Why no carbon?

[Elvis]

It seems that many do not run their filters with the carbon installed. Some even remove all the filter media.

 

What is the concern with using carbon?

[Asterix]

Some people say it strips certain trace elements from the water...Then some people say it does not...I personaly think it might strip out some TE's, But that doesnt stop me from running it..I love carbon, even if it does strip out my TE's, My water is always SOOOO clear...And if your doing weekly water changes (I do a 5 Gallon change on a 29 G tank everyweek) then you wont have anything to worry about IMO... If you want to be on the safe side, Run half the recomended ammount

[tyoberg]

I don't really believe carbon does much to trace elements. Many believe that mechanical filtration strips the water of planktonic life which your corals use for food.

 

There's a couple 3-4 articles in the library at reefcentral if you're interested. They all advocate periodic use of carbon.

 

Ty

[HuBu]

i personally dont run any of those in my tank and my water is clear without any problems. the reason most ppl take out the media is because bacteria will grow in it and it will compete with your LR/LS for food.

 

by people saying that those carbon would remove trace elements. i believe thats false since the carbon you are buying is really graphite (C8)...graphite is very stable so it would be imposibble for it to bond with any of the trace elements since you would need carbon ions inorder to bond.

[Sahin]

I use carbon periodically.

 

Just one of those things that isnt clear cut, you read up and decide.

[NaNO ReeFiN]

The only time I use carbon is a day before doing a 15% water change...