Carbon

[JGoslee]

Do any of you guys/girls run carbon in your tank? How often do you change it? I just started using a micron bag filled with carbon in my sump. Just curious how everyone else is doing it.

 

[bryan]

I use it the same way as you, in a bag, in the sump. I really only tend to keep it in tanks containing leathers, and tanks I heal cuttings of anything in.

I usually go 1/2 a cup changed every 2 weeks per 50 gallon of system.

 

[Zeppelin]

I run it constantly in a 2 Little Fishies phosban reactor. I run a slow stream into the carbon, then out of that and into another reactor half full of rowaphos. Change the carbon out about every 6 months.

 

[gflat65]

I run it 24/7 in all of my tanks. In larger systems (i.e., having sumps), I put it in a bag and drop it in the sump and replace (in theory) every two weeks. On my smaller tanks, I run carbon in cansiters (HOB 250 Magnums).

 

[twon8]

i use the tlf phsoban reactor for carbon in my tanks, change about every 4-25 weeks

 

[JGoslee]

I have a cannister filter lying around that I might use. I think I read that its better than just dropping a bag in.

 

[jonbar1]

I have it in a bag in one of the back chambers of my AquaPod sandwiched between two bags of the ceramic rings. It's been in there a couple months, and not sure it does anything anymore.

I have read that having the rings and charcoal can result in a nitrate farm due to all the surface area for bacteria to colonize. My water parameters say otherwise. Should that change, it will be gone. To each his own.

Jon

 

[Azurel]

I run my carbon thru my millenium 2000 power filter.....

 

[surfn]

i have run it off and on. IMO...if your tank is very low nutrients, and very low bioload, dont run the carbon.

i ran carbon in my 20g nano last year when i got a little bit of a cyano outbreak, the carbon bleached a ton of my zoas and other corals. i had been doing weekly 5g water changes for about 6mos of the tanks life, so never had any detectable amounts of NH3, NO2, NO3, or PO4

i do run carbon in my bigger tank now. but only b/c i couldnt get rid of this hair algae problem (well, not really big enough to be a problem, but i'm a perfectionist...) but i still have a very low bioload, only 2 clownfish in 50g of water.

the carbon hasnt helped my algae problem at all. neither did phosban as i put both of them in a canister filter.

i also have assumptions that alot of the carbon like diamond, has phosphates in it and subsequently only add to the phosphate problems. and as you know with my phosphate kits, they are undetectable even if they are in the tank, due to the nature of how the phosphates are always bound to another chemical or used up instantly (i.e. there has to be free floating phosphate groups in order to produce a positive test result).

 

[gflat65]

Carbon can cause some bleaching if your water is at all yellowish to begin. The carbon helps clarify the water, which allows more light through the water. Purigen will do the same thing.

 

[jasert39]

i run carbon in a bag in my sump for two weeks or so then take it out for a while then start all over.

 

[Evilina]

I ran it in my 24 nc and lost several zoos, had to pull it out.

 

[Shultz]

Carbon should be changed regularly as it will soon go biological.... Not only that most people don't realise that ALL carbon has phosphate in it to one degree or another & dispite what some sellers claim they ALL release some of that into your tank....

There can be as much as 5 times more phosphate in a cheap carbon brand as to say something like HR

Cheers Shelton.

 

[jessiesgrrl]

Carbon can cause some bleaching if your water is at all yellowish to begin. The carbon helps clarify the water, which allows more light through the water. Purigen will do the same thing.

That's cool to know... never thought about it in that context. Thanks, Gary!

Laurie