Tested charcoal chunks vs. activated carbon for drainage, and the results were clear

2 comments

2 Comments

Oh man, "charcoal chunks vs. activated carbon" just made me remember my failed aquarium filter experiment from last year. I tried using some leftover grill charcoal in a pinch, rinsed it a bunch, but my water still got this weird cloudy film. My fish were not happy. Had to do a full tank reset and go buy the real stuff. It's wild how different they are even though they look similar.

kevin_bailey10d ago

Yikes, that's a perfect example of how "close enough" can really backfire. I see that all the time with stuff like using dish soap instead of proper car wash liquid. It seems like it should work, but it strips the wax right off. That cloudy film was probably oils and stuff from the charcoal that just wouldn't rinse out.