Does Carbon Remove Useful Things?

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I know this has been commented on throughout a variety of threads but figured I would create a new one to try to get a conclusive answer.

Anyway, has it been proven, or not, that running Carbon removes useful "things" as well as the intended targets or does it just filter out the bad stuff?

Thx!

I would not avoid GAC out of fear it does something bad by absorbing metals.

Without a doubt, some amount of nearly all trace metals will be bound to the organics that themselves bind to GAC. But this sink is very unlikely to be the main sink for any elements, and I think folks should ignore such “problems”.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm an old timer keeping aquariums since the mid 70's both freshwater and Marine.Carbon was a life saving back in the day.Carbon can take out many things that skimmers can't or don't do well at such as phenols that change the water yellow,hydrogen sulfides and sulfates,along with metals like iron,copper,lead and other metals when they are in the form of oxides..As far as trace elements,skimmers are very effective at removing many of these substances,especially iodine and metals.
Many keepers that dope constantly their aquariums think their animals are absorbing them when actually they are being skimmed out of the system.
ANYWAY,back to carbon,great tool,using some right now on my porch tank it just has cheato and damselfish in it. It only has 2 carbon filters on it and a bubbler.YES VERY OVERGROWN WITH ALGAE.I like to see the Damsels when I go in and out of my door.I will cut out half the algae tomorrow.Can't see the fish anymore!!!

I would just comment that none of the inorganic forms of iodine (iodide, iodate) will be skimmed out, unless they are inside of organisms that themselves are skimmed out. Some organic iodine forms may be skimmed out.

That said, I don’t think maintaining inorganic iodine levels is necessary.

 

[Reefahholic]

I run some Carbon in a mesh bag. Not a lot, but enough.

I haven’t noticed any I’ll effects. Corals growing well.

 

[Tennyson]

I actually lost a lot of coral because I wasn't running carbon. Turns out my tank was harboring brown jelly that preyed on my new arrivals. Started running carbon with a filter sock and never saw it again!

Carbon helps take out pollutants that a skimmer could miss. Sure it will also remove some of the goodies, but the benefits outweigh any losses if you ask me!

 

[CMO]

I've run carbon 24/7 from day 1 on my sps dom reef to keep contaminants down since I don't do water changes. In my experience I certainly don't see it hurting anything after several years of continued use now.

 

[S.Pepper]

I've run carbon 24/7 from day 1 on my sps dom reef to keep contaminants down since I don't do water changes. In my experience I certainly don't see it hurting anything after several years of continued use now.

How are you running your carbon? Passively or thru a reactor. And how often ru changing it? Thx.

 

[CMO]

How are you running your carbon? Passively or thru a reactor. And how often ru changing it? Thx.

I run it through a reactor and change it monthly.

 

[S.Pepper]

I run it through a reactor and change it monthly.

thank u. May I ask what type of carbon ur running? If u can't tell I am new to all of this and setting up my system as I type. I have a Avast Marine Spyglass reactor, small. I've heard different things about how long carbon is viable and some say only a couple of days. Just trying to learn. thank you for your patience.

 

[CMO]

thank u. May I ask what type of carbon ur running? If u can't tell I am new to all of this and setting up my system as I type. I have a Avast Marine Spyglass reactor, small. I've heard different things about how long carbon is viable and some say only a couple of days. Just trying to learn. thank you for your patience.

Sure, no problem. I run Triton carbon since I like the large granule size which doesn't clog as quickly as other finer carbon products like rox (I have a flow meter on my reactor and have seen the affects of different carbons on flow rate). Even if it doesn't last the full month I think that's a happy medium between effectiveness and ease of maintenance.

