Carbon ......Mixed Reviews

[jbru70]

I have been wondering if I should use carbon as a chemical filter. I have read that some people swear by it, and others say that it causes phosphate build up so they dont use it.

I cant decide which info is correct

[MVPaquatics]

I stand by it. You must use good quality though! Dont skimp. And i run mine inline before my ferric oxide to help pickup any phosphates if any

[impur]

As long as you change it regularly i don't see how phosphates could build up in it.

It does a great job of clearing up your water and absorbing any sort of chemical warfare your corals may be sending out.

I change mine monthly.

[Bigjohnwoody]

Carbon is great, and +1 everything Impur said. Except I change mine out every 2 weeks. I run mine in a reactor and I use the bulkreefsupply rox 0.8 carbon. Great stuff, and rinses clear after I run about 2 cups of water through it.

[akambience]

+1 It makes the water all sparkly and less smelly, just change it out every month or so.

[NoobtoSalt]

Just started to run carbon on my new build. So far so good. Use the brs rox. It's worth the extra cash

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[MVPaquatics]

As long as you change it regularly i don't see how phosphates could build up in it.

It does a great job of clearing up your water and absorbing any sort of chemical warfare your corals may be sending out.

I change mine monthly.

its not that it builds phosphate with time, its that poor quality carbon, and kinds not meant for aquariums (some people skimp), can actually contain phosphates themselves, and when they hit water they leech it back out. Also, pre rinsed (junk) carbons can be rinsed with poor water containing phosphates. And finally I believe the firing process can actually change things on a molecular level. I read an article regarding this, I will try to find it, I am not at my home computer

[jbru70]

Well I have a bag of BRS carbon........I think I will run the carbon for 2 weeks at a time and replace it. I will check for phosphates periodically and see what happens

[MVPaquatics]

BRS carbon should be good, shouldnt have any measurable phosphates (at least with our test kits), but GFO is always good anyways

[Burningbaal]

I know everyone disagrees with this...but it comes from my water treatment chemist wife...once you want to replace your carbon (2-4 weeks, whatever), rinse it really well to get the big stuff out again and then take it out of the reactor/bag. lay it out in a big pyrex baking dish (9x13 or bigger probably). Basically, you want it in as thin a layer as possible. heat your oven as hot as it will go (the hotter the better, pretty much). bake it for a few hours, overnight if you want. rinse again after it's cooled and it's good to reuse.

this WILL work. the thinner the layer, the better, the hotter the oven the better and the longer cook the better (even 24 hours wouldn't hurt it). this is what EPA and DOD approved water treatment testing facilities do to regenerate their carbon. the biggest issue is the smell...it won't be pretty.

[impur]

Interesting......if I had an over outside or something I might do that. For now i think i'll just toss and replace it (laugh)

[OwenReefin]

Hmmmm.....

[garrettm85]

That's a great bit of information and could be useful for those who use a bunch but I think the electric/gas cost of running an oven full blast might be cost prohibative. I could see how that would be very useful in an industrial application such as a water treatment plant!

[jbru70]

I know everyone disagrees with this...but it comes from my water treatment chemist wife...once you want to replace your carbon (2-4 weeks, whatever), rinse it really well to get the big stuff out again and then take it out of the reactor/bag. lay it out in a big pyrex baking dish (9x13 or bigger probably). Basically, you want it in as thin a layer as possible. heat your oven as hot as it will go (the hotter the better, pretty much). bake it for a few hours, overnight if you want. rinse again after it's cooled and it's good to reuse.

this WILL work. the thinner the layer, the better, the hotter the oven the better and the longer cook the better (even 24 hours wouldn't hurt it). this is what EPA and DOD approved water treatment testing facilities do to regenerate their carbon. the biggest issue is the smell...it won't be pretty.

Thanks for the tip.......BUT........according to my calculations I could buy a truckload of carbon cheaper than a divorce lawyer......lol

[Burningbaal]

ok...it's not really that awful of a smell. we've done it and my wife was fine with it. as for the cost, I doubt you'd notice a once a month run on your oven, vs 20 bucks for new carbon...I'd say it's worth it.

also, soaking it in a strong vinegar solution would do a lot for recovery of the media. it's all about van der waals bonding and an acid will get after that in a hurry.

