How bad is this?

[Engloid]

about 3 wks here. it depends on whether you run it actively or passively ime

How do you know how much carbon you need to have in at a time, and how long to go before replacing it?

BRS carbon for me. Buy in bulk and it should last. I run mine in my media reactor. Looking to get a BRS media reactor too.

I take it that you have found BRS to be the cheapest place to buy? Anybody interested in a group buy sometime? Until then, even the carbon they sell at WalMart will do, I guess.

I use an eheim canister filter for a phosphate reactor, and it does a fine job with no hassles, noise or anything. I just run the hoses into my sump and I'm done with it.

Do you guys think I should run a 50/50 mix of GFO and carbon? I put a full 2lb canister of GFO in this thing at one time, so I could easily do a pound of each.

 

[Engloid]

The Aquarium has some sort of pellet stuff that they say acts like carbon and can be "regenerated" by soaking it in something every now and then. Anybody used that?

It would take two of them since each is only good for 100 gal, but at $12 each it sounds a bit too good to be true... $24 to last a long time, or forever..not sure if it can be regenerated over and over or not.

 

[macclellan]

The Aquarium has some sort of pellet stuff that they say acts like carbon and can be "regenerated" by soaking it in something every now and then. Anybody used that?

It would take two of them since each is only good for 100 gal, but at $12 each it sounds a bit too good to be true... $24 to last a long time, or forever..not sure if it can be regenerated over and over or not.

Seachem's Purigen. It's better to buy the loose kind and "The Bag" as opposed to the 100g kind that is prepackaged (and get it online...). You soak it a bleach solution to regenerate it. It is great for removing DOCs / water clarity. It's great. Lasts 6-12 months. I use it extensively in FW and some in reefs. I don't know that it's cheaper than cheap carbon over the long haul, but it is preferred to carbon in planted tanks because carbon strips the water column of some essential trace minerals for plant growth. I only use carbon/purigen on my reef tank if there is a problem, not regularly, but I keep a dirty tank.

 

[cee]

I run itmixed w gfo. Be careful w the walmart stuff. All carbon is not created equal and depending on how it is processed it may make things worse

 

[fishdoc11]

A good test for carbon is to let it soak in a little DI water for a while and then test the phosphate of that water. Lots of brands of carbon leach phosphates, including some pricier brands that you wouldn't think of. I have always had good results using Marineland black diamond.

Another thing to think about with zoas is there are a ton of things that can go wrong with them, diseases, parasites etc... so those should probably be considered as well...although those likely wouldn't affect the colt coral.

Chris

 

[cee]

A good test for carbon is to let it soak in a little DI water for a while and then test the phosphate of that water. Lots of brands of carbon leach phosphates, including some pricier brands that you wouldn't think of. I have always had good results using Marineland black diamond.

Another thing to think about with zoas is there are a ton of things that can go wrong with them, diseases, parasites etc... so those should probably be considered as well...although those likely wouldn't affect the colt coral.

Chris

Sorry, I didn't have a keyboard earlier, and Chris is correct. Many carbons are treated with phosphoric acid and leach phosphates. This is a good test. I first pour my carbon into almost boiling RODI water to force the water into the pores rapidly. I then soak it for 24-48 hours and do at least one water change with RODI to remove any processing residue. At this point you can test the soaking water for presence of phosphates.

I find Lignite carbon to be best. Coconut shell is often used but the pore sizes are small and clog easily. There are also other forms of carbon, some of which I've seen at WallyWorld that are undesirable.

Carbon removes mostly bad things but also some good things. I dose Iodine when using carbon because carbon is very effective at removing iodine. Actually, one characteristic of carbon, called the iodine number, is used to measure the absorbtion properties of carbon. Iodine is placed in solution and the amount absorbed is measured. The higher the number the better. Most don't quote this parameter or molasses number (guess where this comes from) which characterizes the ability of the carbon to absorb large molecules so comparing can be difficult. I'm pretty sure SeaChem quotes these numbers and you can probably find others with a bit of research. Carbon is quite complex so there is no simple answer to the questions you pose and trial and error is as good a way as any.

 

[Engloid]

Seachem's Purigen. It's better to buy the loose kind and "The Bag" as opposed to the 100g kind that is prepackaged (and get it online...). You soak it a bleach solution to regenerate it. It is great for removing DOCs / water clarity. It's great. Lasts 6-12 months. I use it extensively in FW and some in reefs. I don't know that it's cheaper than cheap carbon over the long haul, but it is preferred to carbon in planted tanks because carbon strips the water column of some essential trace minerals for plant growth. I only use carbon/purigen on my reef tank if there is a problem, not regularly, but I keep a dirty tank.

Yip, that's what the stuff is. Purigen. What are DOC's though?

This stuff basically will do the same thing as carbon? The package basically says it removes organic compounds.

 

[macclellan]

DOC = dissolved organic compounds.

 

[Engloid]

I got some Pura Carbon. It is listed as having an iodine number of 900min (mg/g). I assume that's for minimum amount of iodine it will absorb.

aquariumfiltration.us/p_cr.html