Why We Use Carbon Filter ??

[dark126]

In My Reef Tank I Stop Use The Acitvated Carbon I Think It Remove The Important Element From Water AND MY FISH BECOME SICK SOME WHIT SPOT I SEE.Is It Right Please Correct ME. THANK

[geekdafied]

skimmers pull a heck of alot more elements from the water then activated carbon. The downside to activated carbon is once it stops working, it starts leeching everything back in the water. I have always used activated carbon and have never had any problems with, but I do change it regularly.

[dark126]

So If You Dont Use It Whats The Different .rather Than Sucking The Smill And The Chlore. Is It Must???????????????

[geekdafied]

lots and lots of water changes. If you run a filter with activated carbon, and dose and test your tank properly, that means less water changes.

[coral reefer]

I agree to a certain extent with what Geekdafied has stated, however, i will attempt to expand on this important matter!
First of all, with the addition and continual use of carbon, I would DEFINITELY CONTINUE water changes on a weekly or bio weekly basis! Anthony Calfo so beautifully stated " Dilution is the solution to pollution" with regards to water changes and the importance of it!! You don't get that with using carbon soley! Also, you can't dose all the trace elements and salts found in synthetic salt required by corals, inverts and fish etc. for their success. These get depleted rather quickly through livestock respiration, skimmers, photosynthesis and carbon supplementation.
Having said this, dosing with carbon, for say a few days, on a regular schedule then removing it for a couple weeks or so, will help to remove DOM, and turbidity along with your skimmer. Gelbstoff(yellowing tinge to your water), film at the top of your water etc. need to be removed to increase and ensure that desireable amounts of light are reaching your corals etc. below! You also ensure that contaminants adsorbed by the carbon aren't being leached(added) back to into the pelagic area of your tank as Geekdafied pointed out!
I believe that their is a fine line between the amount and duration of carbon being used. I also strongly feel that carbon and regular water changes frequently will go along way in keeping your water pristine and your livestock healthy and thriving!

[Tangster]

Any of you guys ever do a yellow water test on these tanks ? I use carbon 24/7 always have always will Carbon is the single best filtration media a system can use . Study after study has proved if it carbon will have little if any effect on the element. If its not soluble then it will pull it out and thats fine also we can add them as needed .. As it readily removes and hold DOC's from the water

I had the same discussion several yrs ago with a very well know and published aquarium expert! who that that time touted no carbon no skimmer and filtration as the newly invented DSB with its magic sand would perform and the necessary filtration 100% and the natural way.
B/S he had every excuse there was for the continuing almost timed tank failures (: the last one was a build up of elements and metals with in the rocks and sand LOL You think and to think carbon would have stopped this LOL 4. 0z's or 1/2 cup per 100 gallon and change it at 6 to 8 week will only have beneficial effects upon your tanks and if you use a refugium you best have the carbon in place..

[geekdafied]

Even the so called "experts" are wrong from time to time.

[geekdafied]

What I dont like about these "experts" is they will have a "finding" in one of their systems and write a book about it and everyone who reads will go along with it because they are an "expert". What happens in my tank with how I have things setup, if you try to mimic it but have only one varible off, you can have a totally different outcome then what I had in mine. This goes along with the "opinions are like buttholes" because everybodies tank is different in someway.

[geekdafied]

just add something.... Someone will do what the "experts" said to do, but will not have the desired effect, and think they have something wrong, or their not doing it right because they listened to an expert.

[JediReefer]

I stopped using AC when seachem came out with purigen. Way better than AC IMO. It can be regenerated basically until the bag breaks, but i usually replace it after about 5 times.