JHemdal, more HLLE questions

[michealprater]

Your studies have shown that carbon could be the main cause of HLLE. I am debating to stop using carbon now. What are some good alternatives to get water quality. I am debating on using ozone and I already dose vodka. Is there other alternatives that help with clarity and remove toxins from saltwater aquariums?

TIA

 

[JHemdal]

Micheal,

Sorry, I need to rephrase that as "carbon is A cause of HLLE". It most likely is not a main cause.

This has so much to do with the type of carbon and how it is used. If you use lots of cheap, dusty carbon in powerful reactor attached to a tank without a protein skimmer, you'll likely see HLLE crop up pretty quickly. On the other hand, if you use premium, pelletized carbon, well-rinsed and used sparingly by soaking an amount of it in a fine mesh bag in a sump of tank with a good protein skimmer, you'll probably not see HLLE at all. The other potential causes of HLLE come into play as well - so it becomes a huge multivariate mess - to the point where it becomes impossible to true determine cause and effect...some people have linked residual oxidants from ozone to HLLE (grin).

Personally, I use adequate water changes and the second carbon use mentioned above, along with skimming to maintain water quality.....


Jay

 

[namxas]

hi Jay,

just out of curiosity, where do "hybrid" products such as Chemi-Pure figure into this equation?

 

[JHemdal]

Greg,

We haven't started testing brands or types of products. Just based on what I've heard from others, the premium products (pellet extrusions, chemi-pure, etc.) do not seem to be an issue.

Jay

 

[michealprater]

Micheal,

Sorry, I need to rephrase that as "carbon is A cause of HLLE". It most likely is not a main cause.

This has so much to do with the type of carbon and how it is used. If you use lots of cheap, dusty carbon in powerful reactor attached to a tank without a protein skimmer, you'll likely see HLLE crop up pretty quickly. On the other hand, if you use premium, pelletized carbon, well-rinsed and used sparingly by soaking an amount of it in a fine mesh bag in a sump of tank with a good protein skimmer, you'll probably not see HLLE at all. The other potential causes of HLLE come into play as well - so it becomes a huge multivariate mess - to the point where it becomes impossible to true determine cause and effect...some people have linked residual oxidants from ozone to HLLE (grin).

Personally, I use adequate water changes and the second carbon use mentioned above, along with skimming to maintain water quality.....


Jay

I run a massive skimmer, rated at 2000 gallons on my 370 system. I change 5% of the water every 3 days. I have two fish I aquired with HLLE already and I am trying to correct it. I do run carbon I got from BRS in a reactor. Would you recommend pulling the carbon?

 

[JHemdal]

Micheal,

I'm not a big fan of running carbon in reactors....can you just place it in a bag in the sump and opt for a more static approach?
At this point, I would not remove the carbon from the system, (but maybe not use it in the reactor). Indications are that a HISTORY of carbon use on a particular tank can also have a bearing on if the tank develops HLLE or not - so pulling it now won't correct for past issues....and you big skimmer is likely protecting the system as well.

Regarding resolving HLLE in fishes, moving them to a new tank is the #1 "cure" - but some fish do not get better because the leasions have been too long-standing.

Jay

 

[namxas]

Jay,

so is the bottom line that it's better to let high-quality carbon act as a sponge (just dropping it into the sump) as opposed to actively having water running thru it (not necessarily in a reactor)?

with all the scorps we keep, we've been considering trying a reactor as opposed to simply tossing a bag into the sump, but this info is making me re-think that.

 

[JHemdal]

Greg,

Right -IMO if carbon used statically, in a fine mesh bag becomes exhausted in say, 2 weeks, why run it through a reactor and have it become exhausted in a week? If you need more organics pulled out, just change the carbon. My problem with some reactors is that they chew up the carbon and that seems to make the risk of HLLE greater. Some people say this is due to the dust produced (me), others say that by grinding the carbon up, the surface area is increased and it absorbs too many organics, which otherwise are holding heavy metals in check, and then they then become toxic. Both camps agree however that grinding up carbon is a bad thing....

Jay

 

[michealprater]

What if I overfill the carbon reactor and it does not tumble, but the water still flows through it?

 

[JHemdal]

Micheal,

Hard to say for certain, I imagine that would be better. Rinse the carbon with RO water first.

Jay