Is Carbon In The Filter Really Bad For Plants?

[catfish101]

I was reading an artical a few days ago about how having carbon in the filter will remove trace elements.
I this true? Would I be ok to just take it out?

 

[aaronnorth]

yes it does take trace out (as trace is made up of metals). Just put it in if you ever want to remove meds. After it becomes saturated it starts releasing all the metals it has collected back into the water anyway.

I cant remember the last time i used carbon.

 

[fishlover500]

I believe it does remove trace elements, but I think plants do okay with it anyways?
not 100% sure, I use carbon in my filter and it works okay with my live plant.

 

[aaronnorth]

it depends on plant, and lighting level.

If you have high light then this drives the plant to uptake more nutrients in which case it is bad if the plant doesnt get any trace elemnts - you will end up with algae due to the imbalance of nutrients.

 

[Renate]

it depends on plant, and lighting level.

If you have high light then this drives the plant to uptake more nutrients in which case it is bad if the plant doesnt get any trace elemnts - you will end up with algae due to the imbalance of nutrients.

Interesting info! I shall save this.

 

[jb12288]

well in that case, what do you use in your filter? i use 2 emperor 280's on my tank and the filter pad comes with activated carbon in them. should i just get filter floss and use that?

 

[Jim Curtis]

If youve been using it for more than a few weeks I wouldnt mess with it. The carbon becomes ineffective at removing the trace elements after a short period and will be as good as any other filter media. I have a 55 gallon with a Magnum 350 canister filter and a Whisper 40 HOB filter both using old carbon as the media and my plants are growing great. I also use a nutrifin c02 setup which is only rated for a 20 gal tank. Of course I do use the homemade mix with a double dose of yeast.

I do however have an alge problem...

 

[jb12288]

alright, well i havent set mine up yet because my substrate hasn't came in yet. So I guess I will just keep using my old filter media

 

[Dave Spencer]

If you are setting up a new tank then using carbon helps to remove ammonia, so is a help in fighting off early algae issues. Once it is depleted bacteria will colonize it and it will become filter media.

When I set up new tanks I also use Zeolite as well, as a second means of stripping out the ammonia. Making the carbon and Zeolite the last stage of your filtration means that a newly forming bacteria colony will have first dibs on the ammonia.

Anybody that makes the link between ammonia and an algae bloom will know why I use this method.

Dave.

 

[aaronnorth]

in my filters i use sponges & biomax - oh and a fine filter pad (polishing pad) to make the water clear no chemical filtration.

Yes i second using carbon for the first few weeks while the bacteria establish to avoid algae.

 

[catfish101]

yeah i figured it was a must in the first weeks but im way past that so next water change its coming out