How to use carbon in a reef?

[tikireefer]

I have been reading about using carbon in reefs and I am interested in trying it for a while to see if I notice any benefits from it. What type of carbon should I buy? Brand? Where do you get the bags or netting that you put the carbon in? How often do you change out the carbon? Thanks!

 

[gizmo7718]

I use Black Diamond carbon in a mesh bag. You can buy both at any lfs or online retailer.
Since I have a mixed reef, I use it to help with the chemical warfare that may be going on with the softies. People also use it for just polishing up the water, removing some of the yellow in the water. This helps not only aesthetically but also allows your light to penetrate deeper in your tank.
I run carbon actively 24/7, and change it out about every 3 weeks. Some people only run it for 1 week a month. The debate continues on how often to change it out, since it can leach the bad stuff back into your tank once it becomes saturated.

 

[mrsjoepie]

I use the Black Diamond also. I started using it because of the water looking yellow. It cleared the water right up and now I use it everyday. I buy my mesh bags at any LFS that I go to. I put it in my small powerfilter and change it every few weeks. It works for me.

 

[Alexj716]

I 3rd Black Diamond

 

[chip721]

Black Diamond. I generally clean it weekly and replace it monthly. After seeing how cruddy it gets, and considering how cheap it is, I'm probably going to replace it every two weeks now.

 

[piscivorous]

Where do you put it though? Do you put it in a bag in the sump, or is there a specific canister you use for it?

 

[whiirly]

I just have mine in my sump where thewater runs thru it but is not forced

 

[Holmie_D_Klown]

Or just throw it in your sock. I run it 3 days a month and water is crystal clear. I don't see any reason to run it longer unless you have a mixed reef for the reason that gizmo already stated.

 

[chip721]

I'm sumpless. So I run mine in the media basket of a Magnum 350 canister. It's mainly for the GAC and additional flow.

 

[zimmy1979]

Hmm..I am using Purigen instead of carbon. I don't think you really need to worry as much about Purigen like you do about carbon.

 

[reverendmaynard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6576400#post6576400 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gizmo7718
I use Black Diamond carbon in a mesh bag. You can buy both at any lfs or online retailer.
Since I have a mixed reef, I use it to help with the chemical warfare that may be going on with the softies. People also use it for just polishing up the water, removing some of the yellow in the water. This helps not only aesthetically but also allows your light to penetrate deeper in your tank.
I run carbon actively 24/7, and change it out about every 3 weeks. Some people only run it for 1 week a month. The debate continues on how often to change it out, since it can leach the bad stuff back into your tank once it becomes saturated.

The debate continues on whether it can even leach stuff back into the water. I've read some articles that suggest that that doesn't happen. It won't continue to do it's job once it's saturated, but won't release what it has gathered, unless you have massive PH swings or some other weird chemistry going on in your tank. I'll see if I can find the article.

Edit: Here's a link to that article. FWIW.

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

I run black diamond in a fluval canister filter connected to my sump. I also run poly filters in there as well. I change it out about once a month.

 

[MONK_11]

I use black diamond also, I place the carbon, about 8 onces, in a mesh bag and then place the mech bags inside of my fiter socks.
Works great and forces all of the water through the carbon.

 

[colettem]

Can you use a nylon stocking (I think you call it pantihose in the US) to hold the carbon?