# Planted Tank and Activated Carbon...



## Brett_Fishman

Should you use Activated Carbon in a planted tank or not? and why?

:shock:


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## Fishboy93

I think i have a carbon in my filter and it doesnt hurt my plants..


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## slidewaysL28E

Activated Carbon IMO is useless anyway, although it won't harm anything it will become dead within a few days after exposure. I know that it can take out medications from the water but, im not sure if it'll do the same to ferts, doubt it though. So if you have it use it otherwise don't waste your money on it.


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## DavidDoyle

Do not use carbon in a planted tank as it removes certain things plants need to be their healthiest.


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## mlefev

I have carbon and plants. it doesn't seem to bother the plants any.


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## Damon

Carbon removes trace elements from the water column. Low light plants won't be affected by this but more difficult species can starve.


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## Alin10123

Simpte said:


> Carbon removes trace elements from the water column. Low light plants won't be affected by this but more difficult species can starve.


I have one of those filters that came in the walmart aquarium kit. 
I can't seem to keep any of my plants alive. They all seem to stay alive and green for a maximum of maybe a couple of months. Then after that they slowly start to brown and yellow until the leaves are dead and no new ones ever grow back. I usually only buy plants from the LFS and I even bought a plant bulb to replace the bulb that came with the tank. I also use "flourish" once every 2 weeks as instructed on the bottle. 

Can it be possible that the carbon that is inside the cartridges in the filter is starving the plants? The only plant that has seemed to survive so far for the longest is an onion looking plant. Most of the plants in my tank are from the "easy to care" list. 
Could i be doing something wrong here?


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## Damon

After the carbon is used up (a week to months depending on quality and water minerals), it will turn into a nice place for the beneficial bacteria. I use a small layer of carbon over a dusting of peat when setting up newly planted tanks with no biological bacteria established yet.


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## Alin10123

Simpte said:


> After the carbon is used up (a week to months depending on quality and water minerals), it will turn into a nice place for the beneficial bacteria. I use a small layer of carbon over a dusting of peat when setting up newly planted tanks with no biological bacteria established yet.


But, could it be causing my plant leaves to yellow and die even though i have a plant light and fertilizer?


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## Damon

If I had to guess without any info, I would say you are lacking light. What type of plants and how much light is over the tank?


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## Mr Fish

You prob need MINIMUM 2watts/gallon, even for easy plants live Java ferns and stuff. I've had some success with 260 watts for my 125 gallon but I have to pick the plants right.

Dumb question: What does activated carbon do for an aquarium, anyway? What stuff does it remove?


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## Fishboy93

I have two questions:

What does peat do to the aquarium?

Can i keep pygmy chain sword if i have 2.3-2.5 wpg?? Thanks


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## Alin10123

Simpte said:


> If I had to guess without any info, I would say you are lacking light. What type of plants and how much light is over the tank?


I'm not sure of the types of plants. Most are readily available in the LFS and in the "easy to care for" section.
The plant i have is a standard plant light. 
It's called an "aqua-glow" that i bought at the LFS as well. It's 20 watts. But i think for the size of my hood, 20 watts is all that particular bulb comes in. Does it come in more? Can my hood take it without catching in fire? 

So you're saying that i need at least 60 watts?


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## Mr Fish

60 at a bare minimum if you have a really good substrate. (Right?) I'm sure others will tell you that they'd have 100 to 150 for your 29 gallon if you really want them to take off. Lighting can be one of the most expensive parts of the aquarium, I think.


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## Damon

Fishboy93 said:


> I have two questions:
> 
> What does peat do to the aquarium?
> 
> Can i keep pygmy chain sword if i have 2.3-2.5 wpg?? Thanks


A thin dusting of peat will provide a basis for bacteria to develop. 
Yes you can.

