Activated carbon

[NAx0]

Hi all.


I would like to know your opinion on the use of activated carbon in sps's aquarium.

Do many use it? Of constant form? Or only sometimes? Check mark?


In that his use is aspects beneficial?



Thank you very much

 

[wrightme43]

I use it occasionally. I like kent reef carbon. I know it is not the best. I think the best is Black Diamond, and the super activated carbon.

 

[Krish]

I use black diamond and run it 24/7. I change it every 2 weeks

 

[Maxx]

I use black diamond carbon. I run it in a HOT Magnum canister filter, and change it out every week.

Nick

 

[NAx0]

This question should to that I have been reading over my routines of maintenance.


And I have realized that I do not use a method of elimination, since I do not do changes of water neither use no type of resin.

The only disposable element of my system is the poly filter


When I inhale the bottom to eliminate detritus, I filter it but I go back to introduce the same clean water to the aquarium.



Am I doing good to it?

Or he should change a little my philosophy of maintenances.




Very many thnks

 

[wrightme43]

Well that kind of depends on your tank. If you have mixed corals, like softies, and LPS, and SPS. It would be a very good idea. If you are growing calupera algae it would be a very good idea.
How do you deal with trace element depletion in your tank? I have always thought if I could permently stop feeding my tank, I could stop water changes, but since I have a input/import of nutrients, I need a export. To that end I use a skimmer, chaeto, phosban, carbon, water changes, and the occasional polyfilter.

 

[NAx0]

My corals's population comes from SPS and LPS and once each 15 clean days the bottom filtering it with polyfilter and giving back to the water the tank.

my parameters are good.

No3 0,25
Po4 0,03




But there are impossible things to detect with test like possible toxins freed by corals. And they manage to other composed, filtering the bottom neither eliminate themselves, but never had presented using activated carbon



To part to let the water crystalline, and withdrawing the possible toxins ... what else does he help in?

thks

 

[wrightme43]

Thats pretty much all it does in my mind. I want to warn you though, I am not very bright. LOL
I think Boomer did a great thread on the uses, and limitations of activated carbon. Have you tried p.m.ing Boomer and asking for a link to it?

 

[NaH2O]

Here is a quote from the following article: Chemical Filtration - scroll down to the Activated Carbon section:

Activated carbon will remove a wide variety of organic molecules by simply trapping them in the carbon pores (absorption) or by chemically bonding them (adsorption). Adsorption relies on the fact that many organic molecules are polar in nature. This means that the two ends of a molecule differ in their affinity for water. One side is repelled by water and is termed hydrophobic (''water hating'') while the other end is attracted to water and is called hydrophilic (''water loving''). When a polar molecule comes close to a polar surface such as activated carbon, they become attached to each other, effectively removing the molecule from solution. Moe (1989) gives a detailed discussion of the properties of activated carbon and the factors that determine its efficiency.

Other reading: About Activated Carbon and Activated Carbon in the Marine Tank

Here are a couple of past threads:

Carbon Filtration Question

What brand of carbon do you use?

 

[kevinpo]

I run Kent carbon the last 10 days of each month then perform a water change of 20%. I am a strong advocate of monthly 20% water changes. I have 8 tanks totaling about 2,480 gallons of water and on a couple of them I have tried going without water changes for up to a year. The corals looked better on the ones with water changes. I also needed to move a 90 gal tank a few feet for store expansion so (upon Anthony Calfo's recommendation) I drained all the water from the tank leaving the corals without water for about 30 min. while I moved the tank. I used all new water to refill the tank and the corals never looked better.

Carbon makes the water very clear which helps you to get the full benefit from your lighting system for corals. It also helps remove organic compounds that can build up to unnatural levels in a closed system. IMO the goal when keeping tanks with corals is to keep as many parameters as possible matching NSW (natural sea water). This will allow some flexibility if something should go wrong like temp, salinity, etc. The more deviation you have from NSW the less likely animals will survive if you have a malfunction/accident.

The impact from carbon is most noticeable on older tanks (5+ years). Usually by that time the fish and coral have grown quite large reducing the water volume and producing large amounts of organic compounds. The change in water clarity from the sudden addition of carbon can be so dramatic that corals can change color and even bleach or RTN from the increase in light intensity.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[NAx0]

Thank you so much for answers and the information.

buy Seachmen Seagel. ( anti-phosphates and active carbon combination )

I eat to see goes experience.