Activated Carbon causing STN / RTN?

cb684 · 12/31/2015, 07:12 AM

I have been pondering about activated carbon lately, and one thing that intrigues me is the fact that in the Zeovit/ Zeolite method the amount of Zeolites and flow through the reactor are apparently very important. Several problems are frequently believed to be associated to those variables and are some of the first troubleshooting steps is to make sure the amount of zeolites and the flow through the reactor is adequate.

I understand that zeolites sorb numerous molecules, as does activated carbon. Although some of the molecules are different, I also understand that in both cases we do not know exactly what is removed. And still the directions to how much activated carbon to use appears to be subjective and the flow in the reactor is rarely discussed.

Apparently others had problems before: https://youtu.be/BvP0686gLWc

Anybody else with experience on this?

bertoni · 12/31/2015, 04:12 PM

If the flow is high enough to abrade the carbon, that's likely to cause problems. Zeolites probably aren't binding much in saltwater setups, particularly after a fairly short period. They function more as artificial live rock, in my opinion. I don't know how tricky tuning the flow through a zeolite would be, or whether the flow rate is particularly critical. Ive never used such a setup.

Carbon attaches to organics via van der Waals bonds, as I recall, so I'm not sure that precise flow control is critical for our application, which is repeated passes over the carbon.

12/31/2015, 07:12 AM	#1
cb684 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Starkville, MS Posts: 63	Activated Carbon causing STN / RTN? I have been pondering about activated carbon lately, and one thing that intrigues me is the fact that in the Zeovit/ Zeolite method the amount of Zeolites and flow through the reactor are apparently very important. Several problems are frequently believed to be associated to those variables and are some of the first troubleshooting steps is to make sure the amount of zeolites and the flow through the reactor is adequate. I understand that zeolites sorb numerous molecules, as does activated carbon. Although some of the molecules are different, I also understand that in both cases we do not know exactly what is removed. And still the directions to how much activated carbon to use appears to be subjective and the flow in the reactor is rarely discussed. Apparently others had problems before: https://youtu.be/BvP0686gLWc Anybody else with experience on this?

12/31/2015, 04:12 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	If the flow is high enough to abrade the carbon, that's likely to cause problems. Zeolites probably aren't binding much in saltwater setups, particularly after a fairly short period. They function more as artificial live rock, in my opinion. I don't know how tricky tuning the flow through a zeolite would be, or whether the flow rate is particularly critical. Ive never used such a setup. Carbon attaches to organics via van der Waals bonds, as I recall, so I'm not sure that precise flow control is critical for our application, which is repeated passes over the carbon. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni