I only use carbon to keep the water "polished" in my tanks. As tufftobeat points out carbon is micro-porous and has practically infinite surface area. THat allows it to catch ALL the little particles that make water cloudy. But then again I remember a thread recently about people who dont like clear water...
Why should anyone use charcoal media?
- Thread starter idle0095
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I'm running two xp3's with double filter floss, and two AC110's with two sponges each, and the only time my water is crystal clear is when I'm running the canisters with charcoal.
Charcoal should be used, the only downside is that it's only effective for about two weeks as far as water purification goes, then after that it's only supporting bb and not water clarity.
Charcoal should be used, the only downside is that it's only effective for about two weeks as far as water purification goes, then after that it's only supporting bb and not water clarity.
just an added note, if you tank is cloudy then it is best to find and fix the reason why it is cloudy rather then hiding the problem with charcoal...
i've got a beautiful red-bellied pacu who is rapidly outgrowing my 55 gallon tank, and i'm more than willing to donate him to a home that i deem fit. i would much rather not ship him, so if you are interested, let's hope you're in my area. i live in the pacific northwest and am going back to school in less than a month so come and get him!
BushFishRox;1025166; said:
How is using charcoal 'hiding the problem'? Although cloudiness can be solved without charcoal, it's not used to mask a problem, rather it's one route a fish keeper can go to eliminate it.
Also keep in mind that cloudy water isn't the effect of a singular cause. A bacterial bloom in a uncycled/strained system (which would register ammonia in param tests) will cause cloudiness, and is a problem, and I don't think charcoal will help.
In my case, I keep bichirs and feed them various foods which they love to make a mess of (i.e. pellets, carnivore, fresh shrimp, earthworms, krill, etc...)
There's nothing wrong with my aquarium, params are great considering how many fish I have: Am:0 Ni:0 Na:5!
It's just that since they are so messy, the particulate waste can be very very fine at times, and there is some bypass in the xp3 canisters and AC110's. (I do weekly, yes weekly, maintenance on my filters, so trust me, they're not clogged).
I also have several layers of filter floss in my canisters, and I'm thinking about adding some to the AC110 to see if that helps theproblem without using charcoal (charcoal is not efficient over time because of cost).
Cohazard;1025198; said:
as soon as you remove the charcoal the cloudiness is back, therefore it hides the problem. if adding another filter to the tank is what it takes to clear it up then that is what you have to do to fix the problem. there is no reason for a healthy tank to be cloudy, and you shouldnt have to use charcoal to clear up the water...
BushFishRox;1025219; said:
Well, if you remove the extra filter floss, or micron filter being used to remove cloudiness in your tank, your water would be cloudy. Does that mean those methods only 'hide the problem' as well?
BushFishRox;1025219; said:
An extra filter is not necessary, but it is another way I could address the issue, just as charcoal is.... or adding extra floss to my AC 110's.
BushFishRox;1025219; said:
I agree, there's no reason to a healthy system should be cloudy (Judging by my params, my tank is as healthy as they come), as long as you are using some method to control the minute particulates in the water. I also agree that you don't have to use charcoal, but you can.
My main point is that using charcoal, is no different than than any other method of controlling cloudiness. I also want to make it clear that cloudy water doesn't always mean your water is bad, just that you need to pick a way to control it.
For example, I'm thinking about picking up a mag 350. I can choose to either use the carbon container, or the micron tube. Either way, cloudiness is gone, either way, my system is still healthy, only now with pristine clarity.
I believe that is the point of the thread about 'cloudy water in nature'.
That is still masking the problem, as soon as you remove the new filter the problem will come back.BushFishRox;1025219; said:
