What is the purpose of activated carbon in aquarium filters?

Question

Could someone please tell me what the real purpose of activated carbon in aquarium filters is? Does it remove ammonia?

Answer 1

Ghapy has your best answer.

however carbon does not only absorb trace elements but organics as well as inorganics like, metals, ammonia, nitrates/nitrites salts and verious chemicals from the water.

the reason carbon won't remove lots of ammonia. It's lifespan as was mentioned is about 2 weeks before it becomes useless. Depending on how many other compounds are in the tank like salts, nitrates/nitrites and various chemicals used to adjust algae, medicines etc the carbon quickly becomes clogged and useless. The padded coating will still remove the bulk waste but the carbon has seen its day. It becomes saturated with these unseen components. While it does remove the bad stuff, it also removes the good stuff.

That is not to say everyone should stop using carbon filters, they serve their purpose and especially for beginners.
Going carbonless as G mentioned is something seasoned fishkeepers already know.

Answer 2

Aquarium Carbon

Answer 3

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RE:
What is the purpose of activated carbon in aquarium filters?
Could someone please tell me what the real purpose of activated carbon in aquarium filters is? Does it remove ammonia?

Answer 4

Activated carbon is a coal or coal product that has been "cracked" by exposure to very rapid high heat. This causes far more microscopic fissures in the surface than with normal coal and charcoal products. The purpose of adding it to a filter is to remove dissolved materials from the water. Yes, it will absorb ammonia, but that's not it's primary function. You should rely on the beneficial bacteria in the tank to detoxify ammonia. Carbon will remove all types of organic material such as protiens from waste and uneaten food as well as trace amounts of medications that may be in the water. It will also remove some of the things you may want in your tank such as medications during treatment, tannins from peat or bog wood etc.

MM

Answer 5

The only reason I would use activated carbon is to remove any medications I might've put in the aquarium, its effectiveness doesn't last long and it's too expensive to use all the time.

Answer 6

Activated carbon has a lot of surface area and is good for absorbing many types of problematic compounds. It is also used when they pump peoples' stomachs to absorb any poisons they may have consumed. It removes (by adsorption) potentially toxic chemicals from the water or fish tanks, including ammonia, and purifies the water.

Answer 7

carbon essentially absorbs trace elements from the water. It won't remove much ammonia. It's lifespan is about 2-3 weeks before it becomes useless.

The biggest problem with carbon is that it can't differ between good and bad trace elements, and ends up removing good stuff too.

It's an old school media that really only needs to be used for specific purposes, and most fish keepers I know don't bother with it

Answer 8

It removes ammonia and will also remove medications. I like to use API's Ammo-Carb http://www.aquariumpharm.com/en_us/productCategory.asp?categoryname=Filtration
which is a combination of activated carbon (10-20%) and zeolites (80-90%) in my under gravel, power and corner filters. This combination works well for me.

Answer 9

Carbon removes all sorts of chemicals in the water: that's why the aquarium meds. tell you to take it out before you medicate.

Answer 10

It absorbs toxins, that's why we use it in medicine. It complexes with ammonia and sequesters it (gets it out of the water.) Zeolite does better, but is more expensive and therefore impractical.

While it does provide a good substrate for bacterial growth, that's not its primary purpose. This is why most large filters have carbon-based substrates you toss out and porous plastic substrates you keep- to give the beneficials a place to grow.