Feb 11
16

Does activated carbon absorb aquatic plant food?

2 Comments

charcoal and

I have two species of aquatic plants in a forty liter tank.  One type is a broad leaf plant that I would like to know the name of.  The other type is pondweed (elodea).  I use liquid Aqua Master aquatic plant food.  Should I stop using activated charcoal in case it absorbs the aquatic plant food?

Tags: , ,

This entry was posted on February 16, 2011 at 11:09 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Aquatic Plants by Pond Manager 2 Comments

2 Responses to "Does activated carbon absorb aquatic plant food?"

  • lakea_shea says:
    August 24, 2010 at 12:40 pm
    Reply

    I have used plant fert with carbon filters for a long time with not problem. Plants eat nitrates and phosphates which they will get from the ‘plant food’. So when you have fish in there they will help to feed the plants. Are you worried about them wilting? Or do they already show signs? Along with ferts you also need to have good lighting.

  • Dan V says:
    August 24, 2010 at 12:40 pm
    Reply

    Yes, the carbon will adsorb the plant food.

    Carbon filtration isn’t something you really need all the time anyway. Unless there is something specific that you are trying to remove, it’s pretty much a waste of time and money.

Leave a Comment