Which is the best carbon and phosphate remover?

[sean obergfell]

Hello all,
I am setting a dual reactor and i am looking for the best quality carbon and phosphate remover.

Would love to know what works best.
Thanks,
Sean

 

[E_rock]

I have heard good things about brs brand stuff. But I am interested to see what the pros say.

 

[The J Man]

+1 on BRS

 

[toddmh]

BRS dual reactor are nice,but they need quite a beefy pump to keep both chambers with a nice tumble,I'd try a single first and you need you can always piggy-back two singles..

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Imo/ ime

Imo/ ime

"best" GAC
1) BRS ROX
2) the round stuff... what's the name again?
3) I also use Marineland, Kent etc.
4) right now I'm using a bulk carbon that works great. I'm not sure of the brand name.


"best" GFO
1) Rowaphos / Deltec
2) BRS GFO
3) the rest are good and (I believe) all come from one of 2 sources

Important: do not use too much GFO or GAC at any one time.

 

[tmz]

IMO,

Two little fishes reactors work better than the brs reactors,imo. Easier view and change out, better flow.
I use both types.

Granulated activated carbon:

Rox 8 available from Bulk Reef Supply is the gold standard. Little to no dust ;need less than other types; great surface area and pores: very sturdy in a reactor,ie, does not disintegrate. Just the best in the industry for medical and lab applications ,waste water treatment and of course aqauriums.

Seachem Matrix is also very good.

Kent Reeef carbon is bad,imo. Small pores designed for use in air purification and not specifically for aqueous use. Qaulity control issues have led to many tank wipe outs recently due to contamination with toxic metals. Apparently this product is not washed and or subject to adequate quality control.

Lignite dusts up a lot which may explain why it's been associated with HHLE disease in fishin one study.

GFO:

granular for a bag application;not for a reactor.

Pellets for a reactor

Best, imo is the High Capacity stuff from BRS in a two little fishes reactor. It's denser; apparently, with a denser matrix of pores. 1 gallon weighs about 7lbs vs 4 lbs for the others. Little dust;won't grind up in a reactor and holds up very well
(doesn't disintegrate) through the regeneration process as many other types do.

I think sources have increased lately Asian entries into the game in a bigger way. I don't know that for certain, But all carbons are not equal or subject to equal quality control as evidenced in the recent Kent debacle which did not effect other brands.

 

[prsnlty]

I agree with Tom. I ran out of GAC and needed some right away. Went to my LFS that dealt mainly with saltwater so I felt safe to purchase what they had to offer "Deep Blue". Went home, added it to my sock (they said it would be fine), went to bed and the next day my skimmer was with BLACK skimmate. It was due to the carbon disintegrating. It took 2 weeks to get it all out of the tank. From now on I use Rox or Seachem Matrix only.... I would have been better off in the end waiting for it to arrive via snail mail.

 

[EllieSuz]

I've recently used three different GFO media, Pora PhosLock from a local LFS, Phosban from BRS and RowaPhos. The Rowa is by far superior, in my opinion. The Pora took a lot of rinsing before the water runs clear, The Phosban warns not to let it tumble too much or it disintegrates and I don't know how much is "too much". The RowaPhos is the most expensive, but considering the investment we all make in the hobby, a few bucks more for GFO is peanuts. When I replace GFO, I make it part of a water change and use tank water to run through the reactor after filling it with new media. Once the water runs clear into a bucket, you can put the outlet hose back in the sump and you're back in business.

 

[bennr]

I've recently used three different GFO media, Pora PhosLock from a local LFS, Phosban from BRS and RowaPhos. The Rowa is by far superior, in my opinion. The Pora took a lot of rinsing before the water runs clear, The Phosban warns not to let it tumble too much or it disintegrates and I don't know how much is "too much". The RowaPhos is the most expensive, but considering the investment we all make in the hobby, a few bucks more for GFO is peanuts. When I replace GFO, I make it part of a water change and use tank water to run through the reactor after filling it with new media. Once the water runs clear into a bucket, you can put the outlet hose back in the sump and you're back in business.

