Using activated charcoal in a filter

[Kerry]

Hi all

I'm busy building a filter for my pond, and have been googling round for tips & tricks. Several sources say you should use activated charcoal in your filter to get rid of chemical imbalances in the water. Others say activated charcoal is rather expensive and normal charcoal does just as good a job (but not the kind sold for bbq's as that has burning chemicals in it). Other sources say it's activated CARBON you need, and that activated charcoal isn't the same thing. And many sources don't mention charcoal for your filter at all.

So all this contradicting information has left me confused - I have a few questions:
1. Does adding charcoal to a filter make a very big difference to the quality of the water?
2. What should I be looking for: normal charcoal, activated charcoal, or activated carbon?
3. Where would I find this stuff? Is a gardening shop likely to sell it?

Thanks for any help anybody may be able to give!

 

[koiguy1969]

activated carbon is what you want if you should decide to utilize it. its by no means a neccessity. but it does absorb / nuetralize some impurities and tannins in your ponds water. i would combine it with zeolite if i used it. but like i said its totally uneccessary. a good biofilter will take care of things on its own. adding some beneficial bacteria will aid in hurrying up the colonizing of the filter.

 

[DrDave]

Activated carbon will remove tint in water. It has an amazing ability to clarify water into absolutely clear water. I have made it before, but it is best purchased at Walmart. Making it is a dirty process and unless you have a fireplace, airtight chamber and good hardwood to burn, you can't even get started. Then you have to grade it into grain size. That is where the real mess is. Unless you have a laboratory grade seine vibrator, with all the seines, this is difficult.
I have one for sale if you happen to be in the area.

 

[Kerry]

Thanks guys

So I'll look around for some activated carbon. If I find some then I'll add it to the filter; if not, or if it's too expensive, I'll leave it out. I can always add a layer later if I decide to...

 

[koiguy1969]

you can fill an old nylon stocking,mesh bag, or mesh planterwith it and put it somewhere with good water flow or movement...it doesnt have to be in the filter.

 

[Kerry]

Wow, I never thought of that KoiGuy - Thanks! I think that's what I'll do - I'll put it where the water flows back into the pond from the filter/pump.

 

[Spaceman]

I am kind of excited. This morning I can clearly see the top end of the home made carbon filter I made a week ago. The water is still highly colored, much lighter now.

 

[budgenator]

Activated Carbon and Activated Charcoal are the same thing, unscrupulous or ignorant dealer will sometimes sell Activated coal or Activated Coke as Activated Carbon. Technically coal and coke is predominately carbon after it is activated, but they are very inferior to Activated Charcoal or Carbon in function and are not consider equivalent in the trades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon

 

[PondMutt]

activated charcoal is good ,quite expensive , last summer i used some trickle towers using +cowboy+ charcoal .. [grill charcoal] , specified no additives . examination of product revealed actual bits of wood turned to charcoal .. imperative to insure no additive [ignition enhancers and the such ] , i liked the stuff in natural wood bits vice briquets ..one wonders on the equivalency .. cowboy grill charcoal to true activated charcoal .but activated charcoal is quite expensive and cowboy charcoal quite cheap.an experimental test yet to run . after the charcoal runs in the filter a good while and gets really loaded up with slum and stuff , remove it . beat it up in smaller bits ,plow it in the garden .. [refer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta

Indian Black earth ... all the good
it will do wonders for the garden beds

this is all experimental value yet to be proved both on the efficacy cowboy charcoal as filter media and the recycled spent slum loaded charcoal as a garden soil additive ...

 

[sissy]

First thing in my filters come spring is activated charcoal from a commercial water filter company and zeolite .I get 5 gallon buckets for dirt cheap .I have always used lava rock

 

[Spaceman]

I got a chemical test kit on 4/28/2017. pH was high at 8.3, ammonia was 0.25, no nitrite, nitrate at >0 ppm.
Color was still quite dark, like weak tea. A lot of algae made the water cloudy. As of today, the pH is down to 7.4, which I understand is OK for common goldfish. Ammonia is <0.25, no nitrite, Nitrate is still >5. Color is 3 on a scale of 0-10 with 10 being the starting color on 4/28/17. So I believe the carbon filter I made is working. So much improvement in color. As the cloudiness is clearing up, I can see the shelf in 14" of water now. So, things are progressing in the right direction for now. I bought two plants today. A blue water Iris and a Corkscrew Rush. I hope to find blue rush and dwarf cattail. That will have to wait until I get to a larger garden center. I don't like to be so long winded, but this is very exciting for me. I can actually see the fish much of the time now.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Activated charcoal typically becomes saturated and ineffective after about four (4) weeks and requires replacing.

 

[Faebinder]

Activated charcoal typically becomes saturated and ineffective after about four (4) weeks and requires replacing.

That has been my experience... Works amazing for the first couple of weeks and slowly after that the color returns to the water of the pond.