fraction well, this includes many decaying plant products, and as it ages, with high porosity......ends up nice biomedia.

I use it mostly for color, but see no reason NOT to use it in the start up.....or to remove color if you do not want to do another water change etc.
Zeolite is good for initial set ups if you use ADA As and need to add fish that week etc.........

Myths: it's detrimental to planted tanks: removes all the Fe, other ferts..............etc.
 
#7 ·
Use of Activate Carbon

Good morning jdm...

The chemical information in these posts is interesting, but way over this old school water keeper's head. From the little I've read on the subject, the use of carbon is overemphasized, because routine water changes will remove many more dissolved substances in the tank than carbon can. I use it mainly to keep the tank odors down, but it does little to keep the water clean.

Just one reporter's opinion.

B
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the replies people!

I agree that something seems a little weird on that link, like multiple authors, or the same one but they took a LONG break in between writing the first and second half. I've got carbon in my filter because I'm too lazy to take it out. When I do change out my canisters media, I will probably just put more ceramic media back in and save the carbon for times the water may get smelly or take on a color, or(hopefully not)when I need to remove meds from the water. Then again, I could just piggyback a HOB on the tank with a load of carbon when I need and then won't have to tear into the canister...
 
#11 ·
I did some internet research about activated carbon a few months ago, and as I recall, it is most effective for "big" molecules, like organic ones, and not effective at all for small molecules, like all inorganic ones. Perhaps it removes some of the chelator in trace mixes, but I doubt it. And, I can't see any way it releases phosphate at any time - where is the phosphate coming from? It seems pretty well established that it removes medicines (all organic compounds), and tannins causing yellowed water (also organic). I think I still have several bags of it in my aquarium junk box from various filters I bought over the last 5 years, so I don't think I have ever used it, at least not in this century.
 
#14 ·
What about people that have tap water that is unusable and RO isn't easily attained? I live 8+ miles away from the nearest RO dispenser, and lug two 5gal jugs and one 7gal jug to do a water change in JUST my 55gal tank, and now I have a 29gal tank to take care of, as well, up from a 10gal, which is now going to be my feeder/QT tank (only one at a time, obviously). It's not feasible to do more frequent water changes. If throwing in a $10 pack of carbon will clear up the color in the water AND get rid of a smell that, in my tanks, doesn't go away with water changes.
 
#20 ·
I use RO too, because I had to at one point and just continued on with it. I think it's more important for people to understand what's going into the tank, if the source is adequate then use it. I personally don't want to waste anymore time keeping tabs on my water plant. If I were growing plants with no livestock, then my tap would be perfect.
 
#28 ·
I live near Long Beach in San Pedro and have used the tap water without issue for 50 years and in my plant tank doing weekly water changes. Tom Barr convinced me over 10 years ago that the water would be just fine and it is.
 
#29 ·
Just a thought, but does AC remove hormones/pheromones? If I remember correctly, fish secrete hormones (or other organic chemicals) to signal to other fish. If those chemicals build up in the tank, it is pretty determinable to the health of the fish. Not saying a water change wouldn't solve it, or that AC is better then a WC. Just thinking out loud...
 
#31 ·
Oh, TFH (The Skeptical Aquarist) had a really good article on AC a while back.. I'll have to go dig it up again.
 
#33 ·
I use carbon to remove chlorine and chloramine from my tap water. That is what it does best, but it also removes lead and copper, taste and odor. In the aquarium it removes yellow color and meds. It should be prewetted with RODI water before use. Otherwise much of the interior never gets wet and the carbon surface gets used up.
 
#35 ·
From OPs link:"Can I leave it in the tank

Activated carbon will not leak the chemicals back out regardless of how long you leave it in the water. "

I have a very hard time believing there is absolutely no osmotic effect associated with carbon after it has loaded up.

I use it for tannin removal from time to time and after medicating a Q-tank. I feel it's a great tool to have for specific issues.
 
#36 ·
There is quite a bit of info at www.seachem.com
They have a library that includes quite a few useful articles. One is specifically about activated carbon.
Another that I like is about filtration in general, and includes a certain amount of info about removing all sorts of things from the water using AC and many other media.
I think both these articles would be good reading for more info about AC and removing things from the water. They are not college text book level, but are well above the beginner level.
 
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