This is the same method I use with my phosban150 and rowaphos. Works well and I have never used anything other than this. I want to try out the BRS GFO for price reasons of course, but I have had such good results with rowaphos that I am hesitant to go to another product.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

This is the same method I use with my phosban150 and rowaphos. Works well and I have never used anything other than this. I want to try out the BRS GFO for price reasons of course, but I have had such good results with rowaphos that I am hesitant to go to another product.

Rowa was the very first GFO product I ever used. It's extremely powerful. The BRS GFO is also extremely effective and worth the $ savings IMO.

 

[prsnlty]

What about GAC? Are you using GAC along side the Rowaphos?

 

[Johnny C]

I've always been a fan of BRS GFO, but it's important not to overuse it... especially for the first use when high PO4 levels are present.

I've used Acurel pelletized carbon for years (in a reactor) and recently switched to ROX after hearing so many great reviews. I must admit, I don't like it nearly as much. It clumps easily in the reactor after a few weeks and can definitely make a mess if your not careful. Both always rinsed clean easily and helped to keep my tank looking clear.

 

[tmz]

I couldn't find any breakdown on what type of carbn Acurel is on their site. The extreme pellets ,their premium type, looks a lot like Kent Reef Carbon though and that has had serious issues lately.

I do not get very much clumping at all in the BRS reactor I use or the canister filter.It's not suprising that some clumping could occur with rox. It has more surface area and if calcium carbonate precipitation is ocurring their will be more sites for it to happen . Take a clump and put it in vinegar if it fizzes it's calcium carbonate precipitation. It's small size makes it less convenient than the large chunky carbons but it also offers more binding sites for organics and will be of the highest quality not contaminated with metals like the Kent has been.

 

[prsnlty]

I only have 2 reactors (phosban) that are in use for GFO and Bio pellets. I was planning on putting my GAC in the sock. Will Rox be good for this use?

 

[iamwrasseman]

just use rowa phos and chemipure elite and you wont need anything else you will find that carbon is losing its place in aquarium use but it still does have its place .

 

[prsnlty]

just use rowa phos and chemipure elite and you wont need anything else you will find that carbon is losing its place in aquarium use but it still does have its place .

Are you referring to the bio pellets losing it's place? Personally I am new to it (about 6 months) I didn't see much difference in my tank with it's use so far. And it didn't help rid HA from my tank either like others claim it does. :headwally: I don't over feed and do use RO/DI.

Thanks Dave, I'll try the chemi pure I looked it up and says it lasts 4-6 months... wow!

Jackie

 

[iamwrasseman]

no i don't see carbon being a great thing in saltwater use except for emergencies like removing large amounts of toxins when you need to . the chemi-pure elite does have carbon in it but it has four different resins in it also and it works like magic IMO. also rowa phos is a great po4 remover but on the expensive side and also well worth the money . i did forget to mention another resin that is rechargeable which is"purigen" another great product and it is rechargeable with simple procedures and household liquids so that's a plus.

 

[Jstn]

I found Rox 0.8 placed in a media bag inside the brs reactor resist clumping for a longer period. I think the fine particle size of the Rox clogs the sponges of the reactor rapidly compared to other carbons.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

jmo

jmo

but I would still consider GAC to be the most important chemical filter for reef aquaria. It removes discoloration in the water and may neutralize the effects of allelopathic compounds. It's relatively inexpensive and easy to find for sale.
If you don't have a skimmer running in a reef aquarium you'd better AT LEAST have GAC running (IMO).

:fish1:

 

[tmz]

Chemipure elite is: a granulated activated carbon, granulated feric oxide, and deionization resins ,anion and cation, commonly used in ro/di units. The resin is useless in salt water applications as it exhausts almost immediately due to the amount of dissolved solids in salt water but you pay for it. Chemipure is just granulated activated carbon with the di resins.

FWIW,I have almost always used granulated activated carbon 24/7 and plan to continue to do so.It is an excellent organic remover for hydrophic organics and in addition to what Gary noted helps control keep total organic carbon which an be harmful to corals in various ways sucks out a little ammoina and metals too.

BTW , Gary the "round stuff " is Seachem matrix. Good number 2 but very pricey even more so than rox. But if someone wan't the convenience of larger pellets it's a good option.