Activated Carbon: Yea or nay? Why?

[running scott]

I used to think Seachem's Purigen was better than carbon. But what I found was that Purigen is too good. My mostly softy tank really suffered using it. I thought it was great at first, I didn't have to remove any algae from the front glass, water super clear, nitrates almost zero! Seems like it must strip nutrients from the water before the corals can use them. Now I just use BRS Rox to take out the toxins my leather corals put out. If I had a SPS only tank, I would most likely go back to Purigen, that stuff is amazing, and easy to regenerate.

[oseymour]

Originally Posted by Isaacs55

So it seems a lot of people agree on using it. My question is, if it's better to use it in a reactor or a filter bag in a high flow area of the sump?

From this BRS video, it looks like both methods work, a reactor is about 10 times more efficient.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP5Vu6OvLOI - jump to about 8:40

[Flippers4pups]

I second this^. I was using it in a filter bag for years and just a few weeks ago had a great deal on a used reactor came my way. Using the reactor just in a week made my water so clear, compared to taking way longer before. I'm sold on the reactor! Using my manifold off my return made adjusting the reactor flow just too easy!

[tmz]

Some use both purigen and GAC. I did for a few years. The idea is GAC and purigen may have higher/lesser affinities for certain organics . Thus , using them both may get at a broader range. As a caution. there are a number of threads where experienced reefers have had serious issues with their tanks using regenerated purigen;none, when using the fresh stuff.

[Johnb123]

do you guys throw carbon right in or rinse it first?

[Johnb123]

do you clean carbon after using it for a while too or simply throw them out and how long?

[tmz]

Rinse it. Dust may be a problem for fish and other organisms. Cleaning it is tedious and likely will exhaust it. I run rox 8 carbon and change it every month or less.

[OoooDRAGONoooo]

I put it into one of my wife's stockings and put it in sump,I change it every two months.i do it because I think it may help the corals when they decide to put their toxins into the system for whatever reason.( i have mushrooms,rhodactis,anenomes,sps,lps.

[HMCJBK]

Feel free to comment. Do you use it? If so, how do you employ it (i.e. fluidized reactor, bag in sump, HOB, canister, etc.). If you don't use it, why not? And be specific. What is it removing that you want to keep in your tank?

[Jone]

When I do use carbon,,I just fill the reactor up with carbon and turn the tank water supply line on,,and let it run til the water is clear into a separate bucket then twist the hose back into my sump..I always have do it this way,,I have 2 separate reactors,,1 gFO 1 Carbon,,do not bleed off dirty carbon through another reactor in line..do it separatly like I noted prior.

Originally Posted by Johnb123

do you guys throw carbon right in or rinse it first?

[DamonG]

Funny, as I have run carbon off and on on my last two reefs, but lately, since starting my girlfriend's freshwater tank(she doesn't like the maintenance), purigen has come back into my mind. I remember it was simply amazing at clearing the water. But like another person stated, sometimes, it worked too good..

But I have a much larger system now(210 gallons) and am thinking about throwing a bag of purigen down in the sump.. I also have a reactor that I would run the carbon in, but I don't believe I want to throw purigen in it.. Even a single bag in a reactor may be way, way too strong..

What are you all thoughts?

[BrianKC]

Every time I've run carbon within 2-4 weeks I start seeing HLLE on my tangs.

[jewlz]

Originally Posted by BrianKC

Every time I've run carbon within 2-4 weeks I start seeing HLLE on my tangs.

Any theories as to why?

[pisanoal]

One note about people commenting on how often carbon needs to be changed, how much they use, or how quickly it is exhausted... Remember that carbon works because of the micro pores in its structure. Mainly it traps certain sized organic molecules within its pore structure, which is why we target a certain pore size and why as someone mentioned, air purification carbon is not good for water purification (targets different sized particles.) Also I would imagine there is some adsorption going on (molecular adherence to the surfaces of the carbon). With all of that being said, we grow a lot of bacteria in our systems, and it is highly likely that the pores and surfaces of the carbon will be "unusable" in a relatively short period of time, likely long before the carbon is actually exhausted. I think the BRS video mentions something about this. Just something to think about in regards to quantity and frequency of change. Less carbon changed more often seems like the better answer. If you use 4x as much and change it 1/4 as often, you are likely seeing a loss of usefulness at around the same as someone who uses 1/4 as much and changes 4x as often.