[Eugenereef]

From what I understand the role of carbon is to adsorb (not absorb) the volatile organic in the tank that impart color or smell in the water. Also, as Miles pointed out, it will take out the corall warfare Chemicals out of the water too. If you heat the carbon, the process is called reactivation, you drive out these volatiles that are adsorbed on the surface. But I doubt if the other stuff would leave the carbon. In water treatment plants, they remove the foul odor from the water and thats why they can regenerate the carbon and reuse it.

[reefnjunkie]

FWIW- I never ran carbon on my tanks for the first few years and find myself using it now only because I treated for flatworms a month+ ago. I know a lot who use it (as you see in this thread) and they like it but...........?

It may be beneficial (and I have read why), but I say may because my tank always looked great before without it, and they are heavily stocked (crowded) with SPS. I have not SEEN a difference since using it but its only been a short time-For the cost, I wont be replacing it once its "spent" only for the fact I went nearly 3 years without it and my tank looked pretty good me and those who have seen my tank.

There are SO many varibles to consider when looking at one persons tank and what they do to have it look the way it does. Just becuase I did not use it or need it could be becuase I do something someone else does not and visa versa-

there are plenty of products you can purchase in this hobby for your tank-DOH!

Good luck which ever way you go

[jbru70]

Will the carbon absorb the supplements such as strontium/moly or microvert????

[Burningbaal]

From what I understand the role of carbon is to adsorb (not absorb) the volatile organic in the tank that impart color or smell in the water. Also, as Miles pointed out, it will take out the corall warfare Chemicals out of the water too. If you heat the carbon, the process is called reactivation, you drive out these volatiles that are adsorbed on the surface. But I doubt if the other stuff would leave the carbon. In water treatment plants, they remove the foul odor from the water and thats why they can regenerate the carbon and reuse it.
yes...adsorb, not absorb, but it is the VOC AND other organic carbons, definitely including the coral warfare chemicals (largely hormones, actually). heating drives out the volitiles, not so much for the other things. you are right. all this discussion has made me tweak my suggestion that a thorough soak and rinse in strong vinegar would probably be at least as effective. make sure it's not just stagnant though, or it woudn't do as much.


FWIW- I never ran carbon on my tanks for the first few years and find myself using it now only because I treated for flatworms a month+ ago. I know a lot who use it (as you see in this thread) and they like it but...........?

It may be beneficial (and I have read why), but I say may because my tank always looked great before without it, and they are heavily stocked (crowded) with SPS. I have not SEEN a difference since using it but its only been a short time-For the cost, I wont be replacing it once its "spent" only for the fact I went nearly 3 years without it and my tank looked pretty good me and those who have seen my tank.

There are SO many varibles to consider when looking at one persons tank and what they do to have it look the way it does. Just becuase I did not use it or need it could be becuase I do something someone else does not and visa versa-

there are plenty of products you can purchase in this hobby for your tank-DOH!

Good luck which ever way you go
too much carbon, in theory could and would strip useful things out of the water column. most of the time, we're looking for pretty low nutrient levels, so it's not an issue. the GAC (granulated activated carbon) is not going to do much for metals though, it's primary affect is on organics, metals are extremely hard to remove. A significant part of why we use it is for the chemicals put off by softies, so in an SPS tank it would have less of an affect...however, the lower nutrient levels will definitely not hurt your SPS tank.


Will the carbon absorb the supplements such as strontium/moly or microvert????
see above (second section)

[jackaninny]

Here's a link about using carbon in your reef system

http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/does-a-reef-tank-need-carbon/

[MVPaquatics]

Very good article!

[Jeramy]

Good read thank you. I just started using chemipure elite in my nano. I learned a lot from that and it dispelled some of the myths I had about carbon and how it works =)

[jbru70]

Great Info Thanks Everyone