Carbon

[d2mini]

I have a BRS dual reactor in which I run Rox Carbon and High Capacity GFO.
Do you think that running the carbon 24/7 could be the cause of my recent coral issues?

 

[bjohanson1234]

It is possible that carbon leaches nutrients back into the water column. That is why it needs to be changed often.

When was the last time you changed it?

 

[d2mini]

Probably about a month ago.

 

[ccCapt]

I run both GFO and ROX carbon.

Were you having any alk problems? A commom stressor for some corals seems to be either unstable alk, as in rising and falling, or too high, as in 12+ dKH.

 

[sen5241b]

I've never had carbon cause my corals any trouble.

 

[dcantucson]

I will add to Sen's statement, "I've never had carbon cause my corals any trouble" that I know of. Most of the time I lose something to the unknown reaper.

 

[Toolman]

Since you are on this subject a friend of mine has a guy take care of his tank 70 gallon the guy said you only need chemipure (I think it contains carbon) in the tank for about two weeks then take it out for a couple of months it's working great for him. The stuff is cheep compared to the potential loss from not having it in I only have a 29 gallon. and had a major loss from listing to advice about stocking and I don't want to go down that road again so I am examining all possibilities.

 

[d2mini]

I've been raising my alk a little bit. I started dosing alk and cal last month with brs two-part. Looks like my high Mag was a bad test kit and it's really sitting at around 1400-1450. And now i just picked up an API test kit for calcium and its reading 500 where my old salifert kit was reading 350-370.

So my current readings with all new kits is:
Cal - 500
Alk - 9.5
Mag - 1400

 

[sen5241b]

I used chemi-pure for a long time and it did not seem to do anything more than other carbon products do.

I've heard some say they can't keep zoas alive unless they run carbon. More than once, I failed to fully rinse the carbon and then watched a dark cloud of the stuff get spewed into the main display. Nothing seemed the worse for it.

Running carbon is good idea and its gotta help.

 

[reeffreak]

There is anecdotal evidence out there that carbon causing coral bleaching and HLLE in fish.Good enough reason why I only use it a couple of days out of the month.Really a must for a mix reef.

 

[tankedchemist]

There is anecdotal evidence out there that carbon causing coral bleaching and HLLE in fish.Good enough reason why I only use it a couple of days out of the month.Really a must for a mix reef.

I thought it was generally accepted that these effects are due to not changing carbon/cleaning carbon often enough. is that wrong?

 

[sen5241b]

"anecdotal evidence" is a contradiction in terms but then I would agree that old carbon can start leaching stuff back into the tank. Carbon works because it is highly porous and it traps very small particles in its matrix --it makes sense that if it starts to break down it will leach crud back into the tank.

 

[ccCapt]

I thought it was generally accepted that these effects are due to not changing carbon/cleaning carbon often enough. is that wrong?

Actually it's the opposite. It's believed HLLE can be caused by the "dust" from some lower grade carbons that weren't completely rinsed before being used. The dust supposedly can affect the fish's pores.
Coral bleaching can occur when high quality carbon is used to rapidly pull DOC's out of a system. The rapid loss of nutrients can cause the corals to bleach.

 

[tankedchemist]

OK, so if you rinse the carbon well, and use relatively small amounts... it's okay?
I have lots of leathers and zoas, and I see a pretty drastic decrease in coral health, not to mention yellowing of the water, if I don't run carbon now and then. BUT, in 140gall total system volume, I run carbon in a small canister filter. probably has appx 1/2 lb of carbon.

 

[ccCapt]

I use it 24/7, so I think it's fine to use. I would assume the dust not only comes from poor rinsing, but also from the carbon breaking down as the pieces grind/rub against each other. The amount of carbon you should use really depends on the quality. It can be from 1/3 cup/50g up to 1 cup/50g. I personally use ROX 0.8 from Bulk Reef Supply. It costs a little more than some of the lower grade carbons, but you don't need to use as much and there is virtually no dust from it.

Ken Feldman is working on an article now comparing the performance of different carbons as far as DOC and TOC removal. From what I understand, ROX is by far the best carbon available.

 

[d2mini]

Capt, how often do you change it?
I use Rox as well, but i think i've been leaving it in too long... a month.

 

[ccCapt]

I change it every month too...along with my GFO.

 

[tankedchemist]

D2, is this the reactor you have?

Dual BRS GFO and Carbon Reactor - English

in the video he says it's good for up to 120g.... I want the same/a similar one but is it enough?

 

[sen5241b]

When I put the carbon in I try not to crunch or squeeze it.

 

[d2mini]

D2, is this the reactor you have?

Dual BRS GFO and Carbon Reactor - English

in the video he says it's good for up to 120g.... I want the same/a similar one but is it enough?

Ya that's it. Seems to be working fine for me.
Two separate one would probably a little easier to maintain like he said. But then you need two pumps.