Activated carbon a necessity?

[alexanderthefishlover]

Hello,

Just wondering if I really need activated carbon? I have a torch, 3 hammer, 1 pipe organ, 1 toadstool, 1 Kenya tree, 2 frogspawn and one of those waving hands corals.

Do I need activated carbon? I just got over a Dino infestation and im terrified to add anything that will remove things.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Hello,

Just wondering if I really need activated carbon? I have a torch, 3 hammer, 1 pipe organ, 1 toadstool, 1 Kenya tree, 2 frogspawn and one of those waving hands corals.

Do I need activated carbon? I just got over a Dino infestation and im terrified to add anything that will remove things.

Activated carbon isn't necessary, but it is always good to have on hand IMO, it removes any harmful toxins in case of any contaminants and any chemicals excreted from your soft corals. You absolutely do not need it but it is very useful in case of any unpredicted events. If you do get it, make sure to not get any phosphate removal media with it as that may cause problems in low phosphate systems, I recommend chemi pure blue for activated carbon.

 

[DaJMasta]

+1 I wouldn't and don't use it on a regular basis, though there can be some benefits, but am sure to have it on hand in case something starts going wrong. To that end, while having some in a mesh bag can help, having an actual reactor to run it in can substantially increase effectiveness should you need it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just copying my answer hare from your other posting of this question:

Granular activated carbon binds organic matter and won't have any big impact on nitrate and phosphate, if that is your concern. it reduces yellowing of the water, and may bind natural toxins and other undesirable chemicals in the water.

Is it critical? Likely not in most cases, but it has little downside and a variety of reasons to use it. I would always use a high quality GAC like ROX 0.8.

 

[Spare time]

Yes, as you have fish releasing hormones/pheremones that, without a removal mechanism, become trapped in the tank with them until they are broken down or removed. This likely has an impact on behavior and stress. I wouldn't run a tank without carbon for this reason.

 

[Spare time]

Did you just recommend a carbon that also has phosphate removal in the same sentence you said not to buy it?

According to Randy, it doesn't really do anything for phosphate in marine tanks.

 

[alindell]

I've been using GAC for years. Never seen an issue and can I feel it helps make the tank look good. There is always toxins getting in the tank is some shape or form. In the ocean it gets naturally filtered out and diluted, but in our confined spaces what's the risk if it can be of use without much downside. Almost every type of filter from your refrigerator, to your HVAC uses carbon. It's an effective filter

 

[Spare time]

Interesting, I will have to look into that. I had always been told that's the best all in one media for for nutrient control and clarity for nano tanks.

You can basically DIY it pretty easily with combining rox carbon and purigen. I can't remember if it has the resin that the other chemipures have in it but that is the part I am pretty sure is almost useless in saltwater.

 

[Dburr1014]

According to Randy, it doesn't really do anything for phosphate in marine tanks.

Randy said "GAC" doesn't remove much.

Chemipure does have resin in it too to remove phosphate.

 

[Spare time]

Randy said "GAC" doesn't remove much.

Chemipure does have resin in it too to remove phosphate.

No this is in reference to other threads. Where Randy has addressed chemipure blue.

 

[jda]

The organics that GAC can remove do not break down into no3 and po4 IF you remove the GAC before they break down in the pores of the GAC. Any removal would be small to none, IMO. Most people leave GAC in for too long, it gets clogged, the outside of the media get coated in organics and it turns into a bio filter.

I use GAC when I want to polish up the water... like after my lazy behind does not scrape the glass for a too long, picks a bunch of snail shells out of the sand and disturbs it a bit, picks up frags of acropora that the fish broke, turkey based out my colonies of debris, etc.

This type of question usually comes from the studies that showed that Lignite carbon in systems without strong filtration showed a tendency for HLLE in one type of Atlantic fish. Before we go down that hole, Jay has said that this is not usually an issue in a reef tank with strong filtration even when using Lignite carbon. Most people do not even use Lignite carbon any more anyway.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Haha my bad, I never noticed a dip in po4, I've seen some media bags that have large quality of GFO, which is what I was trying to say, should of been more clear...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Did you just recommend a carbon that also has phosphate removal in the same sentence you said not to buy it?

