Benefits to having carbon in my sump?

[jamal-188]

Right now I just have 2 filter pads
1st pad is blue on white on one side and a finer blue on the other side
2nd pad is a much finer pad

Then I have my skimmer in the sump, would I benefit at all from having a bag of carbon in the sump or a carbon pillow under the filter pads?

When washing the carbon it never seems to come clean, is it because I use the moderate to cheap carbon?

BTW fish/invert only if that matters.

 

[scuba_steve]

carbon after the skimmer and ya cant wash carbon you need to replace half of it at a time

 

[jamal-188]

carbon after the skimmer and ya cant wash carbon you need to replace half of it at a time

But what does it do or why is it good to have in there?

 

[Biggen]

Carbon is good for all kinds of things. Removes DOC's which help keep the water clean AND helps to keep the water looking clean. It also removes toxic substances such as copper, chlorine, etc..

Check out the below two links. They will give you a good idea about what carbon is and what it does. FYI, I run carbon in my tank 24/7. I change it out once every two weeks.

http://www.marineland.com/articles/16ActivatedCarb.asp
http://www.marineland.com/articles/17RevisActCarb.asp