Carbon Or No Carbon In Your Filter?

[TwoTankAmin]

Again this is more myth than fact. The odds are rinsing your filter media out under tap will kill almost none of the nitrifying bacteria. The reason is twofold. First, the levels of chlorine or chloramine in ones tap are fairly low. Second, the biofilm in which the bacteria are living protects them, Cloramine doesn't kill, it just "puts them to sleep" and when they wake up because the chloramine has broken down, the ammonia present gives them a jolt and they are right back to working again. Chlorine might kill them except it penetrates the biofilm at about 1/39th to 1/49th the speed of chloramine, So before chlorine can do an real damage it will be diluted and neutralized by the dechlor in the tank or because it evaporates.
 
Read here in a doctoral thesis- Development and Use of Microelectrodes to Evaluate Nitrification within Chloraminated Drinking Water System Biofilms, and the Effects of Phosphate as a Corrosion Inhibitor on Nitrifying Biofilm and you will see:

 
Monochloramine penetrated fully into nitrifying biofilms within 24 hours when fed at a 4:1 Cl2:N ratio, showing a cessation of aerobic activity via DO penetration following application of monochloramine. However, monochloramine penetration did not necessarily equate to a loss in viability, and the presence of excess ammonia in the water system prevented microbial inactivation. Biofilm recovery occurred when disinfection stopped. Monochloramine showed greater penetration compared to chlorine. Monochloramine penetrated into the biofilm surface layer 49 times faster than chlorine within the nitrifying biofilm and 39 times faster in the multi-species biofilm than did chlorine. Phosphate was found to act positively on biofilm development and nitrification in the long term. Phosphate microprofiles showed that phosphate contents in the biofilm was independent on the nitrifying activity.

from https/etd.ohiolink.edu/rws_etd/document/get/ucin1258489526/inline
 
And read here- Effect of free ammonia concentration on monochloramine penetration within a nitrifying biofilm and its effect on activity, viability, and recovery where you will read this:

 
Under both monochloramine application conditions, monochloramine fully penetrated into the nitrifying biofilm within 24 h. Despite this complete monochloramine penetration, complete viability loss did not occur, and both biofilm samples subsequently recovered aerobic activity when fed only free ammonia.

from http/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22192761
 
That said, in general it is better to be safe than sorry. But your fish and shrimp are more at risk from chlorine and chloramine than your bacteria.

 

[Gruntle]

I don't use carbon because it costs too much to maintain its effectiveness. If I were ever to medicate my fish I'd consider it.
 
I have bioballs, ceramic rings, sponges and live plants.