Carbon and the planted tank?

[Blackwood]

I have a planted tank that I've taken the carbon out of (about 3 weeks ago). It's gradually gotten slightly cloudy with a yellowish tinge to it. Normally carbon would clear this right up. Should I put it back in?

Will carbon remove necessary nutrients from the water? If so, how do I get the water clear again?


Blackwood

 

[SkullJug]

You shouldn't need carbon to keep your tank clean. It's probably a filter problem - What filter do you have and what media??

It's probably also worth checking your tank for anything that could be rotting - Or if you've added any wood recently it could also be a major suspect.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

My opinion, the yellow tinge is tannins from the driftwood. Nothing to worry about. You could use carbon to remove it, but carbon will also remove some other things that the plants would really like to have. If you can run floss, it will help keep the water a bit cleaner, but the tea-coloring is just tannins from the driftwood, which is completely safe for the fish. You can also use PWC's to help limit the tannins. Or take the driftwood and boil some more, then put back into the tank.

 

[Blackwood]

Yeah, I put two new pieces of driftwood in a couple of weeks ago. I took the carbon out that same day. Timing is everything, right?

I use 100micron floss as a mechanical filter at the top of my wet/dry sump filter. I normally keep carbon in there, but have had it out the last couple weeks.

Once again, thanks for the info.