Activated Carbon

[|squee|]

Anyone knows exactly what elements does activated carbon remove from the water? More specifically the micro nutrients needed by plants.

From here



It doesn't state anything about the micro elements needed by plants like boron, copper, manganese, blah blah.

I just want to know, sometimes activated carbon can be quite useful

[sage08]

hi there, will like to revive this thread. I've started using activated carbon of late and bought a taiwanese brand. It says won't remove trace nutrients so is it advisable for planted tank? I've read somewhere that activated carbon is v efficient in removing heavy metal, detergent etc and slow with trace minerals. I plan to replace the carbon after 3 months with a new one ie long term usage. Any comments here esp in heavily planted tank?

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Depends on specifically what trace elements they're talking about. Stuff that're needed in a planted tank might not be desireable in a fish-only tank (which is what companies target for activated carbon useage imho)

[bezz]

I am using a DIY CO2 on my 2ft, so is it advisable to add coral chips to my canister filter for KH buffer when the PH starts to drop at night?

Or is a bag of coral chips too much?
I don't have any test kits, but thinking of getting them...any reliable and cheap test kits to recommend?

Thx

[XnSdVd]

Sera brand test kits are pretty good. I've been using them. Though if you've got money to blow off, get a test pen that takes KH readings as well.