Drew 43920

How important is charcoal in the filter in a neon tetra tank ?
I have read that Neons prefer darkish water (driftwood/tannic ?) and charcoal removes it .

Drew

soldieroffortune1974

Charcoal removes it,and if you want to have tannins in the water,you have to remove charcoal.I personally love the look of 'tea' water.

It's not important to have charcoal media in any aquarium.The purpose of the charcoal is to act like a magnet,to 'remove' ammonia,nitrites,nitrates,meds,discoloration,cloud y water,etc etc.

I do not use ANY charcoal in the any aquariums I have established. I use charcoal (in a HOB filter) to remove meds from the water in my quarantine aquariums.

Drew 43920

What material can I use to make my own charcoal-less foam filters for a HOB, Penguin 170 Bio-Wheel ?
TIA
Drew

soldieroffortune1974

Drew

Check out this thread about filter media:
Filter Media

I use those green Scotch brand scrubbing pads,they are excellent and last almost forever.(WITHOUT cleansers)

angelfish220

I have 2 penguin 200s and I just cut open one side and take the charcoal out and use whats left