# Carbon Bad or Good?



## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

Hey! So I've been reading some stuff about carbon being good and then some being bad, I'm all mixed up on whether I should keep it in my filter or not. 

If you guys could give me your outputs on it, it would be great! And also if you could explain why it good or bad.

Thanks!


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

I say it is good when it is clean (changed every 3/4 weeks), but isn't needed. I stopped using it on my previous 30G FW, and have never used it in my reef. 

It is helpful for treating sicknesses and diseases, though.


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## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

Why did you stop using it?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

1) Because it was a pain to have to buy and change them so much
2) It wasn't needed


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Im glad you asked that question! I have Wonderd about that myself. I use it, because if there is a chance its good I want to do all I can. I know it will help clear you tank from meds. Also read not to use carbon with ammonia remover, it can release ammonia back into the water when salt is added to your tank.


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## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

Ok so if I use Carbon when I add salt in my water it's going to add ammonia? Or if I use ammonia remover with salt and use carbon it's going to add ammonia?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

All I know, is that I read once on another site, about a lady owning a goldfish tank. She complained that everytime she did a water and added salt back into the tank she got an ammonia spike. They asked if she is using ammo-carb. She was. They said salt can cause the carbon to release ammonia back into the tank. Maybe that is why its for freshwater only?


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## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

Uh that's wierd... Good to know tho. I add some salt in my tanks for disease prevention and I haven't had any ammonia spikes.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

Salt should only be added to the aquarium when treating for fish illness. Adding salt on a regular basis is not good for freshwater fish for it does not dissolve or dissipate in the water. Let's say you add salt at each weekly water change (you are changing water weekly aren't you). Over time the salt content of the water will become intolerable for the fish and some freshwater fish don't do salt at all. Carbon in my view, is a matter of choice. It will not harm the fish, It removes many pollutants, suspended solids, some metals,and aids in keeping water clear. Most who use cartridges for their filters that contain carbon don't replace them as often as manufacturer suggests. they simply swish the cartridges around in aquarium water that they take out at water changes and stick em back in. When they begin to fall apart, they replace them. They last a lot longer this way. Carbon is also very pourus,over time the beneficial bacteria colonizes on the carbon just as it does everything in the tank.Carbon such as that contained in filter cartridges cannot release what it has adsorbed back into the tank. Products that contain carbon and or some chemical resin such as ammo-lock are sometimes regenerated with the use of salt or bleach or other chemicals that cause a reaction that would allow that which they have absorbed to possibly leach back into the tank but the regular carbon with nothing else added cannot .Carbon is not usually wanted or used in planted tanks for it removes some of the trace minerals needed for plants to thrive.


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

Gonna shock some people to hear me say this but...

Carbon isn't necessarily bad for your aquarium*, but it's not necessarily great for it either. It can remove medications, stray chemicals, and other things in your aquarium. However it also removes dissolved organic chemicals, DOCs. Carbon is iffy at removing metals but DOCs are great at neutralizing them. So you're really removing a natural way to neutralize heavy metals from your tank with carbon and substituting carbon's rather iffy ability.

What it comes down to is a trade off. Carbon is good insurance if you've got odd chemicals in your water that you need out. Just be aware it can make your tank more susceptible to other issues. So it's not a panacea, it's something to be used intelligently with full awareness of its benefits and drawbacks. Also, if you use it then it needs to be regularly changed.

*I'm willing to guess you've probably heard people call carbon responsible for hole in the head disease, well there's no proof of it being responsible other than that some people who's fish got HitH were running carbon. Of course they also had water in their tanks so going by that logic either could be the culprit. Of course that doesn't account for the people who didn't run carbon and their fish got HitH...

Oh, and as for carbon removing tannins from the water... I've got a Coke colored betta tank next to me that says otherwise.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

I completely agree with Ty and would just add that most cartridges produced for aquarium filters do not contain enough carbon to be effective for more than a couple weeks. A greater quantity of carbon would work quicker and last longer than a lesser amount.Two cups per 55gal or 280L of aquarium water. It is reported that some aquarists use more or less depending on their filtration system and the quality of carbon used.Anything that helps remove organic pollutants from the aquarium in my view, is good. Some researchers believe that there is a direct correlation between high levels of organics and dense populations of disease organisims. Whether their concerns are founded in fact are unclear to me but I have used carbon since I began keeping fish and will continue to do so. As Ty has said you must know it's capabilities and it is not a substitute for proper aquarium maint.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Let me find my stock answer from another thread:



> I don't use carbon on any of my tanks. Sure, the conjecture relating to hole-in-the-head is simply that, but I still don't see that the risks outweigh the rewards.
> 
> Fresh activated carbon is *very* good at removing organics from your water. This means that any good organics in your water (i.e. compounds that could be used by your fish or plants for healthy growth) aren't free for use. Water changes help to replace some of these materials, but again if you have a high flow rate through a filter with fresh carbon, those added-back materials aren't going to last very long. If you're using liquid fertilizers, using activated carbon would be like flooring the gas and brake pedals at the same time. I also have a bit of blackwater going on in some of my tanks that would be impossible to achieve while using carbon.
> 
> ...


