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Carbon&Iron...again
"A. Inniss" wrote:
> I hope this time our discussion of this subject will lead to some
>more definitive answers. Last time I got involved in this topic (about a
>year ago, I guess), I asked a lot of questions that never were answered to
>my satisfaction. At the time, I was sceptical of statements that carbon
>would remove trace elements, and I also had not seen a theory that would
>explain how such removal would take place. The experiential evidence I
>received in response convinced me that the removal was indeed taking
>place. What I would call reliable sources (including K. Randall), told me
>there was lots of evidence in both the terrestrial and aquatic plant world
>showing loss of iron in the presence of carbon.
Hold yer horses. I don't believe I ever would have said that. I have
heard the same claims that you have, but I have _no_ personal experience
with GAC removing iron, because I DON'T USE IT. As I've said any number of
times, I don't avoid it because of the possibility of trace element
depletion, but because I see no reason to spend money on a product I don't
need. My water is crystal clear, even in newly set up tanks.
I _do_ know that GAC will remove copper from my tap water, because I have
used it specifically for this purpose.
On the _very_ rare occassions that I feel the need to use carbon to remove
coloration from an aquarium, I do not hesitate to use it. But I find that
it has done it's job withing 24 hours or so, and I then remove it from the
tank.