Any negative effects if changing carbon 2x/month?

[cwegescheide]

Hi everybody. So over the weekend I went to a local reefers house to see his setup. I was told by a friend that his reef was spectacular and I still wasn't prepared for what I saw. After I composed myself I started asking him his regimine, feeding, waterchanges, parameters, lighting, you know the usual stuff. In conversation he said he's a big believer in carbon and uses a generous amount and changes it often.

I admit up till recently I have been fairly lax in comparison to my water changing and carbon changing etc. I used to let my carbon run passively in my filter sock for sometimes over a month or so. I am thinking to change carbon every two weeks using ~ 2 cups of chem-gone virgin carbon and changing it out every two weeks. Is there any negative effects to changing carbon more often?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[MAGDRL Mom]

Change it out 50% at a time instead of all at once.

 

[Jan]

I've been changing mine out 100%, twice a month. Well rinsed, of course.

No negative effects.

 

[dailydriven911]

I do the same thing 2x/month

 

[james734]

I swap mine out once a week after a day or 2 after doing a WC.

 

[Damsel13]

I think it was Kevin that also told me to only change half my carbon and do it often. I haven't asked him yet why it is better to only change half at a time.
Why is it??

 

[DonW]

You can have your way with carbon, change it as often as you want. What you dont want to do is go without it for awhile the just start using and changing lots of it real quick. It will clear up your water to quick and bleach out corals. The idea is to keep a constant supply of fresh so the water clarity never changes. If your using a bag shaking the bag on a daily bases helps alot.

Don

 

[Damsel13]

Thanks DonW

 

[Krish]

I changed mine every week or 2 all at a time. No need to do it in stages as it is not a biological filter

 

[cwegescheide]

Thanks for the help.

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
Sorry for the late reply. I was at the Tri-Cities marine conference and then went camping a few hours after returning home.

Regarding carbon, it is better to change it out twice a month rather than once a month. But once a month is still good rather than just on occasion. Carbon works very quickly (24-36 hours) to increase water clarity which in turn allows light to penetrate with more intensity. The sudden increase in light intensity does not allow corals enough time to adapt which can have deadly consequences.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Jan]

So does a twice monthly change-out schedule prevent the light shock situation from occurring?

 

[cwegescheide]

OK thanks for the response Kevin. Next time please take a laptop with you

 

[kevinpo]

So does a twice monthly change-out schedule prevent the light shock situation from occurring?

Well that depends on how fast your tank becomes yellow
For most tanks using carbon once a month along with regular water changes will prevent any sudden increase in water clarity. So to answer your question directly, it most likely would especially if regular water changes are also performed.

As a side note using ozone and bringing the ORP up too quickly can have a similar effect.

Regards,
Kevin