There's no solid research that says using carbon (and I'm talking about properly used, fresh carbon here) is actually harmful. Whether or not it's related to hole-in-the-head is just speculation. However, it does make logical sense that regularly replaced carbon, which removes organics, could be depriving your fish and plants from essential nutrients. I'm especially thinking of things like liquid plant fertilizers. I have seen carbon remove tannins from tanks, but I would imagine you'd need a heck of a lot more carbon than comes in an Eclipse 6 filter cartridge to remove the massive amount of tannins that came out of that large (for the water volume) piece of driftwood you've got in that tank. 

So, to sum things up: I would absolutely avoid carbon in the following situations - you've got a planted tank and you're dosing liquid fertilizers, you've got blackwater and you want to keep it, or you're medicating your fish. In other situations, using it or not is probably a matter of personal preference, but as I stated in that earlier thread, if there's no good evidence to show why it *is* needed, why spend your money?


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## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

Wow guys!! Thanks a lot, all of this imformation is really helpful! I've been using carbon for both of my tanks and I'm planning on getting one planted with live plants so I really need to get rid of that carbon. As for the other tank it has one of those Elite filter that need changing every few weeks, it's a real pain let me tell you, so I'm going to use up the last cartriges I have and then get a new filter. 

Oh and yes I do weekly water changes, actually I do them a little bit more often since my tanks are cyling and they are at their Nitrite and Nitrate phase. 

As for the salt that's really good to know, I'll only be adding it to sick tanks. *Can you treat a planted tank with salt and high temperature if your fish have some disease or will it kill your plants? *

I was also wondering how I should introduce a new filter to my tank with the elite filter? Should I have both running at the same time for a week or so or should I just change them since there's already bacteria growing in my under gravel filter? Or what? 

Thanks again guys!!


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## yippee (Jun 26, 2007)

a question i have to add, if you don't use the carbon pad/filter insert, what should you use?


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

I bought a set of after market cartridge frames for my Penguin filter. I just keep them full of foam and floss for mechanical filtration.

If you're going to introduce a new filter just have them both run for a while. The longer the better really. I'd let it go for at least two weeks personally before I pulled the old filter out.


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## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

Even if I also have an under gravel filter?


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

to address something stated before Ammonia removed adds ammonia back into the water if u add salt. carbon does nothing if u add salt to it. so the ammo-carb ammonia spikes were caused by salt mixing withe the ammonia remover part of the mix. Thats also why when u buy stuff like fluval ammonia remover, it says to soak in saltwater for overnight to recharge the media and then u can rinse it and use it over again. Carbon in ur filter is teh same as the brita filter. U just gotta change it a lot for it to keep working. Otherwiseits just a surface for bacteria to grow on.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

What's wrong with the Elite filter, other than needing to change the cartridges? You don't really need to change the cartridges out until they are physically falling apart. That can take years to happen sometimes. If they get clogged up just swish them around in the water you remove during a water change. If you want to stop using carbon, you can just leave it in there. It'll just be more surfaces for bacteria to grow on. However, if you're paranoid and believe the stories about old carbon causing hole in the head disease, you can remove the carbon and continue to use the filter. I believe the Hagen Elite HOB filters have a cartridge that's polyester with carbon? Just replace this with a piece of filter foam, or if the cartridge has a plastic frame, just find a way to attach some filter floss to it.


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## WisFish (Dec 16, 2008)

For a simple general answer if I were applying this to my own tanks:

Live plants - no carbon
no live plants - yes carbon 

But I agree that carbon in general is optional and perhaps not needed if you do regular water changes.


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## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

The Elite filter has two cartriges, and the water goes through them from side to side and then out of the filter, so with the carbon and poly stuff it lasts about a 1 to 2 weeks if i'm lucky. At that point the water goes over the filter cartrige. So the filter is pointless at that point. I tried to rinse it out but no luck with that. So I just got an Aqua Clear 30, I had a 20 in my 10 gallon tank and I like how the water has to go from bottom to top, it's a lot better. All I have to do is get a foam refill at the place of the carbon one they provide and voila!


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Be aware that a huge amount of the beneficial bacteria in your tank are housed in the filter. If you completely replace the filter with a brand new one, you can be almost guaranteed to see at least a mini-cycle. Either run both filters together (a month would be a good amount of time) then remove the old one, or move the filter media from the old filter to the new if possible.


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## andreannestvincent (Dec 11, 2008)

Even if I also have an under gravel filter in the same tank? I curently have the Elite filter going and the under gravel filter going in the same tank. If I remove the Elite and add the Aqua Clear I would still need to have the Elite and Aqua Clear running with the under gravel filter?


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

You could *probably* make the switch right away, then, but why gamble with the lives of your fish?


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

i think that you shoudl run the tank with both filters for a bit but i dont think it needs to be a month. Probably 2 weeks is decent. Also squeezing water from ur old filter media into the new filter media might help it a little


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