activated carbon

[Acolin]

where is the cheapest palce to buy carbon? has the club ever gone in on a bulk purchase?

 

[markandkristen]

i buy mine at walmart. looks like black diamond. been told its very comparable. get a quart size for 5 and some change. and the lfs its over 10

 

[robthorn]

bituminous carbon looks like just that and lignite looks like lignite. the only ones that look different are shaped to look different and normally do not work as well. well coconutcarbon looks different also.there are however differences in how they perform and what they release into the water.
black diamond is a pretty good carbon and can be found on sale at alot of online vendors for around $14 for 3.65L plus shipping. if you buy other things sometimes you can get free shipping. according to one study I have seen super activated carbon pulled out the most colors and I think hydro carbon 2 from 2 little fishies was pretty close behind. black diamond, esv and seachem were not far behind.
I think the study was on about.com but not sure anymore. as always if I find the 2 articles I will post them.
I guess what I am saying is cheap carbon is very likely cheap carbon.

 

[robthorn]

actually the more I think about it the more I think I remember calgon carbon may have been the leader and I have been trying to find the article but the internet is not what it once was and the things that matter anymore are deeply buried with crap.

 

[Acolin]

the walmart stuff is cheap, but it is not Black Diamond.

A search of Reef Central shows articles with tests of activated carbon (AC) effectiveness. The tests place SeaChem Labs Matrix in first place for effectiveness with Marineland Black Diamond in second place. But are they worth the price?

Using EBay and Froogle, I just examined the prices of 30 ACs (6/3/2006). Cheaper brands were Marineland Diamond Blend (which is only ½ black carbon), generic Premium Activated Carbon Charcoal+Extras, Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Activated Carbon and Ammo-carb (1/2 blend), Pro Line Activated Carbon, generic “7 and 9 pounds carbon” on eBay, and Black Magic Super Activated. These ACs are all less than $.22 per ounce without shipping, except for the Premium Activated. This carbon comes in 400 ounces (25-lbs.) and ships in the US for $19, or $.12 per ounce!

The average size in the study was 91 ounces (5.5 lbs.) for an average of $26.55, or $.43 per ounce (without shipping).

Black Diamond is available online at That Fish Place for $14.99 in the 68-0unce size, or about 0.22 per ounce.

Who is using what ACs, how much per gallon and why?

 

[Acolin]

carbon search results

carbon search results

I did not find good prices for the SeaChem Matrix. The cheapest source of Black Diamond is That Fish Place online, at $14.99 for the 68-oz. size, or $.22/lb. without shipping.

Locally, generic AC is available at the new Life Oceanic in Apollo Beach. 64-0z for $12, or $.19/lb.

 

[robthorn]

actually that $14.99 for 68 ounces seems extremely high since I pay $13.99 for 123.43569999999998 ounces. plus shipping of course. big als or dr foster or someone will have black diamond on sale if you stock up like I do you can get a deal. I order 4 -5 at a time at least .
I use a bag full in my 265. bag is maybe 3 x 7 inches tall and it is run passively like it is supposed to be run in an aquarium. running direct water through it fills it too fast and makes it only good for a couple days use.
oh yeah a search on reef central is next to impossible these days on reef central so links are nice if you can search.
I did not find the other articles yet.

 

[Acolin]

nobody esle using carbon? skimmers only?

 

[ichthyman]

I did not find the other articles yet

Rob,

Do you mean the articles associated with this graph?

Granular Activated Carbon In The Reef Tank: Fact, Folklore And Its Effectiveness In Removing Gelbstoff â€"œ Part One

Granular Activated Carbon In The Reef Tank: Fact, Folklore And Its Effectiveness In Removing Gelbstoff â€"œ Part Two

 

[robthorn]

exactly john I was going to ask if you still had them I remember us discussing them before. thank you very much for bringing them out of the closet. the internet is so piled with junk you can't find anything worth a ..... <----- bad word

 

[david8956]

Originally posted by robthorn

.....and it is run passively like it is supposed to be run in an aquarium

From the last paragraph in part 2 of the articles John posted:

......Passive use of carbon, as well as circulation through high-volume power filters should be avoided.

I use a Phos Ban reactor fed by a MJ 400 turned way down for my carbon. Seems to work well this way.

 

[robthorn]

thats the way I ran it forever but been too busy and lazy to go back to it. I actually have the reactor hanging in the sump just not hooked up yet. I will tap off my main pump and use that without adding the nasty look of another pump.I guess passive was not the right word. I meant low flow. I guess passive would be away from most flow

 

[Acolin]

what great articles! In this chart, SeaChem and Hydrocarbon are higher cost per ounce, but also the best at removing color. The chart shows Little Fishies Hydrocarbon 2 is not only a third better at removing color than Marineland (assume it is Black Diamond), but at abut $.92 per ounce, it also costs about three times more!

Where does it say that color removal is an accurate measurement for DOC removal though?

 

[robthorn]

I don't think it does. we can only assume. we also don't know if we want it to remove more of what. just a study to show something to judge from.

 

[AJ69]

My skimmer is a HO(BP2) so my ? here is if I can have the AC on a bag in the "second" chamber.So that way water coming out of the skimmer in a not passive flow will be effective?
Thanks for the inputs.

 

[robthorn]

I would think that would work as long as plenty of water can get passed it if it clogs so you don't overflow the skimmer. also make sure the carbon isn't getting beat or it will crumble