[ThRoewer]

Originally Posted by jewlz

Any theories as to why?

Cheap low density carbon and/or not washed enough. It also needs to be placed somewhere where it can't tumble or otherwise cause abrasion and release of micro particles.
Carbon dust particles have been proven to be one of the causes of HLLE:
Activated carbon affirmed as causative agent for HLLE disease



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[nmotz]

I usually run it 2 wks on / 2 wks off. Main reason is that I use the mesh screen that comes with the MP40 to keep anything important from getting caught in it. I have to rinse that screen about once a week and I use tap water when I do. Obviously I try to dry the excess off but I'm sure there is a little excess tap water that gets into the tank when I put the screen back on. The carbon helps remove any junk that comes in with it. I might be imagining things but I'm pretty sure there is a difference in water clarity as well. The only reason I don't run it all the time is to minimize cost.

[Sonyardo]

I run all the time but I run it conservatively.

[ljosh]

No doubt it clarifies water. Purigen as well. I run both along with GFO in TLF reactors

[scar79]

I used to work for an aquarium maintenance company so I have plenty of experience using carbon, and have a mixed opinion on its use.

I found carbon to be generally a good thing (either a great positive effect or little to no effect at all) with one major caveat - use quality carbon. The only issue I ever experienced with carbon was HLLE. I had been reading the talk about carbon and HLLE and was ready to pull carbon from any tank that didn't explicitly benefit from its use, but before we did this, I noticed one commonality. Tanks in which we had otherwise unexplained HLLE were using Marineland black diamond carbon. We switched one of those tanks to Seachem matrix carbon and noticed a big improvement in the affected tangs within just a few weeks.

Of note, is that the HLLE is more often than not caused by either sustained high nitrates, or by stray voltage. If your water is good and you have HLLE in your tangs, throw a multimeter into the tank before blaming carbon.

I don't currently run carbon on my personal aquarium, but for kicks, I am going to throw a bag in tonight when I get home from work. The main factors I will be monitoring are dust algae growth on the glass, skimmate output, coral response, and my beloved Kole tang.

[sde1500]

Did a major clean up of my tank, to fight of a lot of algae growth and it resulted in some pretty cloudy water afterwards. Ran carbon and it was nice and clean in a day or two. I just have a bag of it floating in my sump. First time I've ever run it, but it works nicely so far.

[scar79]

Originally Posted by scar79

I don't currently run carbon on my personal aquarium, but for kicks, I am going to throw a bag in tonight when I get home from work. The main factors I will be monitoring are dust algae growth on the glass, skimmate output, coral response, and my beloved Kole tang.

I'm back after 48 hours of carbon use (one 10oz bag of chemipure I had sitting around) with some immediate observations. As with any good hypothesis test, no other factors have been changed.

I cleaned a "test patch" of my front glass on 10/10 when I added the carbon. I had last cleaned algae after a water change on 10/8 and dust algae growth was pretty substantial. My test patch today (10/12) is almost perfectly clean.

My other observation - polyp extension on my SPS is noticeably better. My Red Planet has had frustratingly poor polyp extension (compared the the fuzzy mess my colony was in my prior setup). It's looking just like it used to!

Water clarity is the same as it was, but the starting point was "very clear" especially considering I run no mechanical filtration other than my skimmer.

[TheReeferer]

For sure carbon! For those that haven't run it, have you ever seen tanks running it and those without? The water clarity is night and day

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[64Ivy]

I run GAC and GFO through a BRS reactor.

[Fish Keeper82]

I run carbon because it keeps my water from yellowing. It stays crystal clear. I initially started using it since day one on my 125 gallon tank since I was planning a mixed reef and figured it would help with coral chemical warfare. All is happy in my 125.

[ca1ore]

I run carbon 24/7. Never had any HLLE issues and water is crystal clear. Key is to rinse well, and ensure that no carbon fines can enter the water column. Don't ever use a fluidized reactor and keep through water flow on the low side.