Is there an alternative for activated carbon in an aquarium? I have an 80 gallon tank and go through a lot of carbon.

why are you going through so much? what type of filter do you have? what kind of fish? how often are you changing the carbon?

Alternative in what way? What is the use you wish to get from the carbon? In removing excess chemicals of all sorts in the water, nothing works as well as carbon.

You dont even need carbon, it absorbs medacation and it can alos do more stuff but all i know is it you dont need it.

i have heard that many people dont keep carbon in their tank unless they are trying to remove medications, but there are other things it will remove. the way i look at it is: does it hurt to have it? no. could it hurt if i dont have it in there? yes. so i use it.

I have an 80 gallon tank with 2 large goldfish. It isn't that I'm going through a lot of it, but I have had the tank for several years and over that amount of time have spent a lot of money on carbon. Much more money than anything else. I am just curious what peoples experience is without using it.

I understand it is for chemical filtration and keeping the water clear, but with two large goldfish I don't think anything will really keep the water clear. Plus, I'm more concerned with keeping healthy fish, than crystal water.

What kind of media are people using in their filters?

I currently use a Fluval 404 with the sponges that came with it, ceramic disks, and carbon.

For what it's worth, I use carbon in my tanks.