Seperate Activated Carbon?

[Soupy97]

So I have a planted tank with a lot of tannins in it. I put some activated carbon in my filter to help take care of it and it is helping but I was wondering if I placed a separate bag in my tank (like off in a corner or something) if that would do anything? I have a feeling it would not do very much unless there was water constantly moving through it (Such as in a filter).

I was also hesitant because I have been told that to much AC is bad for plants.

Should I bother trying this?

 

[Betta Platy Addict]

Get some purigen (seachem brand) put that in your filter but ONLY use PRIME water conditioner because others can cause chemical reactions

 

[Soupy97]

Yeah I heard that was good stuff. So should I just skip trying to throw a bag of the carbon in front of the spray bar or something and use the purigen instead?

 

[Betta Platy Addict]

Yes. It was all that helped my tannins. You will have to recharge it more often than the directions say. Mine has only been in for a month and will need recharging soon (some need every 6 months!). It cleared my tannins up in 3 days to crystal clear.

 

[Soupy97]

Alright thanks for the help. Sounds like you could just recharge it whenever you do filter maintenance.

 

[Betta Platy Addict]

Yeah, you could. I bought an extra bag that way I can alternate and not worry if there isn't time to recharge and soak in prime overnight. Not a huge investment, and pays for itself since carbon isn't necessary

 

[Coursair]

PWCs will help clear it faster. If its from a piece of wood you can remove it and soak it in a container. Some boil the wood.

Me? I just let the tannins alone. My fish like it, it goes away on its own. As long as its not too murky to see I don't worry about a little color.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Soup...

Carbon does very little to filter the tannins from the tank water. Only, large, frequent water changes will get the job done. The chemical medium (carbon) can remove some nutrients from the tank water if you're dosing them for the benefit of your plants. You don't need to use carbon if you changing the tank water regularly.

Actually, water changes will replace the macro nutrients and having a reasonable fish load in the tank and feeding a balanced diet will provide healthy levels of the micro nutrients.

B

 

[Soupy97]

Yeah I know that but even though I boiled my drift wood for a couple hours and soaked it for a week and a half it still releases a lot of tannins. Enough that people have commented my water is dirty even though it technically isn't. I know activated carbon took some nutrients out for the plants but my plan was to only have it in there for about a week. I might just have to switch to purigen.