Tactical Error Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 Happy Turkey Day! As I sit here on a day off staring at my tanks, I’m wondering- is adding carbon necessary in a low tech planted tank? ( I apologize for the treason I just committed, forgive me, I’m new to live plants in the last six months, and I may not know any better). I’m adding Easy Carbon daily, and Easy Green weekly, but is the carbon necessary? What role does it play in plant growth, and how is it beneficial? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 No, it's definitely not needed and can harm both plants and fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 agree, no need to add carbon all the time. it can cause more issues than it supposedly solves. easy carbon, or any other liquid carbon targeted for planted tanks is an algaecide on its best day, mostly does nothing, and in high doses is bad for the fish imo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 There are some types of algae you can basically only get rid of it with easy carbon (algecide) and for tanks that are covered with it, might be a good way to handle it. Among actually fixing issues with the tank it's a tool, like anything else. I have been keeping tanks for a while, over 5 years (probably longer), and I've only ever purchased 2-3 bottles. If you ever have stubborn algae, black beard or staghorn, it's something you can spot dose to fight off that stuff. Beyond that, everyone is right, not necessary at all, but it is helpful sometimes. On 11/24/2022 at 8:54 AM, Tactical Error said: What role does it play in plant growth, and how is it beneficial? The idea simply being, if you have algae fighting your plants, you can dose this stuff to fight off the algae (they then have access to more CO2). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 The name is misleading, it's an algaecide, which is extremely irritating if you get it on your skin. That fact alone makes me not want to expose my fish to it. It's also dangerous to some plants (cryps, vals, Madagascar lace, just to mention a few). I'd rather just admire the beauty and usefulness of the algea! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tactical Error Posted November 25, 2022 Author Share Posted November 25, 2022 Thanks all! You confirmed my suspicions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 On 11/24/2022 at 4:45 PM, JoeQ said: I'd rather just admire the beauty and usefulness of the algea! Agreed! I love how much you appreciate algae! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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