Did I do this right?

[thomasina]

I have two tanks that are within the correct parameters, and looking food. Yesterday, during the weekly 50% WC, I looked into the filters to clean them up, with tank water, and the one has a bag of charcoal in it. I read, and was told that the charcoal isn't good after a while so take it out. I put 100% cotton batting in it instead of poly batting. This is an Aquaclear 100 filter. Is charcoal really that important after the tank has matured?

 

[MarMan]

This is a million dollar question. The answer is simply a matter of choice. Carbon indeed will make your water clearer and should be changed as directed because after it absorbs its limit it looses its effectiveness. BUT, it not only absorbs bad odors and colors it also absorbs good minerals and other "stuff" needed in a aquarium. A beginner should always use activated carbon but an expert who is willing to do more water changes has a choice.

 

[jcolon]

Carbon's practically next to useless as you get more experienced ... IMO. Yes it can help remove odors and tannins ... but so will PWC's (among others) which we should be doing consistently anyway. Where Carbon's useful is removing meds after treatment.

Exhausted Carbon just becomes another bio-filter since it another place for bacteria to colonize. Personally speaking, replace Carbon with 100% Polyfill. You'll get more mechanical filtration and it also provides surfaces for bacteria to colonize.

 

[thomasina]

This is a million dollar question. The answer is simply a matter of choice. Carbon indeed will make your water clearer and should be changed as directed because after it absorbs its limit it looses its effectiveness. BUT, it not only absorbs bad odors and colors it also absorbs good minerals and other "stuff" needed in a aquarium. A beginner should always use activated carbon but an expert who is willing to do more water changes has a choice.

Sir, I am not a beginner, I just want to get others thoughts. I appreciate your input, however I do 50% WC every week, and use a filter in-take sponge that really keeps my tank clear. Thank you for your in-put!

 

[Convict2161]

This is a million dollar question. The answer is simply a matter of choice. Carbon indeed will make your water clearer and should be changed as directed because after it absorbs its limit it looses its effectiveness. BUT, it not only absorbs bad odors and colors it also absorbs good minerals and other "stuff" needed in a aquarium. A beginner should always use activated carbon but an expert who is willing to do more water changes has a choice.

I respectfully disagree with the last part of your post. A beginner doesn't need to use carbon and yes I agree water changes (weekly) should be the norm and usually is for most of us.

Carbon is good to remove meds after treating your tank but other then that its pretty much useless.

When you find an expert lemme know cause I'm learning all the time, everyday, it's an on going learning process. So...

 

[MarMan]

The carbon also removed tannins that leached from my wood and kept the tank smelling perfect. Now that I don't use carbon because of the plants the tank does have a forest smell which isn't bad but I would rather not have any smell. If the plants did not need the minerals that the carbon removed I would still use it today.