For a 29 gallon tank I would have no less than 40 watts for a low tech planted tank. 54/55 Would be better


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## Alin10123

Simpte said:


> A thin dusting of peat will provide a basis for bacteria to develop.
> Yes you can.
> 
> For a 29 gallon tank I would have no less than 40 watts for a low tech planted tank. 54/55 Would be better


OK... 40 watts...
Does that have to be a special plant light? Or any regular flourescent bulb that's 40 watts would do? Also, if i all of the sudden jump up my wattage on my bulb 2x or close to 3x, will the stock transformer and stock light fixture be able to take it?

thanks


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## Fishboy93

I have 65 watts.. so can i keep pygmy chain sword??


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## MyraVan

Simpte wrote:

"For a 29 gallon tank I would have no less than 40 watts for a low tech planted tank. 54/55 Would be better"

I agree with this 100%. 

Mr Fish wrote:

"You prob need MINIMUM 2watts/gallon, even for easy plants live Java ferns and stuff. "

No, this is definitely not the case. I have a nice 20 gallon tank with 30W of light, and the Java ferns are looking really good. They don't grow very fast, but that's Java fern for you. It's also growing successfully crypts, anubias, dwarf sag, twisted vallis, and one Echinodorus ozelet.

As for which bulb to choose, most of the aquarium specific bulbs work well. I once bought a normal, very cheap bulb that was the same size as an aquarium-specific bulb, but was much dimmer. Things to avoid:
* actinic, which is sort of dim and blue 
* Interpet's "beauty light" which is more for enhancing the color of your fish than providing lots of light that your fish can use
* one that says its primary purpuse is in a marine tank

Ones that are good are:
* any aquarium specific daylight bulb
* Triton bulbs
* any bulb from a reputable company (Arcadia, Hagen, Interpet) that says that it promotes phtosynthesis

About pygmy chain sword: assuming this is the same a E. tenellus, I didn't have much luck growing it in my 2.4 WPG tank which is successfully growing other kinds of sowrds. It isn't dead yet, but it doesn't seem to be growing.


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## euRasian32

Mr Fish said:


> Dumb question: What does activated carbon do for an aquarium, anyway? What stuff does it remove?


I can partially answer this, and there's no such thing as a dumb question... Activated Carbon absorbs odors in the aquarium. With it being very porous, it also absorbs organic compounds and large ions (iodide).

Carbon shouldn't be used with specific fish also, including arowana and some cichlids, especially Oscars.



Fishboy93 said:


> What does peat do to the aquarium?


Peat is used to soften and acidify aquarium water. Some peat products can leech nitrates, so check nitrates regularly when using peat. Peat can also produce brown water, unsightly for the aquarist but ideal for some fish when trying to mimick their natural waters.

C


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## Damon

euRasian32 said:


> Peat is used to soften and acidify aquarium water. Some peat products can leech nitrates, so check nitrates regularly when using peat. Peat can also produce brown water, unsightly for the aquarist but ideal for some fish when trying to mimick their natural waters.
> 
> C


Those are tannins...................

"Tannins are astringent, bitter-tasting plant polyphenols that bind and precipitate proteins. The term tannin (from the Celtic word for oak) refers to the source of tannins used in tanning animal hides into leather; however, the term is applied to any large polyphenolic compound containing sufficient hydroxyls and other suitable groups (such as carboxyls) to form strong complexes with proteins and other macromolecules. Tannins have molecular weights ranging from 500 to over 20,000."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin


In short, they color the water and lower the ph due to the acidic nature.


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## DakotaWinds

*lighting-activated carbon*

HI all,

I have been using activated carbon ever since I can remember and have had no ill affects from it. I have a 29 gal aquarium with 36 watts of lighting on it and the plants grow like weeds and fast and sometimes so does the algae. So what might work for one may not for another, who knows, but as I said, I am doing very well with what I have. My lighting is a double strip T5 florescent lighting.

The fish are healthy, the plants are growing and the carbon does not hurt as far as I can see.

Just my thoughts on this,

Ivan


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