Carbon - Yes or No?

[sphelps]

I just hate using carbon because it's a PITA to clean and change out on a regular basis. If I can't automate something then it better be damn good for me to consider it. It's also an easy way of adding contaminants, these days you got to be really picky on the brand you use and even then a bad batch is still possible. Not much point using a product for long term tank health of 5+ years when it can wipe out the whole tank from one dose.

Water changes are you friend, carbon isn't going to eliminate all your build ups and ruling out certain organics as causes for long term failures may not be overly accurate either.

For water clarify, UV and ozone are other options. I use UV on and off, water clarity has never been an issue and I can't think of any risk involved in using it.