Activated carbon

[Splendid Warrior]

Hi, I'll be using a Eheim 2026 Pro II for new aquarium and I'm wondering if I should go get the Eheim carbon filter pad for the filter or is there something better (in grain form) out there which I could get? Any suggestion will be most appreciated.

[aquarius]

A good friend of my told me to use Chemipure. He used it and says that it's very good cause it can help reduce nitrate as well.

[Splendid Warrior]

Thanks Aquarius. Anyone else with suggestions?

[richietay]

are you using it for a planted setup??

[SmallFish]

wouldnt the carbon absorb all the nutrients == bad for the plants ?

[|squee|]

Carbon is best used in the initial stages of the tank set up period... imho.

Yes it does absorb some trace elements.

[Splendid Warrior]

Richietay, yes I'm using it for planted tank. Squee you're right. I spoke with someone experience today and was told the same thing. I intend to use GAC for the initial few weeks of the setup. Thanks guys.

[tawauboy]

don't see why you need to use carbon when you setup your tank.

just setup your tank without any fauna. plant fully and let the plants settle in for 2-3 weeks. then add fauna slowly.

[grey_fox]

By the way, adsorptive filtration should be used on a short term basis. Toxins will end up leaching back into the water column should you extend its usage period.

I once had half my tanks' fauna population wipe of day-by-day due to an over-used activated carbon bag when I initially started into this hobby. The deaths only stopped once that A/C was removed.

Use it for a maximum of 2-3 weeks only.

[bossteck]

On that note, it will probably be easier not to insert activated carbon (whether it is in a bag or pad form) into your filter, better to just let it float in your tank during the initial set up. That way, you can easily remove it, and more importantly, you won't forget/be lazy to remove the AC.

Just sharing my practice.

[Splendid Warrior]

Thanks for the advice guys, most appreciated.

[eddyq]

Activated carbon is chemical filtration so it is useful in some way, like removing toxic in the water.

[surfsgan]

Hi Bro,
AC should be temporary only. Good for removing odors and toxics in the water ... Learnt it both from Aro bros and as well as my own experiements. They do leech back after sometime.

Thanks...

[aquarius]

On that note, it will probably be easier not to insert activated carbon (whether it is in a bag or pad form) into your filter, better to just let it float in your tank during the initial set up. That way, you can easily remove it, and more importantly, you won't forget/be lazy to remove the AC.

Just sharing my practice.

Letting the activated carbon float in the tank WILL NOT remove the toxins in the water. Water has to run through the carbon (when it is to put into the filter) for it to absorb the toxic substances in the water.

If you want something to absorb toxic substances by leaving it in the tank it would be Zeolite.