Is charcoal really necessary?!

Question
Hi Karen,
How have you been? It's been awhile, by the way have you looked at your ratings?!! You are straight 10's!! Wow!!
I  recently upgraded to a legal. tank from a along. It's been  5 days now and everything seems to be doing great. My question is about Charcoal in the filters, I"ve read that it is not necessary unless the water has a odor or if it's cloudy.. what do think about this.. I've always used charcoal in all my tanks, also, If the answer is YES! how long should I go before changing it? I usually go a month, is that too long? how do I know the toxins are being re-released back in into the water?

                              Best Regards, TSL/NYC

Answer
Dear TSL,
It has certainly been awhile, good to hear from you again!

I tend to use very little, if any, charcoal in my aquarium filters. I much prefer to rely on frequent and large water changes to keep my fishes water clean and fresh. Charcoal carbon is very helpful say if you have driftwood in your aquarium that is leaching tannins which turns your water a tea-stained color, carbon easily removes these tannins. And of course it does remove odors and other discolorations. Charcoal is also excellent for removing medication residue after treatment.

It's fine to use charcoal, just as an extra prevenative in case of water pollution. But as you know, water changes are the best and most reliable by far!

The time of length to go before changing your charcoal pretty much depends on your stocking level. A lightly stocked and lightly fed tank could go about 1 month or 2 before the carbon is changed. Where a heavily populated or highly fed aquarium may be best with carbon changes of every 2-4 weeks.

Really the best thing to go by is the quality of your water and the health of your fish. If your water quality is good and the water clean and nice smelling and your fish are colorful and thriving, then your current carbon changing schedule is excellent.  Often when your carbon is used up it will leach substances into the water often causing more odors and discolorations.

I really hope this helps!

Best wishes as always, I must say I am embarressed at your nice comments! Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!
Karen~