Chemipure Blue will not directly bind phosphate from seawater. The claim may be true for freshwater, but it won’t in seawater.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy said "GAC" doesn't remove much.

Chemipure does have resin in it too to remove phosphate.

And hence the problem with manufacturer claims that do not even distinguish whether it is seawater or fresh.

They may not understand the difference, or they conveniently ignore it.

 

[Peair]

Hello,

Just wondering if I really need activated carbon? I have a torch, 3 hammer, 1 pipe organ, 1 toadstool, 1 Kenya tree, 2 frogspawn and one of those waving hands corals.

Do I need activated carbon? I just got over a Dino infestation and im terrified to add anything that will remove things.

A little activated carbon in a short time is good, but don't make the mistake I did one time by putting a lot in a reactor for about 3 days running, I had a black film all over in my tank, and my Toadstool turned gray.

 

[jimk60]

And hence the problem with manufacturer claims that do not even distinguish whether it is seawater or fresh.

They may not understand the difference, or they conveniently ignore it.

I have a bunch of soft corals, maybe thirty ricordeas a four inch toadstool and maybe forty zoas. It seems like my hammers especially start to close up if I don't run some carbon periodically. I assumed that the carbon helps to clean up the chemicals released by the softies. Any truth to this in your opinion?

 

[GlassMunky]

A little activated carbon in a short time is good, but don't make the mistake I did one time by putting a lot in a reactor for about 3 days running, I had a black film all over in my tank, and my Toadstool turned gray.

Sounds like poor quality carbon in a rector that was tumbling it breaking it up and pumping dust into the system. Ive had this happen before in the past.

That’s not really a fault of carbon, more user error.

I use extra plates or pads inside the reactor to hold the carbon still so it can’t tumble and breakup. I think the biggest problem is when people don’t fill it enough and there’s extra space and then run high flow through the reactor.

I run high quality carbon in a reactor that is properly sized and doesn’t tumble the carbon and it gets changed every 1-2 weeks.

Carbon is great if you have a mixed reef with softies and SPS together as it helps bind up the chemical warfare going on.

 

[GlassMunky]

I have a bunch of soft corals, maybe thirty ricordeas a four inch toadstool and maybe forty zoas. It seems like my hammers especially start to close up if I don't run some carbon periodically. I assumed that the carbon helps to clean up the chemicals released by the softies. Any truth to this in your opinion?

Allelopathy is absolutely real.
Here’s an older R2R thread with cited articles about it

Is anything known about allelopathy?

Is anything known about allelopathy other than what it is? I know for data-driven approaches we typically have to turn to commercial aquaculture, but I don’t know of any commercial studies on allelopathy, and I know it would have to be a on per-species basis, so wouldn’t necessarily be helpful...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Peair]

Sounds like poor quality carbon in a rector that was tumbling it breaking it up and pumping dust into the system. Ive had this happen before in the past.

That’s not really a fault of carbon, more user error.

I use extra plates or pads inside the reactor to hold the carbon still so it can’t tumble and breakup. I think the biggest problem is when people don’t fill it enough and there’s extra space and then run high flow through the reactor.

I run high quality carbon in a reactor that is properly sized and doesn’t tumble the carbon and it gets changed every 1-2 weeks.

Carbon is great if you have a mixed reef with softies and SPS together as it helps bind up the chemical warfare going on.

No the problem was I used Way Too Much for my tank, I use small amounts now, and I never had that problem again after many times using it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have a bunch of soft corals, maybe thirty ricordeas a four inch toadstool and maybe forty zoas. It seems like my hammers especially start to close up if I don't run some carbon periodically. I assumed that the carbon helps to clean up the chemicals released by the softies. Any truth to this in your opinion?

IMO, there's no reason to not use it as a preventative in case it is an issue in your aquarium.