Does carbon last a month?

[PirateLove]

I have been changing my BRS lignite carbon with my GFO the first of every month. Is this ok to do?

Also. For my 45 gallon tank Brs recommends 11 tablespoons of GFO. I have stated slowly to work up to 11 but should I be using all 11 tablespoons if I have zero algae?

 

[James77]

Once a month is fine for the carbon.

I would not see a need to increase the GFO if you are not experiencing any algae or phosphate issues. Hanna has a low range checker that is fairly reliable, you can use that to gauge the need for more GFO. If that reads low and you have no algae issues, there is no need to increase GFO.

BRS just uses that as a blanket suggestion. All tanks vary.

 

[Sk8r]

Depends to a certain extent on the situation you drop it into, but it'll just saturate and become unuseful; once it starts to break down, it releases stuff (it's only wood) so don't lose track of where it is and how old it is.

 

[BigEZ77]

I had the same question previously and it seems the most popular amount of time was two weeks so I went with that.

 

[homer1475]

I change mine out every other week, but I mix carbon and GFO in the same reactor. The carbon for sure can last longer then 2 weeks, but typically my GFO is exhausted by then.