Activated Carbon

[jburns]

Been searching forever, just would like to know: does one need to put carbon in the filter or could you also get away with a mesh bag full of it directly in the water column, such as placed over the water return output? i feel like it’d probably be fine since it’s off the ground not getting caked with organics and it would be kind of considered placed past mechanical filtration and all that

 

[Aiken Drum]

As long as its placed somewhere in the flow then it should be OK. Why do you need the carbon out of interest? I only use it when there is a particular need, such as removing meds.

 

[jburns]

As long as its placed somewhere in the flow then it should be OK. Why do you need the carbon out of interest? I only use it when there is a particular need, such as removing meds.

need some water clarity and getting rid of that tank smell/removing any phenols or tannins. no need for meds thankfully

 

[earhtmother]

Purigen is a better choice to clear up the water
Smell shouldn't be bad if your water is being changed out as necessary-50% weekly. Tanks will always smell like tanks but unless you're sticking your face next to the water and inhaling deeply it shouldn't be THAT noticeable

 

[jburns]

Purigen is a better choice to clear up the water
Smell shouldn't be bad if your water is being changed out as necessary-50% weekly. Tanks will always smell like tanks but unless you're sticking your face next to the water and inhaling deeply it shouldn't be THAT noticeable

okay well one i’m not new i have an idea what i’m doing two i’ve already put it in the filter and find that these things are noticeable to my nose and eyes. you definitely don’t need 50% per week you’re crazy

 

[earhtmother]

Your opinion.
I've had tanks over 40 years and have seen trends/advise change ALOT in that time. When I started as a kid, you bought a tank, whatever fish appealed to you, whatever plants appealed to you, put if all together with tap water containing a chlorine removal product and *bing bang boom* you had an aquarium. Now we know about *cycling* pH, black_water, ferts etc and aren't having to replace our plants and fish on a regular basis due to *death by ignorance*
What I mentioned is what works best for me and my 750g+ in tanks, you run yours however makes you happy.

 

[jburns]

Your opinion.
I've had tanks over 40 years and have seen trends/advise change ALOT in that time. When I started as a kid, you bought a tank, whatever fish appealed to you, whatever plants appealed to you, put if all together with tap water containing a chlorine removal product and *bing bang boom* you had an aquarium. Now we know about *cycling* pH, black_water, ferts etc and aren't having to replace our plants and fish on a regular basis due to *death by ignorance*
What I mentioned is what works best for me and my 750g+ in tanks, you run yours however makes you happy.

well running my tank however makes me happy happens to work rather well i’d think since i’ve had 0 “deaths by ignorance.” i’m not just throwing tap water in, treating it once, and throwing flakes in and forget. i do have a good conscience for my fish you know

 

[earhtmother]

I wasn't suggesting you mistreated your fish and if that's how it came across I apologize[emoji3061]
I have never noticed anything other than a *watery, maybe earthy* from my tanks, the more plants/driftwood in the tank as opposed to rocks & silk plants the more *earthy* the smell. My Endler/grow out tanks have no smell, my Krib, Platy, Cory, Sword, Tetra, Hoplo, Nano & Shrimp tanks have more of a *smell* since there is lots of driftwood & *green stuff* in them. If I notice a stronger smell than usual I know I have an issue in that tank and need to pay *special* attention to it.
Other than my Endler/grow out tanks all my tanks are fully stocked 35g up to 125g so a 50% water change every week to 10 days is pretty much a necessity.

 

[earhtmother]

This just popped up on one of my other fish groups

So, just some information about water changes and why they are important. Large water changes should be normal for every fish keeper. Some random person came up with only doing 25% a week but for the average tank, this is not enough.

While water changes lower nitrates, which we can test for. They also do so many other things that we can't test for.

Water changes lower nitrates, organics, waste, TDS, hormone build up, keep the pH stable (pH will rise the longer you go without a water change which makes it unstable and becomes dangerous to the fish). But they also replenish minerals and nutrients used by the fish.

So, when you think about it, only removing a quarter of the water is not removing enough and not replacing enough. Large water changes are actually good for the fish and the tank.

Bacteria is not free floating in the water, its attached to porous surfaces, so it actually has no affect on the cycle at all. You can change 100% of your water every single day and still have a perfectly healthy cycle and an even more healthy fish.