carbon? who runs it

[Willow]

ive never really used carbon before unless i was having problems but ive recently decided to start using it regularly. i was wondering how much do you use and how often do you change it out.

i grabbed one of those big cans of black diamond from j&l and am running a cup of it in a micron bag in the last chamber of my sump. trying to figure out if i should use more and is a month to long to leave it, i suspect it stops working after a week or so.

[Invigor]

I don't use it. The wind one day told me it's a possible cause for HLLE in tangs, so I jumped away.

[Aquattro]

I use about 1/2 cup per week of the black diamond.

[mr_alberta]

I run carbon 24/7. About 1 cup or so. Its hooked up to my return pump so any water that goes back into my tank goes through the carbon. To be honest, I don't really notice THAT much of a difference in water clarity, but I mainly use carbon for the nasties in the water I can't see. Better safe than sorry IMO. I change it every 2 weeks.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I'm a firm believer of ChemiPure. Have used it in all my tanks since the 80s. Activated carbon loses most of its potency way too quickly for me. ChemiPure is good for months. Less hassle = happy me :biggrin:

JME & O

Anthony

[EmilyB]

Rarely.

[megatron_55]

Yuppers . . . I run carbon too . . . . about 1/2 cup in my fuge . . . . (in the penguin filter) . . . It helps purify water i believe . . . Use it . . .

Besides . . . u saw my tank . . . crystal clear!!

[Saltysteve]

I was not too happy with the color of my water, had a yellow tinge to it. I threw in a bag of carbon and it cleared right up. Been using it 24 /7 ever since. I am just about to take it out and discard it. Going to see how long before the problem arises again.
Interesting subject!

[EmilyB]

It might be interesting to add as well, whether or not there is algae in your system, be it fuge or whatever. I don't have algae.

[Samw]

Big difference in my tank. I definitely use carbon. Here are some comparisons with all else constant (Same Lighting, filteration, etc). Only difference is one picture was taken a few weeks after I started running carbon.


WITHOUT CARBON:

http://www.hyperdream.com/~samw/reef/Coral/TopDown/136-3627_img_std.jpg


WITH CARBON:


http://www.hyperdream.com/~samw/reef/Coral/TopDown/136-3632_img_std.jpg

[EmilyB]

Yes, I see green macro in your tank Sam, interesting.

[Samw]

But I think the coloring was coming from excessive fish waste.

[EmilyB]

Interesting, but wouldn't you think I would get green with my hoard ? :confused:

[Richer]

I've only run carbon on my tank for the last month and a bit, I personally haven't seen any difference in my tank, but since I have the stuff laying around, I figure I might as well use it.

BTW, my tank has been running a fuge packed with chaeto since day one. Fish load is somewhat on the lighter side though (2 false perculas and a lawnmower blenny in a 33gallon with 15gallon sump).

-Rich

[Samw]

Interesting, but wouldn't you think I would get green with my hoard ? :confused:

Well, its more yellow/brown than green. But you should take a top-down pic and then run a large bag of carbon through a hang on filter and take another pic in 10 days and see if there's a difference.

[Canadian Man]

I notice the same thing in my tanks as Sam's.

SO

I run carbon all the time

[EmilyB]

For esthetic reasons then would you say, or something other benefits as well ?

[Samw]

Activated carbon absorbs dissolved organics so it helps when you have a high bioload.

High amount of organics can produce ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. High organics could result in less oxygen in your water (This can be one of the reasons why my night time oxygen and ph levels are so low). High organics absorbs light which which is not good if you have photosynthetic animals. Some dissolved organics can also be toxic. Dissolved organics also smell bad (I put carbon in my skimmer collection cup and it works well to get rid of odour coming from it).

So if a tank has high bioload, these are some of the reasons to use carbon. Basically, if you already have a crystal clear tank and don't have any chemical warefare, you probably don't need to use it. For my tank, its a must.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/rhf/

[Beverly]

Never run carbon unless I'm having a specific problem in a particular tank. If I ever did switch to using carbon all the time, which isn't very likely, I would change it weekly.

