Any downsides to adding carbon?

[glb]

I thought I might have some sort of toxin in my tank that didn't affect coral but kept killing my fish, so I added some Marineland carbon yesterday. It now seems that I lost the fish due to osmotic shock instead of a toxin. My corals are all fine. Are there any potential drawbacks to adding carbon? I also have a skimmer, purigen, and a gfo reactor in my sump. The carbon is the only new media. Should I leave it in? I plan on keeping only my corals in there, which include softies, LPS and SPS.

 

[glb]

Bump

 

[4FordFamily]

Allegedly cheap carbon can cause HLLE in tangs and some angels. Personally I used it for years without issue and I didn't have trouble. Feeding nori and high quality frozen foods mixed in Selcon are what I attribute to having zero HLLE.

 

[glb]

Allegedly cheap carbon can cause HLLE in tangs and some angels. Personally I used it for years without issue and I didn't have trouble. Feeding nori and high quality frozen foods mixed in Selcon are what I attribute to having zero HLLE.

Thanks. I'll buy chemipure next time to be extra safe. Although marineland diamond carbon is supposed to be pretty good.

 

[4FordFamily]

Thanks. I'll buy chemipure next time to be extra safe. Although marineland diamond carbon is supposed to be pretty good.

I think the HLLE issue is more a function of poor nutrition. Most people I know with fish with long term HLLE feed flakes predominantly...

 

[Daytonareefing]

Marineland is a mid level carbon and I used it for years with no trouble. I'm using it now still but I plan on changing when its gone to zeovit brand carbon because its a better grade.

 

[glb]

Marineland is a mid level carbon and I used it for years with no trouble. I'm using it now still but I plan on changing when its gone to zeovit brand carbon because its a better grade.

I bought it because my fish was in crisis and I needed something ASAP. I will upgrade though. Thanks.

 

[hybridazn]

The link between carbon and hlle is not the carbon itself but from the carbon dust from not being rinsed properly. Nothing wrong with running carbon but I would recommend running rox 0.8 carbon. Its much more absorbant and with much less dust meaning less rinsing.

 

[glb]

T

The link between carbon and hlle is not the carbon itself but from the carbon dust from not being rinsed properly. Nothing wrong with running carbon but I would recommend running rox 0.8 carbon. Its much more absorbant and with much less dust meaning less rinsing.

Thanks. I rinsed it thoroughly until the water ran clear. So far, the tank looks very happy!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There is thought to be concern about HLLE and related diseases with carbon that is not acid washed, and when I switched away from Marineland Black Diamond to ROX, my issue with a tang went away. I also stopped ozone at the same time for the same reason, so I cannot be sure which had the effect.

 

[scardall]

BRS (bulk reef supply) carbon is high grade. their lignite carbon(large particle) is great and if you want to step it up a notch use ROX .8 Carbon. ( I use both) +1 @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Velocity]

Marineland is a mid level carbon and I used it for years with no trouble. I'm using it now still but I plan on changing when its gone to zeovit brand carbon because its a better grade.

I have a unit that hangs on back; I bought it like two sizes bigger to work faster so I didn't have to use it all the time

I have a 40 gal sump as well with Skimmer etc

Question - do you leave yours on at all times and run carbon too ?

Mine has the bio wheels and I only use it maybe a few hours a week - is this ok or should I use it more ?

Included a similar pic of what I have

 

[glb]

Update. My tank and its inhabitants seem to love the carbon! The corals are open wider and I see new growth. Who knew?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have a unit that hangs on back; I bought it like two sizes bigger to work faster so I didn't have to use it all the time

I have a 40 gal sump as well with Skimmer etc

Question - do you leave yours on at all times and run carbon too ?

Mine has the bio wheels and I only use it maybe a few hours a week - is this ok or should I use it more ?

Included a similar pic of what I have

I use GAC and GFO 24/7.

 

[Daytonareefing]

The problem with turning the bio wheel filter off is the bacteria on the wheels will die if they dry out. I run my bio wheel filter all the time with the carbon. If your running a sump with a skimmer then either put some live rock in the sump or run a refugium in the sump so you don't need the bio wheel filter anymore. I mostly just use that type of filter when I'm not using a sump in less the only thing you can run in your sump is a skimmer then I would still run the bio wheel filter all the time which is the way I'm running my 55 gallon now because all I have in my sump is a skimmer so there needs to be something else to hold nitrifying bacteria it also works the same if you have a lot of live rock in the display with a lot of flow around it. I just run the bio wheel as a safe guard in that tank I really don't need it because I run GFO and carbon in Nextreef reactors. I guess I over filter the tank. Lol

 

[ilovereefing <3]

+1 on the BRS ROX...it's great! I had some HLLE coming on in my QT (that I used Marineland Diamond on) but when I moved the affected fish to my DT, the HLLE has almost completely healed. Just a small spot now on my hippo tang that I am sure will heal over time. I cannot quite attribute the HLLE to the carbon, as water quality in my DT is better than in QT, but I imagine it is a contributing factor.

 

[glb]

The problem with turning the bio wheel filter off is the bacteria on the wheels will die if they dry out. I run my bio wheel filter all the time with the carbon. If your running a sump with a skimmer then either put some live rock in the sump or run a refugium in the sump so you don't need the bio wheel filter anymore. I mostly just use that type of filter when I'm not using a sump in less the only thing you can run in your sump is a skimmer then I would still run the bio wheel filter all the time which is the way I'm running my 55 gallon now because all I have in my sump is a skimmer so there needs to be something else to hold nitrifying bacteria it also works the same if you have a lot of live rock in the display with a lot of flow around it. I just run the bio wheel as a safe guard in that tank I really don't need it because I run GFO and carbon in Nextreef reactors. I guess I over filter the tank. Lol

Agreed. I had one of those filters on a fresh water tank and you have to keep the bio wheel wet to preserve the biofilter