 

[Auto-pilot]

I use carbon in a canister filter that's I run on my tank. I feel like people don't like canister filters but mines skims off the top and does a great job keeping my water clear and not smelly. When my carbon needs to be changed I notice a film on my water and a slight smell. I change it and It makes a big difference. I grow Cheto and add iron to do so, it doesn't pull all my iron from the water because my Cheto still grows fast

 

[S.Pepper]

Sure, no problem. I run Triton carbon since I like the large granule size which doesn't clog as quickly as other finer carbon products like rox. Even if it doesn't last the full month I think that's a happy medium between effectiveness and ease of maintenance.

thx. I have some rox to run in my reactor with the idea of clearing the water as my tank ages. Mind u I haven't even filled my tank... hopefully that happens this week. I don't plan on running my reactor until my tank cycles and then, not sure when i'll imply it. thx again for the info.

 

[reeferKen]

Anyone know if activated carbon would absorb these out of the water column for coral? Supliments like Vitamins, carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids and suspended protein flocks

 

[Belgian Anthias]

What if GAC becomes a Bio? GAC absorbs and attracts organics. But it easily becomes a bio as bacteria will colonize it. In that case, it becomes an effective remineralization filter. A skimmer prevents organics are remineralized. Basically they have the same function, removing organics from the water. In practice, the result may be completely different.

 

[Belgian Anthias]

Good GAC may absorb about the same organics a skimmer will remove.
Organic compounds are either hydrophobic or hydrophilic. They either hate water or love water. They dissolve well in water or dissolve completely not or partially in water. Hydrophilic molecules include water, salt, sugar, ethyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, glycerin, glucose, ammonia, most amino acids (e.g. glycine), some vitamins (B6, B12, Biotin, C, Niacin) and almost all inorganic compounds. Examples of hydrophobic molecules are methane (natural gas), oil, fat, cholesterol, fuel (e.g., hexane, butane), some vitamins (e.g., A, D, E, K). Among them are cases of doubts such as aspirin, phenols, cleaning alcohol (isopropanol) and acetone. Large organic molecules may be partially hydrophobic and the other part hydrophilic. Fatty acids, most proteins, soaps and detergents, and a wide range of biological molecules fall within this category. ref: http://www.baharini.eu/baharini/doku.php?id=en:makazi:het_water:filtratie:eiwitafschuimer
For example, concerning the essential amino acids, Threonine may not be absorbed as it is polar and neutral, all the others may as they are apolar and positive. ref: http://www.baharini.eu/baharini/dok...ratie:actieve_kool#vasthechting_van_bacteriën

Anyone know if activated carbon would absorb these out of the water column for coral? Supliments like Vitamins, carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids and suspended protein flocks

Anyway, GAC is also selective and is not complemental to a skimmer as it targets about the same. It may be better to prevent yellowing. In a filter chain, I think GAC is best used after the skimmer.

 

[lapin]

Activated Carbon Absorption | Index, Capacity | Sentry Air Systems

Activated Carbon Adsorption is the act of an accumulation of a gas or liquid onto the surface of the activated carbon, an inert solid material. This process is used to remove diverse, dissolved contaminants from water, air, and gaseous streams. Learn more about Activated Carbon Adsorption.

www.sentryair.com

 

[reeferKen]

Should activated carbon be used or taken out for best results on dosing useful things like the OP is asking for example Quantum Bio-enhance, or redsea reef energy?

 

[lapin]

Should activated carbon be used or taken out for best results on dosing useful things like the OP is asking for example Quantum Bio-enhance, or redsea reef energy?

It removes organics. I believe these have organics in them. Perhaps the manufactures have done testing on how much is removed. Give them a jingle.

 

[Belgian Anthias]

Should activated carbon be used or taken out for best results on dosing useful things like the OP is asking for example Quantum Bio-enhance, or redsea reef energy?

Of course, as does a skimmer , these supplements are removed. In fact, they just are organic waste.

 

[Taskof1]

algae

Sun light will make algae grow rapidly and like crazy.

 

[mizimmer90]

GAC "adsorbs" a lot of different things at different rates (pedantic, but absorbtion incorporates the material, adsorption builds it up on the surface). I believe that metals don't adsorb as well to GAC as organic compounds, but that iodine does. Here's a table i googled describing some of the things that GAC does or doesn't adsorb well https://www.sentryair.com/activated-carbon-adsorption.htm

However, i dont think theres much concern of taking out good things too much. Most people have very successful reefs with GAC!