i no everyone says dont add carbon to the tank and i agree that you dont need it and i dont use it
but tonight i added some because i have some guest coming into town and wanted the tank to be EXTRA clear for them!
the tank water is clear but when you add the carbon you can just tell the difference in clairty
now i only did this for my guest who are comming to visit a week then im going to remove it from the tank but i guess my question would be is there anything eles out there that will give me crystal clear water like carbon does?

proper filtration.

an fx5
and two aquaclear 110's on a 135 tank
i think im good
the water is clear always but im just saying the carbon just gives it that little better edge in clairity.

Win wrote:


and the use of white filter wool, in my case.
With proper flowrate all stays very clear.

seachem purigen gives a sparkling look to the water its a lot more expensive than carbon but can be regenerated it also changes colour so you now when to change it.

purigen

pauly187 wrote:


Might have been a temorary solution to a permanent problem.
There is a theory that Activated carbon releases carbon particals in the water that irritates the sensory pits in an Oscars head and laterial line.
I removed all my carbon and my Oscar is still battling HITH even though my water is as perfect as I can keep it.

sorry if i misunderstand? why are you adding something to a tank becuase a guest is coming? your tank should be the best it can be 24/7 365 days a year,
now are you adding something that may not be beneficial for your fish, for??
if you wouldn't use it normally then i certainly wouldn't be adding something to please someone for 7 days, as i said apology if i have got the wrong end of the stick

Eric J.Twk. wrote:



thats wierd, because ive always used carbon, and ive never had hith on any of my fish, and i got 3 oscars now.

I'm not completely sold on the carbon theory ither but I've always maintained my tank and fed my Oscar everything under the sun (which is quite a lot accually).
And he still developed HITH about 4 months ago. I'm now leaning toward certain minerals such as calcium that occur naturally in nature being removed in the purification process in our area. I know they probably filter the h3ll out of it because our ground water probably contains a lot of salt from the Gulf. What do you think about the mineral content of tap water.

our water out here is "community water" which is from the ground. its basically well water.

That's great;I'm only 5 min from the Gulf of Mexico and we also have well water but I would imagine quite filtered and chlorinated.

wow guess i pissed ppl off or somthing but the tank is at its best 24/7
water is always perfect
im talking about clairity of the water
with my filters im running the water does stay clear but i only run the sponge inserts and bio max in all my filter and thats it cause thats what i have read on here to do and that is all you need anyway and i agree. but seence i have visitors i added a bit of carbon just to get that EXTRA little sparkel cause if any of you are running just sponge and bio max like me knows the water stays clear but carbon just gives it that little extra you no.
im taking it out in a weeks time. not leaving it.
alot of ppl say dont add it and i agree not to add it but for reasons of my own MONEY!!
not the fact that ppl say it will leek the toxins back into the tank. if that was the case of it leeking toxins back into the tank then i think that would make the carbon re-usable? no?