# Eheim Karbon or Eheim Aktiv?



## akbar19942k10 (4 Mar 2013)

Hi All,

I'm planning on setting up a 30cm optiwhite cube with an aquascape much like George Farmer's "Little Mountain". For the start up I'll be requiring some absorbative filtration for my Eheim 2324 as i will be using ADA Aqua Soil which produces quite a bit of ammonia in the initial stage. I wanted to know what is the difference between the two other than pricing and which is the most effective.
Looking to use 2L of the stuff and a fine filter pad for the top basket and just coarse filter sponges for the bottom basket (coz I think the eheim mech isn't effective for filtering large debris) for the first 4 weeks to remove the impurities in the initial setup. And the I'll be replacing the carbon media with the Substrat Pro for biological filteration added to the biological/mechanical filtering of the coarse sponges.
The Karbon happens to be the cheapest as it costs under £10 and the Aktiv is around £24 both prices are for 2L. 

What are your views people?


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## ceg4048 (5 Mar 2013)

Hello,
	   As far as I can tell by the marketing information, the Aktiv carries it's premium price because it is supposedly an acid rinsed activated carbon. Acid washing is done to remove organic material from the coal. In real life, it could actually be that they are both acid washed but that only the Activ is _marketed_ as being acid washed to command a higher price. Reefers would prefer to use an acid washed product because the organic material is said to possibly leech out into the water column, and these organic materials, like any organics contain PO4. For a freshwater tank, we really do not care, so there is little need to spend over double the money. In fact I wouldn't even bother buying Eheim media at all because it's overpriced and is no better than any of the cheaper branded activated carbon.

Also, there is actually no need to replace the carbon. This is another marketing trick. Activated carbon has an extremely high surface area comparable to or even exceeding the surface area of sintered ceramic media, so you will be paying twice for very little gain. Substrat Pro itself is overpriced and is no better than cheaper ceramic media.

Activated carbon is always marketed as being a temporary installation because, supposedly, the contaminants that adsorbs to the surface leeches back into the water. In realitythe surface of the carbon becomes populated with nitrifying bacteria in exactly the same manner as that of the Substrat Pro (or any media). The bacteria then simply metabolize the molecules that have adsorbed to the surface of the carbon.

A better product to use would be Fluval Zeo-Carb because zeolite directly adsorbs ammonium. Again, the ammonium is adsorbed by the zeolite and the bacteria that colonize the surface feed off the ammonium, so there is no need to replace it.

Cheers,


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## akbar19942k10 (5 Mar 2013)

Hmmm...true but that leaves me with a 2l box of substrat pro which Terry at wholesale tropicals threw in when I bought a eheim 2217 off him for my juwel vision 180 which I ain't using and a basket full of the stuff which came with with the 2324 inside it. I've been reading up on the forum and it seems that Alfagrog seems to be the best way for going about biological filter media, with it's high surface area for colonizing bacteria and great flow rates. So I might sell or keep aside the substrat pro and use Alfagrog instead. For the bottom basket for mechanical filtering I'll be using a filler such as ehfifix and coarse sponges. Oh yea I also have a 2l box of mech pro lying around that I won't be using....might end up selling that too.


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## dw1305 (5 Mar 2013)

Hi all,


akbar19942k10 said:


> 2l box of substrat pro


Use it, it is good stuff, and it looks like coco-pops what more could you want?. Alfagrog or ceramic rings are good as well, but much, much cheaper to buy.


akbar19942k10 said:


> I've been reading up on the forum and it seems that Alfagrog seems to be the best way for going about biological filter media, with it's high surface area for colonizing bacteria and great flow rates


 Flow is the important thing, you want high flow rates through the media so the water remains oxygenated in the filter. Personally I like a pre-filter sponge for ease of cleaning, and then 1/2 fill the filter with rings, alfagrog, substrat pro, floating cell media etc. it really doesn't matter. Oxygen and a large plant mass are the keys to biological filtration, and you can largely ignore everything else.

cheers Darrel


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## Ian Holdich (5 Mar 2013)

Regarding the carbon thing, when they say leeching back into the water column, isn't this only at extreme ph swings? Thos we don't really see in an aquarium?


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## akbar19942k10 (5 Mar 2013)

Wish I looked into the zeocarb earlier...wouldn't be regretting it so much coz I just bought 2l of Karbon off ebay. Yay me -.-


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## ceg4048 (6 Mar 2013)

Hi,
   Well as Darrel mentions, just use whatever you have without regret. Assuming this is going to be a CO2 injected tank, you will need to do frequent large water changes to keep the tank clean. That will automatically take care of the issues. There are plenty of things to worry about in a planted tank, but filter media is not one of them.

Cheers,


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## akbar19942k10 (7 Mar 2013)

Managed to return the eheim Karbon before it got dispatched in the post and ordered the fluval zeocarb.

Thanks a bunch ceg4048 for mentioning the stuff.


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## LondonDragon (7 Mar 2013)

I find no need to use any of this commercial stuff to be honest, I just have some ceramic rings and sponges in my filter that have been there since the day I bought it, never changed them, never will, just rinse and put back in the filter, there is no need to replace any of it.


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