No CARBON???

Egrant

Anyone else not use carbon? After research and some advice from Tazman i think i am going to use Seachem Purigen.

Just curiousif i am the only one shocked about no carbon???

Tazman

Carbon clogs easily and if keeping African cichlids that require a lot of over filtration, you end up spending a lot of money on it and it becomes wasteful for little benefit.

stevenjohn21

I use carbon if i have treated one of my tanks with medicine. I also use carbon in one of my tanks that has a lot of new driftwood, it helps keep the tannins clear......other than that , Tazman is correct its a waste of money. After 2-3 weeks its useless and just becomes rocks in your filter.

Egrant

Should I use it for the first few weeks? Since this is a new 125G set up? or just the other stuff?

Tazman

No harm in having some handy in case you need to use it. It can help clear up cloudy water should you encounter it but I would not bother with it really.

stevenjohn21

There is no harm in using carbon so yes go ahead and use it. After 2-3 weeks it has no effect and then it will just become a media for good bacteria to collect. Since your filter filters from top to bottom i would place it in the last tray inside a fine media bag or panties and sandwich it between filter floss.
I have some HOB filters that have the original filter pads in from over 2 years, all i do is clean the blue pad with my hands in old tank water and place it back in the filter. If i replaced them every month it would cost me a fortune !

I just read Tazman's post and i would agree that you might aswell keep the carbon handy incase you need it at a later date. I have tons of it just because it seems that every tank/filter i buy used the person always has a tub of carbon or 2 ! Im down to my last 6 tubs of carbon lol

Christople

To me what carbon is, is a money absorber literally. I don't use it because it sucks up many things wanted or not, and I want my flourish comp. in the tank. Now if I didn't have plants I would use carbon, or alternatives to it like purigen.

Egrant

Thanks for all the great info. this is how my FX5 will be loaded

Bottom, Ceramic cirlce things for bio
Middle, filter floss
Top, purigen

Thanks

Taz, how often do you tear apart your FX5 and clean it. I read the purigen is good for up to six months.

AbbeysDad

Activated carbon adsorbs impurities in the water column. It may be exhausted in as little as two weeks. How beneficial it is depends on the tanks water condition and the circumstances. It likely has very little value in a heavily planted tank as it steals nutrients from the water column that the plants would otherwise use.
On the other hand, the periodic use of activated carbon can be beneficial in some tanks.
I've heard John of Aquaripure say that with zero nitrates and perhaps the periodic use of carbon, a partial water change may only be necessary once every three months or so.
Purigen is a good (scavenger resin) product but it is very selective in adsorbing dissolved organic compounds so it will not address other chemical impurities in the water.
So I would say go ahead and use Purigen, but also consider using activated carbon periodically, particularly in the unplanted tank.

Byron

There is no scientific data that I have seen to counter the need for regular water changes, regardless of the filtration. Nitrates is not a "test" for water changes, whatever this individual from Aquaripure may claim.