activated carbon?

[zypher]

i have a marineland 350 magnum canister filter...i'm wondering if i should use activated carbon in it to help filter my sw tank...are there any pros or cons to this? also i want to use this in combination with a protein skimmer...but every article i read on activated carbon i get mixed reviews, some say it's good, some say it's bad...just looking for some kind of direction from anyone that's willing to give it

 

[Kickingfish]

There are some that say that activated carbon can be one of the causes of head and lateral line disease. I use it on my coral system with no problems. I feel over all that it helps but if I saw any HLLD start it would be the first thing I pull off.

 

[James95]

Unless your source water has a high concentration of dissolved organic compounds, then carbon is unnecessary. You should be doing water changes anyway, and water changes also remove the stuff carbon removes.