# How important is Activated carbon?



## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Just wondering what the consensus on this is? I don't use it at all as I mainly run sponge or aragonite in my filters but when I first started in the hobby as a kid I was told Carbon was essential.

What exactly does AC remove? Is it useful for disease prevention? AC or UV sterilization?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I remember the days of box filters with carbon and filter floss.

Removes organics, not rechargable, so has to be replaced regularly. Water change will do the same thing. So, generally, not considered worth the hassle and price.

One common use is to remove meds after disease treatment.

If someone wants to do chemical filtration, then something like Purigen that can be recharged can be a better choice. There are other products out there, so I think we have more choices today than we did way back when.

I'd say useless for disease prevention or any kind of sterilization.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

Activated carbon is like saying salt. Many many kinds of each! What AC can remove from your water depends on the type of AC it is. E.G. copper
I've seen some very long and hostile threads with each side being correct... AC does, and does not remove copper. 

AC is not relevant to disease prevention. What it is useful for can be to remove organics that cause yellow water, remove medications, prefilter tap water, etc.
I use AC frequently in my tanks but not constantly and not on any species known to get HItH diseases since it has been linked to that issue.


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## ivanmike (Jun 15, 2003)

I use AC or other chemical media for medication removal and in the case of suspected poisoning by outside sources (someone got a little too liberal with cleaners in a non-ventilated house, used insectisides near the tank, etc). In both cases I also do a water change, in the latter case i do a water change until the fish are almost swimming sideways!

After that, I don't use it at all. IMO it takes up valuable room in the filter that could be better served by some sort of mechanical media that can act as a substrate for bacterial colonies. (Carbon will also act as this substrate, and then when you replace it you've just thrown away 1/3-1/2 of your biological filter.... :roll:

Carbon gets sold a lot on the basis of removing yellow tint to the water and removing "odors". Funny, water changes do the same thing, and remove other compounds carbon cannot. Of course the mounting evidence in terms of HITH and other stressors to many SA cichlids make it a no go for me anyhow.

I think AC was a well intentioned addition to filtration when it first started to be used, (back when they were trying anything to keep fish alive!), and it worked to a degree. Fast forward to now, and i think AC gets pushed as much as it does because it is a revenue stream for companies that deal in it. - Think about it, if you know what you're doing, you don't replace any filter media, don't use carbon unless you have to, don't buy fish or filters unless you get another tank (especially fish as you know over-stocking is bad), and pretty much just buy food and water conditioner - not a very big income source.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

We've come a long way in the fish hobby and know much more about what makes a filter work. When I first started, there was no talk of a nitrogen cycle. Filters and carbon took the "poisons" out of the water. It was routine to take all the tank apart and clean it thoroughly! Over time all the filters were built to have carbon. Fast forward and we find many of those filters still in use and some still think they need to clean the tank good. Both are wrong but both persist. Some old stories are just too good to die.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

I thought the same thing about it being useless so i took mine out a month ago and for some reason couldnt get my water crystal clear. If any of you have talked to Pam Chin on chat you know she is pretty sharp. she told me that she loves carbon and there is nothing that can polish your water like it. so i added it back a few days after she told me and boom crystal clear water. not sure if it was the reason or not but im for using it now.


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## ivanmike (Jun 15, 2003)

yeah -cause it removes organics that aren't in the nitrogen cycle that cause yellow water.

then one day it starts leaching that stuff (and anything else it picked up) back in.

I'm not against using carbon, i just think it's a waste for reasons i went into detail about above.


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## littlejoenc (Jan 11, 2005)

I haven't run any carbon in my tanks in 15 years and my water stay's crystal clear.
I do about a 25% weekly water changes and looks great...


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> I thought the same thing about it being useless


I don't think anyone here said carbon is useless. It has it's place and uses. But generally, it's high maintenance, has an ongoing cost, and often is not necessary for most tanks.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

prov356 said:


> > I thought the same thing about it being useless
> 
> 
> I don't think anyone here said carbon is useless. It has it's place and uses. But generally, it's high maintenance, has an ongoing cost, and often is not necessary for most tanks.


I agree, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some secret carbon elixir :lol:


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I think of carbon as having really tiny little holes to strain water through. That makes it good to remove some stuff even finer than filter floss will catch but that is also the downside. Those tiny little holes get stopped up much quicker than larger holes in other media like sponge. It just doesn't last very long and then you might as well have a chunk of rock in the filter as water won't go through after the holes stop up.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I'd go with Purigen or the PolyFilter pads before I used carbon. Partly for the reasons PhunMo stated, plus the Purigen is recharchable. And once you hit 30 tanks, it's really not practical to consider most of this anyway.


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## vealboy (Jul 27, 2009)

This is a good thread. When I restarted in the hobby a few years ago, I would always change the AC with every other water change. My HOB filter has the capacity to run 4 AC pouches and 2 Bio-Wheels. About 2 years ago I found an online retailer that sold their own brand of AC pouches, but also included 2 bio-sponges in the box. I then started to add more sponges and just change out the AC pouches with every 4 water changes. Then it hit me...that when I was discarding the AC pouch (made from a cotton like fabric) I was discarding a good chunk of my bacterial colony.

Fast forward to presesnt day, I now run multiple bio sponges and the bio wheels, and only use AC to remove meds in the water.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Carbon is good and been used forever. It's just that I find there are less tedious, less expensive ways to get the same result much of the time. When I get a new filter that has a carbon fillind cartridge, I lay it back and have it to use if I want it for any special purpose.


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## ivanmike (Jun 15, 2003)

vealboy said:


> This is a good thread. When I restarted in the hobby a few years ago, I would always change the AC with every other water change. My HOB filter has the capacity to run 4 AC pouches and 2 Bio-Wheels. About 2 years ago I found an online retailer that sold their own brand of AC pouches, but also included 2 bio-sponges in the box. I then started to add more sponges and just change out the AC pouches with every 4 water changes. Then it hit me...that when I was discarding the AC pouch (made from a cotton like fabric) I was discarding a good chunk of my bacterial colony.
> 
> Fast forward to presesnt day, I now run multiple bio sponges and the bio wheels, and only use AC to remove meds in the water.


welcome to the club!

That said - I always have carbon or polyfilter in my house for emergencies. (that, extra heaters, quickcure and sea salt make up my general kit)


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## chagoi (Dec 29, 2010)

I don't use it but I have 80 lbs. For my pond just in case,hope I never use it.


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