Whats tne real deal with gac carbon

[josephv]

Any warer experts out there?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2014286

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I think you may have some misunderstandings about how GAC works near the end of that thread. GAC does not work like very fine filtration. It works by absorption of individual organic molecules onto surfaces that are mostly flat in relation to the sizes of individual molecules. You cannot look at pictures of pores to know anything about the available surface area or quality of the carbon or how fast it would become fully occupied by organic matter.

ROX is among the best choices around, IMO, and I would recommend it over other brands. It is acid washed, it is largely dust free (possibly important in relation to issues such as HLLE in fish) and has a very high internal surface area.

 

[jdyer88]

although Randy's opinions don't usually need any corroberation (you should look up the thread with his resume:eek2, I will agree with him on the ROX carbon...IME it works better than other brands of carbon.

 

[josephv]

Thank you so much for helping me understand something as simple as carbon.I thought it was a filter and when it becomes full it would begin to leach out everything it has taken from the water.So how do you know when to replace it?I guess I have been throwing away good carbon for a long time.