Too Much Carbon or HCGFO?

[ronau]

Hello,

I'm planning on running Carbon and HCGFO in separate reactors on my new, and first, marine tank. According to the calculator on BRS, I should be running 0.63 cups of Carbon and 0.78 cups of HCGFO. Are there any problems of just rounding it up to 1 cup of each?

Thanks,

Ron

[LoJack]

Hello,

I'm planning on running Carbon and HCGFO in separate reactors on my new, and first, marine tank. According to the calculator on BRS, I should be running 0.63 cups of Carbon and 0.78 cups of HCGFO. Are there any problems of just rounding it up to 1 cup of each?

Thanks,

Ron

Carbon unlikely. But GFO … you want to be careful with GFO. It has a tendency to strip the water of nutrients very very quickly, which can cause problems. GFO also has a lowering effect on alkalinity in large quantities.

In my experience with GFO, less is better than more.

[Magickiwi]

Carbon can strip the water of beneficial nutrients and minerals as well. It is a non-selective adsorbent and can even remove oxygen from the tank.

I'd stick with the recommended dosage and if required work up to the full 1 cup.

[Seriak]

Too much carbon can lead to HLLE as well.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/activated-carbon-affirmed-as-causative-agent-for-hlle-disease

[ronau]

Thanks for the replies.

I will start with a half cup of each then and work my way up. I'll be running them right from the start when I have no livestock so I guess there is no rush to increase the amounts.