carbon

[panagiotisath]

goodmorning
i was told by my local petstore that carbon is not neccesary in a fish only tank
i was told that i must use it ocassionally before water change otherwise it will remove beneficial elements from it

[zeroedge]

Carbon is NOT necessary, however, the use of carbon does help keep the water cleaner by removing pollutants and toxins. however it's use must be limited, if you allow the carbon to stay in the tank for an extended length of time, the very stuff that the carbon cleaned from the water will leech back into the system. So if you do use carbon, use it for a few days and then remove it and throw it out. Yes you could wash it and reuse it, but it's so cheap, it's just better to dump it and use new carbon. If you use carbon once a month, your water will be cleaner than it would otherwise.

[IamJoshieG]

If you dont have a cannister filter hooked up to your tank I heard it is ok to just place some carbon in a cartridge into the water and it will still absorb toxins. Would this method work?

[smpolyp]

zeroedge has great advice. Use the carbon and discard it. There are several types of carbon. Unless you know what type you are using and how it performs use it short term.

[zeroedge]

If you dont have a cannister filter hooked up to your tank I heard it is ok to just place some carbon in a cartridge into the water and it will still absorb toxins. Would this method work?

Yes you can put it in a filter bag and throw it in your sump. After a week or two, take it out, throw the carbon away, the filter bag can be rinsed and reused.

[showfish]

I use to units of Chemi Pure myself placed in the sump.

[The R/C Man]

Hey all!
I have noticed that although carbon does "clean" the water of yellowing agents I also believe it may remove beneficial elements. It seems the less carbon I use the better my corals seem to be. i.e. better polyp extension, growth and color. Of course there are many variables that could contribute to these observations but removing carbon from my tank seemed to be the underlying factor. If you use it, my recommendation would be to use it half way between water changes and then only leave it in for a couple days....

[Bianca]

I use to units of Chemi Pure myself placed in the sump.

Have you ever tried polyfilter pad by BioMarine? I use that but have heard chemi pure is great to.
I ask because would like to use the best one so wanted a comparrison.

I dont like reg carbon.