[sumpfinfishe]

I have been running Chemi-Pure for years, I wouldn't run a system without it :exclaim:

[Delphinus]

I too run carbon 24/7. Big difference, I find. I use a couple tablespoons and change it out after 1-2 weeks. I run mine in a 304 cannister filter on the sump. In the past I've also just had it in an aquaclear. When you run it actively pushing water through it, it seems to be really effective, but you have to keep on top of the routine of changing it out and rinsing the filter bag since it tends to be prone to clogging.

[danny zubot]

Wow, I guess I've been using too much carbon. I run it 24/7 as well but I use about 2-3 cups at a time, I leave it in the sump for over a month though. I haven't got pics to prove clarity like Sam but I definately notice increased clarity with a fresh bag o' carbon. :mrgreen:

[Manny]

What happens if you leave the carbon in too long. Is there any bad results. I have a lot of softies in my tank so I started running carbon. After a while I niticed that there was some green algae growing on the rock where there wasn't before. The only thing I was doing differently was using the carbon.

I was using Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon. I was using about 2 cups and changing it maybe once a month .

[BCOrchidGuy]

I didn't run carbon, was told and read that it can remove a lot of your trace elements etc. Some carbons contain phosphates and will leach them into your system. If you leave the carbon in to long it will eventually start to leach out the nasties it removed. I've use Chemi pure and was very happy with it and I'll stick with it.
That being said it does seem to do a lot of good in some peoples tanks so as the saying goes, some say tomato some say tomato.. (doesn't work in type).

Doug

[mrcopitr]

I also use it 24/7. About 2 cups in an magnum canister filter. I change it evry 2 weeks. I have quite a high bioload in my 90 gal reef.

I found that my water was getting a yellowish tint when not using carbon.

I also use phosban on a 24/7 basis, and I'm quite satisfied with the results.

Marco

[StirCrazy]

I run it 24/7 and I change it monthly. I run 8oz at a time.

Steve

[IslandReefer]

I also run about 2 cups 24/7.
New carbon once a month makes the water shiney clean.
I do notice the initial "magic" is short term but a couple cups seems to keep the leathers and Acros from chemical wars for about a month.
I also rinse the accumulated debris out of the carbon bag about once per week....seems to add to the lifespan.
Maybe I'll try Chemipure for that lasting effect depending on $$.
Does it get the yellow out as well as carbon?

[Chin_Lee]

carbon and chemipure

for something that absorbs bad stuff, how bad can it be for your tank? I figure its probably more beneficial than not.

[rickjames]

I run about 1/2 cup of black diamond on my 30G 24/7.... change it out every 2-3 weeks.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Just out of curiosity does anyone run Renew? it's the rechargable carbon from Seachem. I don't remember how to recharge it but I remember it can be done a number of times.

Doug

[Jack]

Willow,

I run 1 cup of high quality Knop carbon per 100g of tank capacity... in my situation it works out to about 1-1/2 cups of carbon, ran 24/7, changed every 4 weeks.

Water clarity is definatly improved while using carbon and I hope to limmit any possible chemical warfare between my corals by running it 24/7.

[Willow]

Willow,

I run 1 cup of high quality Knop carbon per 100g of tank capacity... in my situation it works out to about 1-1/2 cups of carbon, ran 24/7, changed every 4 weeks.

Water clarity is definatly improved while using carbon and I hope to limmit any possible chemical warfare between my corals by running it 24/7.

isn't the effectiveness of it worn off after a few days or does using it in a bag give you a longer lifespan?

[Jack]

Peak absorbtion definatly occurs in the first few days and from what I've read yellowing compounds are removed initially and dissovled organics more so after.

But who knows... in this hobby a lot of things come down to "whatever works for you"

I'm more concerned with eliminating chemical warfare between corals hence the 24/7 run times.

Knop carbon also states that it's very high quality and doesn't need to be changed as often. But, that's just what the lable tells me. Ha.

Anyways, I belive carbon works well, so I use it. Not much more complicated than that.

[danny zubot]

Doug wrote, Just out of curiosity does anyone run Renew? it's the rechargable carbon from Seachem. I don't remember how to recharge it but I remember it can be done a number of times.

Sounds interesting, do you have anymore info about it. I'm up for anything than can be used over and over.

[BCOrchidGuy]

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_filter_media_seachem.asp?ast=&key=
it doesn't say anything about recharging it so I may have confused it with something else.
Seems I confused Renew with Hypersorb which is recharged with household bleach.

Doug