how important is carbon

[Actnatural]

I haven't ran carbon in my tank since I wised up and ditched my old hang on back filters about a year ago.

what am I missing out on?

does brand matter?

[Frogmanx82]

Carbon isn't a big issue and most people don't run it continuously. It a great filter when you have have issues and need some quick clean up or to remove medication. I don't think the brand makes that much of a difference. Its really according to what you are trying to accomplish.

[asylumdown]

There was an article some months back that linked activated carbon to the occurrence of head and lateral line erosion disease (HLLE) in tangs. The study found that even tangs that showed no visible symptoms had microscopic deterioration of the tissue along their lateral lines when kept in aquariums with carbon, while tangs that were kept without carbon had no signs, even at the microscopic level.

Mind you, this was only one study, but it made quite a splash when it came out. The authors suggested that the primary culprit was microscopic carbon dust that was dislodged from the media and spread throughout the water, so they suggested buying the highest grade carbon that produces the least amount of dust possible, has been thoroughly rinsed, and then running it in a filter or reactor that doesn't agitate it at all.

Also, some brands of carbon are made from plant material that can be loaded with phosphates which leach in to the water, while other brands are supposedly 'phosphate free'. I've personally experienced the effects of cheap carbon in a freshwater aquarium:

This photo was taken of a stable, 2 year old planted fresh water tank. I took it on a Friday right before i did a small water change and replaced the carbon in the filter with a much cheaper brand. The tank was in my old office and it was a long weekend.


This is what it looked like when I came back in on the Tuesday. It took weeks to get it back to normal. Thankfully the Discus survived.






I would recommend buying the best carbon you can if you're going to run it.

[asylumdown]

Found the article:

http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/cont...king-gun-found

Take it for what it's worth. I think carbon still has it's place in marine aquariums as it's very good at doing what it's designed to do, but like anything should be used with full knowledge of any possible risks.

[mike&kel]

I run my carbon in a flow thru reactor. But have it on a ball valve and only run it overnight once a week. It clears the water up and isn't too much to damage the tangs. Lots of good info if you look at bulkreefsupply on YouTube. Good info