Carbon users, I have a Question...

kdblove_99

kdblove_99

New member
Those who use carbon.

Do you just run it all the time and change it after a few months or do you run it for a couple weeks, then stop for a few weeks etc?

Thanks,

Davey
 
I run it all the time in a rowaphos/carbon mixture to keep the Rowa in the reactor.
 
I run it all the time - but change it out every 2-3 weeks. In my experience if you ran it for a couple months, you are are really running the risk of it leeching back into the tank.

I run carbon in a PhosBan reactor chamber in succession with another Phosban chamber (running actual Phosban) so they share the same MJ pump. Bad water -> carbon -> phosban -> tank.
 
Last edited:
sorry for the hijack but which carbon is good to run? meaning brand wise. also, is there a such thing as running too much carbon in a tank?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10304991#post10304991 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrMikeB
I run it all the time - but change it out every 2-3 weeks. In my experience if you ran it for a couple months, you are are really running the risk of it leaching back into the tank.

I run carbon in a PhosBan reactor chamber in succession with another Phosban chamber (running actual Phosban) so they share the same MJ pump. Bad water -> carbon -> phosban -> tank.
Click to expand...

Mike is there a reason why you run carbon before the phoshate media? I had always heard the other way; that way the carbon would catch any left over phosphate media.
 
Pure price was my reasoning/rationale. I figured that the less I could clog up the phosban, the more use I would get out of it. Given I buy the carbon in 5 gallon buckets - it is much friendlier on the wallet to replace it regularly then the far more expensive bucket o' rust. So I filter the water input to the Phosban by having it filtered through the carbon first.

I have not done a detailed comparison to see if I am indeed getting more life out of the stuff with this approach, but it does seem as if I am not changing it so often. (typically I change the Phosban when the phosphates begin to climb again).
 
i use 1 cup per 100gal in a filter bag in my sump baffle and try to replace every 2-3weeks like mike.

edit: i use kents reef carbon
 
Cool. I change my Rowa every 4-6 weeks. I also change my carbon at that time.
 
Out of curiousity, sorry for hijacking...but could you mix the phosban media with carbon in the same reactor? Would there be any side affects doing so?

Jay
 
GREAT.... Thanks guys. I will prolly be buying a phos ban reactor now. I've just been running carbon and phos guard mix in the sump. All the time. I did some sump re arranging a couple weeks ago and left out the mix bag. Finnally yesterday I put a fresh bag back in there and holy cow what a difference in water clarity. Got home tonight to a crystal clear reef. ;)
 
I mixed rowa and a pellet carbon for a few months. Found that the pump slowed down considerably early due to the carbon clogging. I'm thinking about switching to Pura Complete. www.magnavore.com. Was originally contemplating a seond reactor but my space is limited so was thinking about the Pura Complete in lieu of. Has anybody used this product yet?
 
Dont mean to rain on your guys's parade, but your carbon is exhausted "spent" every 3-5 days. The pores fill up, period. Ya, maybe technically and circumstantially there may 0-10% lingering beyond that point, but for the most part, that's it. Anything beyond that is a very weak buffer against pollutants.

Best kind to use? Anything that's coal based, and preferrably acid rinsed. And for better absorption, smaller grains work more efficiently due to surface area. Thus making granules preferrable over pellets (obviously not over userbility I must admit though). Size of granules is not as important as porosity, although the size will dictate how long before it is exhausted and needs to be replaced.

Why does it seem to filter longer than the suggested weeks worth of use? Due to the surface area after a week it becomes an ideal environment for growing anaerobic bacteria, hence the 'filtering action' although if left for months and months I would imagine it would start to leach nitrates(however minutely), but I can only speculate theoretically on that.

I crammed as much info as I possibly could, kinda like for a final exam, well no, EXACTLY like crammin for a final exam :D before I did the group buy and spent quite a bit of time mingling and fishing for info in the chem forum.

-Justin
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10305744#post10305744 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kdblove_99
Thanks guys!


I got mine through a group buy justin did awhile back.

Seems to be really good stuff!
Click to expand...

Glad you like it! :)
I think it's really good stuff too. But I can't deny that it is extremely fine grain, and next time around would prefer to go bigger just to make it easier and less messy to handle.
Im good to go for at least another year :D

-Justin
 
Really? 3-5 days? Why do the manufactures advertise replacing carbon every 4-6 weeks? Not saying your wrong, I really have no way of knowing. One might think that companies selling carbon would state that. They would sell alot more carbon.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10308087#post10308087 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by robertloop
Really? 3-5 days? Why do the manufactures advertise replacing carbon every 4-6 weeks? Not saying your wrong, I really have no way of knowing. One might think that companies selling carbon would state that. They would sell alot more carbon.
Click to expand...

I know your not :) And I cant sit here before you and display my results from my personal studies either. Because there arent any;)
But this was a compilation of different sources like I mentioned some on the chem forum, and some coincidentally from technicians who made the stuff I got. 50% actually said 2-3 days, but I personally throw in the 5 as not to shock anyone totally in discussions, my own x= variable to allow for unknowns, personal testimonies etc. and not to hang the conversation up when Im trying to get through it, but I purposefully set it up here seeing the length that the majority of you use it :) And seeing the mood it looked like that people were wantin to chit chat. Ya devils advocated again. Not to mention the fact I use to use it longer. Plus I wanted to share what Ive learned.
Now I just use it weekly, biweekly when Im slackin and in smaller incraments.

Now that were talking about it though, what brand tells you to use it for 4-6 weeks?

-Justin
 
I just looked at an old Aquarium Pharmaceutical's brand jar(that I now use for kalk :p)when I was in a rock and a hard place(dusty dusty dusty, stay away!) and sure enough it says right on it 4-6 weeks! I'll be damned. Either I was on the forefront of some recently found information or I was nose deep in some good bs!:lol2:

I'll check into it again and see where I found that consensus. Prolly shoulda had that all ready to before goin against the grain like I did! heheh

-Justin
 
Well. If nothing else.. good to know! I will replace my carbon more often. ;)

I have a jug of E.S.V. carbon here.. (The B-Ionic company)

It says every 3-4 weeks. Lets see what sea chem says...

And I quote... "1L will easily treat 1600L (400 gallons) for several months. Matrix Carbon tm, is very clean and nearly dust free.. Place in aquarium so as to maximize water flow through it" ect..... And then states... "Matrix carbon outperforms all other high grade carbons by at least two-fold when compared for total capacity to remove aquarium oganic matter, rate of absorption, and duratiuon of use."

What the? Still not doubting you Justin. Such huge claims here. Maybe its not "JUST CARBON". they must be adding someting to make these claims. Also says its "high efficiency spherical carbon." Hmmmmmmm. Based on my own "visual" results, I'd hesitate to say that its lasts for several months. I can see water clarity diminish well before that.

edit....

Must be... "DESIGNER CARBON" :lol:

It kinda like when they started giving silly names of marine biologists to brightly colored corals. What a complete gimick.
 
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