what are the benefits of activated carbon

[reiko1078]

i treated my tank for flatworms the other day and it took a toll on my zoos. the flatwrm exit box said to run some activated carbon to get rid of some of the toxins that the worm release when they die. what exactly does the carbon do and is it beneficial to run it all the time?

oh and just to make sure im doin it right i have a ten gal w hang on filter full of LR rubble . can i just stick a mesh bag-o-carbon in with the rubble and let the water run through it?

 

[bertoni]

The goal of the carbon was to bind the toxins from the flatworms, so that animals in the tank wouldn't get poisoned. Carbon will bind various organic compounds, primarily, and is fine to use all the time. I do, as do many others.

Carbon should be run in some way that forces water through it. A canister filter or a small HOB filter are common approaches. I use a PhosBan reactor.

 

[lesages]

I remember reading an article somewhere that tested various brands of carbon. I don't remember the exact results but they found that it worked better with slower-flow devices like reactors as oppsed to higher-flow canisters. Also, round and pelletized grains performed worse than grains with unfinished "random" edges.