Aardvark1134
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- Apr 2, 2018
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I sent questions to 2 of the big carbon manufactures a question about if they had done any studies on carbon and HLLE and quoted a recent study. Chemipure has not responded but Seachem did. Below are the question I asked and the answer seachem gave me.
Here is the question as asked:
"Lots of articles seem to be poping up lately saying that carbon causes HLLE in blue tangs. Have you all done any testing related to this to see if your carbon is safe or if it causes the same problems as other carbons? I ask because I want to find a safe carbon to run in my reef. Or would seachem renew be safe? Here is a quote from one of the articles. "Head and lateral line erosion (HLLE) is an acute or chronic, often progressive problem affecting captive fishes. Its etiology is enigmatic. This study examined the relationship between the use of activated carbon as a filtrant and the development of HLLE lesions in ocean surgeons Acanthurus bahianus. Three identical, 454-L marine aquarium systems were established. Thirty-five ocean surgeons were distributed among the three aquarium systems. Activated lignite carbon was added to one system, and pelleted carbon was added to the second system. The fish in the third system were not exposed to any carbon. All 12 fish that were exposed to lignite carbon developed severe HLLE within 3 months. The 12 fish that were exposed to pelleted carbon did not develop gross symptoms, but microscopic lesions were discovered upon histological examination. The 11 control fish did not develop any visible or microscopic lesions. Based on these results, the use of activated lignite carbon in marine aquariums that house HLLE-susceptible species is discouraged.""
Here is the response I got:
"Thank you for your email. What you have been reading is related to the tendency of carbons with a high iodine number and low molasses number to strip trace elements from water with little other benefit in terms of water quality. Most cheap aquarium carbons fall into this category, but you'll sometimes see the same problem in much more expensive carbons. MatrixCarbon is a macroporous carbon, so it will primarily impact organic waste with little effect on trace elements. That said, any aquarium where the filtration is neglected, water changes are infrequent, and no trace elements are supplemented is likely to run into issues of trace element deficiencies regardless of the type of carbon used, which can lead to HLLE.
Thank you,
Seachem Support"
So my question to you all is does their explanation that carbon takes out trace elements and if you don't add them back that the lack of trace elements from the carbon removing them is the link? I think we all already knew bad water conditions would cause it as well.
Here is the question as asked:
"Lots of articles seem to be poping up lately saying that carbon causes HLLE in blue tangs. Have you all done any testing related to this to see if your carbon is safe or if it causes the same problems as other carbons? I ask because I want to find a safe carbon to run in my reef. Or would seachem renew be safe? Here is a quote from one of the articles. "Head and lateral line erosion (HLLE) is an acute or chronic, often progressive problem affecting captive fishes. Its etiology is enigmatic. This study examined the relationship between the use of activated carbon as a filtrant and the development of HLLE lesions in ocean surgeons Acanthurus bahianus. Three identical, 454-L marine aquarium systems were established. Thirty-five ocean surgeons were distributed among the three aquarium systems. Activated lignite carbon was added to one system, and pelleted carbon was added to the second system. The fish in the third system were not exposed to any carbon. All 12 fish that were exposed to lignite carbon developed severe HLLE within 3 months. The 12 fish that were exposed to pelleted carbon did not develop gross symptoms, but microscopic lesions were discovered upon histological examination. The 11 control fish did not develop any visible or microscopic lesions. Based on these results, the use of activated lignite carbon in marine aquariums that house HLLE-susceptible species is discouraged.""
Here is the response I got:
"Thank you for your email. What you have been reading is related to the tendency of carbons with a high iodine number and low molasses number to strip trace elements from water with little other benefit in terms of water quality. Most cheap aquarium carbons fall into this category, but you'll sometimes see the same problem in much more expensive carbons. MatrixCarbon is a macroporous carbon, so it will primarily impact organic waste with little effect on trace elements. That said, any aquarium where the filtration is neglected, water changes are infrequent, and no trace elements are supplemented is likely to run into issues of trace element deficiencies regardless of the type of carbon used, which can lead to HLLE.
Thank you,
Seachem Support"
So my question to you all is does their explanation that carbon takes out trace elements and if you don't add them back that the lack of trace elements from the carbon removing them is the link? I think we all already knew bad water conditions would cause it as well.
