Carbon

[DivingTheWorld]

I was running HC GFO and Rox 0.8 Carbon from the start on my tank. I was running suggested amounts for my 89g total system volume by BRS (0.7 cups GFO, 0.56 cups Carbon). I found that my sps were bleaching out and I lost many to STN/RTN. They'd be ok for a couple weeks, then start dying.

So I dropped both to half and ran it for a month to see how my levels would react. My Nitrates and Phosphates remained unchanged (2.5 and 0.00). So I shut down my GFO completely and left my Carbon media unchanged. A month later I checked my levels again, still unchanged so this weekend I took my Carbon offline completely as well.

Over the past month I have seen a few of my existing sps (my super corals which have survived through) color up some. I've also found that new ones I've purchased have not lost color.

So the way I look at it is this, if your tank is looking good, don't change anything. If your tank is not looking good, make small adjustments over time until it does. I don't have plans to reintroduce GFO unless my phosphate starts taking off and GAC if my water starts to look less clear. And then it will probably only be small amounts and temporarily.

 

[IUfan]

That was a red dragon colony, yeah.

All my other SPS look fine. Just one other RTN'd and it was similar species thin branch acro.

I'm so torn, I'm worried if I turn GAC offline, cloudiness etc could become an issue and then, if I ever run carbon to clear it this will happen again.

'Diving the world', similar experience with GFO, had same thing happen, once I stopped using it, my tank stayed much more stable.

 

[IUfan]

Also,

Should I clip the remaining part that is alive? Or just leave alone and hope it can recover?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Also,

Should I clip the remaining part that is alive? Or just leave alone and hope it can recover?

Some people say that SPS can recover on their own, but in my experience it will not survive and just suffer a slow death. I've had mixed results cutting a piece off, some have done well and survived while others just continue to STN.

 

[sahin]

The BRS recommendations for ROX Carbon is just too high.

To help your SPS recover, I would feed the fish REALLY well, dose a quality Amino Acid supplement and carry out twice weekly water changes of at least 15% each time. This will not only nourish the corals but all replace lost trace elements and other stuff stripped out by the Rox.

 

[sahin]

Sorry for the loss. That was a nice colony.

 

[ksicard]

I had STN/RTN issues when I was using half a cup of ROX on my 82g system. Ever since I took the carbon reactor offline all those problems have gone away. If you are worried about clarity issues from not running carbon I would suggest either running carbon for 1-2 days when the water gets yellow or cloudy and then take it back offline or puchase a less potent carbon then ROX. Either method should solve your issues and concerns.

 

[JayVIP]

That is a lot of ROX carbon, I use about 1/2 cup per 100 gallons with regular carbon, I would use 1/4 cup to 1/8 cup per 100 gallon with ROX.

I didnt change my carbon for 6 weeks, added one cup of BRS Rox carbon, and sps started to STN. My system was 125 total gallons. Moral of the story, I now only use in between 1/2 and a 1/4 cup replaced every 4 weeks. BRS recommendation is very high unless you have been using carbon regularly i would cut the use to 1/2 per 100g MAX.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

btw, dont change alot of things at once, or you can do more harm then good. keep it slow and do one thing at a time. some people recommended turning off the carbon and lowering the intensity of lighting etc.

from experience. cutback on the carbon. and go from there.

 

[IUfan]

Reading all your posts guys, appreciate the feedback. All good food for thought.

So far I've just dropped the intensity on the lighting around 4% at the peak lighting, around 11am to 4pm, they are Radion pro lighting.

I also turned the flow into the reactor down, about half, figure less flow is less turnover.

I'm probably going to let this month go by, the red dragon colony is dead and everything else looks fine. So when comes time to change out I plan to use less or switch brands.

Which is a good brand that you guys are using?

 

[bobssecrtsn]

less flow = more contact time. you need to remove some carbon

 

[IUfan]

Very good point. Didn't think about that.

 

[IUfan]

Day 10 of not running Carbon. No difference in clarity, no negatives so far.

The 2 corals that reacted badly to the fresh carbon, I unfortunately lost. But that happened before I turned carbon off.

No other corals look to have any issues, I feel like I'm noticing slightly better color from the SPS, not sure if that's accurate.

 

[PederP]

Hi there.

I had the same experience a few years back. I used Carbon and GFO continuously, and watched Acroes die from something that looked like "too much light syndrome", and rtn.
Carbon and GFO is now banned from my tank. Get much better colors, growth and health now, and my corals cant seem too get enough light.

I believe the issue with carbon is the over efficient removal of DOM from the water.
An important source for protein -> amino-acids.

 

[IUfan]

Encouraging that I'm now on the right track

 

[Jay Ellul]

i would run passively in the sump rather than a reactor. Much gentler.

 

[Peter Eichler]

I stopped using ROX carbon due to similar problems, and I was using about a cup for a 250 gallon system. I think the problem is in lower nutrient systems that the fresh GAC just pushes the nutrients dangerously low in a hurry.

I now run the cheap BRS carbon, about a cup and a half for a couple days once every month or so just to keep the water clearer. That's what my suggestion is for others with low nutrient systems. IMO, the ROX is just too good and the extra expense isn't worth it.

 

[tdb320reef]

To put it in perspective, I have been running the same 1/3rd cup of Rox in a filter bag now for two months and my ~400G SPS Packed Volume tank is still clear without out my house smelling like a pet shop.

About once a week I squash it a few times. I am pretty sure most ppl over do it. Id imagine it will last another month or two. At this rate the 5G bucket should last until 2020.

At 5 Cups ~220 you prob removed all essential trace elements such as Iodine etc. I would get some quality salt and start to refresh the water doing a large WC and 1% a day until the stn/rtn stops.