To charcoal or not to charcoal?

[dwfain]

I have a mixed reef tank with fish. I use charcoal filter bags between the sump and the return box on my Trigger sump. Any thoughts on this? Is there a downside to using charcoal. I also use a Marineland 360 Canister for additional clarity and water polishing. Any thoughts. It is a 75 gallon tank with the Trigger Sapphire 39 sump.

 

[Timfish]

There is a risk of the powder from GAC causing HLLE if it's not rinsed well.

 

[renzema]

I use rox 3.0 pressed inside a reactor to prevent tumbling.

Carbon is useful but be sure to wash and keep it from tumbling to avoid particles getting loose.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I use it about one week out of the month, it has great benefits, but I see no need to use it 24/7 x 365 days/year

 

[Gtinnel]

I didn't answer the poll because I only use it periodically. I don't keep it running 24/7 because of concerns about HLLE like already mentioned.

 

[Blumon18]

What does using charcoal do for the tank anyways I'm new to saltwater and would love to control the algae in my tank if that's what it does I'm gonna start using it. Help

 

[blaxsun]

The main benefit is clearer water, less odor and the removal of organic pollutants.

 

[shooter2377]

I’m pretty new here so don’t take my word for it. I started my tank with charcoal and ran it a few months until a blue tang started getting the HLLE thing. So after researching I removed the charcoal and changed her diet up a bit and the HLLE has cleared itself up, not sure which one really cleared it up, but she looks way better now for sure!

 

[snorklr]

since most of us started with freshwater,activated carbon and floss has always been the standard filtration method there to absorb stuff that shouldnt be in the water...but once you move to salt and throw corals into the mix theres a good chance that the carbon is absorbing trace elements that the corals actually need...so its usually reserved for specific situations like where you're trying to remove medications after treatment, some sort of household chemical or something toxic that accidentally found its way into the tank, accidental overdosing something, etc...sometimes it can help if you have softies that are waging chemical warfare against each other....but no it wont cure your algae problem