Activated Carbon: Yea or nay? Why?

[no_Wedge]

it does help on smell and maybe some on clarity, but mainly the organic compounds which contribute to smell.

 

[SS21CA]

When I had a full tank of fish, w/o activated carbon the water would yellow and have slight odor. It makes a world of difference. I did have a high amount of bio load at that time, but even now that I have less fish, the water is more clear. From side to side if you look through the tank it is crystal clear. a must IMO.

Throw it in the sump, replace it every few months.

 

[thebanker]

Re: Activated Carbon: Yea or nay? Why?

It seems to me that the more diligent you are with water changes, the less you need activated carbon. (not to mention every other method of filtration out there)

If you're like me, and do water changes sporadically at best, it's probably better to have it than not. It's like - if you shower 3 times a day, you may not need deodorant.

 

[thebanker]

Re: Activated Carbon: Yea or nay? Why?

I do not believe the model using an easily bound dye is at all comparable to a real experiment measuring DOC.

+1 on that. With the myriad of DOC's in our tanks, a single organic dye is not the best comparison to use. Hey at least we have some evidence to boost the pro-carbon argument.

 

[anj1204]

IMO if you have a mixed reef you should run carbon. The carbon helps filter out the toxins that can be released by various corals. I run it in a bags in my sump.

 

[onetrickpony]

Advanced aquarist has some great articles on the use of GAC
Boomer has some great information in his posts on GAC
Boomer and Randy are great resources
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/search?SearchableText=gac

 

[spamreefnew]

24/7 because i think it helps with chemical warfare . toadstools vs sps

 

[tjmarty]

I run mine in HOB filter in a media bag for right now,in a 55gal doing a 75 gal build , and already have a reactor for the carbon. You never know what and when a toxin can enter your system, it can come in on your hands ,or something could get droped into the tank or the sump, you just never know!

 

[OoooDRAGONoooo]

Hi,i have been using it for 6 months,I have just stopped,because I'm concerned about my high nitrate readings.,also I just discovered on the packet of carbon I use ,it says freshwater use only.so is it leaching phosphate ,I don't know.im going to dose vodka to get it down .wish me luck!

 

[KRBNSOL]

bag in sump - but would like to move to a reactor

 

[Zacktosterone]

I'm on 2 weeks of carbon after 4 months off. My skimmer is only pulling out about 1/3 the amount of skimmate it was before. In my opinion, that's hard evidence that the carbon is reducing organic material in the water.

Also I started running a sponge filter to remove particulate matter in the water, which may skew the outcome a bit.

So isn't that not hard evidence then?

 

[thebanker]

With all the processes going on in these tanks, it's hard to say for sure if event A was linked to Event B.

FWIW, I still run carbon off and on.

 

[tmz]

I've run my system with rox carbon from BRs for many years. I like the rox because it has little dust and reequires jsut a brief rinse and since it's denser than most it doesn't grind up easily and doesn't put fines in the water. I use about 20 ounces for 650 gallons a water volume which is about a quarter of the generally recommended amount and change it every 2 to 3 weeks

 

[kinnadian]

Funny how this 5 year old thread has started up and people are just replying as usual.

Is cheap carbon bad? I've read that the processes used to capture cheap carbon are really nasty, like repurposed coal waste etc.

 

[tmz]

It can be. A major brand put out as reef carbon nice large convenient pellets that actually had pore size rated for air and wasn't an aqueous carbon. That won' hurt anything but it wont work well in reef tanks either. The bad part is that batches of this then popular brand were put out with heavy metals picked up in the processing. The manufacturer had changed suppliers without telling anyone of course. Many tanks tragically crashed.

 

[Isaacs55]

So it seems a lot of people agree on using it. My question is, if it's better to use it in a reactor or a filter bag in a high flow area of the sump?

 

[tmz]

Anywhere you can get a good flow of water to pass through it. I use a reactor for some and an old cansister filter for some. In a pinch a loosely packed fine mesh bag in a high flow area will do.

 

[Buzz1329]

Thanks, OoooDRAGONoooo, for resurrecting this thread.

Interesting reading.

FWIW, I have used GAC in every tank I have run. Currently using BRS ROX in separate reactors in both my tanks.

Mike

 

[trueperc]

I have been using carbon in a reactor for years. There was even just a recent bulkreef supplies video showing how the yellowing water can reduce par. I always loved the look of the water with carbon. I have always understood though that is gets used up quickly so I have always been under the impression use smaller amounts and change regularly. What about mixing different carbons of different sizes?

 

[laga77]

There really isn`t a reason not to use it. I use it in a reactor, pellets I get from Ebay. After rinsing, add a little filter floss to the top of the rector and control the flow so there is no tumbling. About 2 cups worth on my 120G and half that on my 50G, changed monthly.