Using Carbon in a Mesh Bag, Helpful?

[10gnano]

I'm currently using carbon, I have it in a mesh bag that I place in one of my rear chambers or in my skimmer (HOB, in the return chamber). Is this helpful or a waste of time. I have been reading that the best way to use carbon is with a reactor. By putting it in a mesh bag am I pulling anything out of the tank? This is something I have never thought about, I've just bagged it and put it in.

 

[Darthv247]

it will still do its job in a bag. From my understanding its a little more effective in a reactor since u can control the amount of water flowing through it but there is nothing wrong with bagging it IMO.

 

[Krish]

it will still do its job in a bag. From my understanding its a little more effective in a reactor since u can control the amount of water flowing through it but there is nothing wrong with bagging it IMO.

I agree. A reactor or canister would be optimum but I always ran mine in s media bag and tossed it in a high flow area of my sump namely where incoming water passed.


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[Zoanthrope]

the carbon can soak up iodine and some other useful trace elements. i find putting the mesh bag with carbon in the skimmer for a day or so every week works well to keep the water clear.

 

[Boomer]

the carbon can soak up iodine and some other useful trace elements.

That is pretty much a hoax and line of BS. You do not have Iodine in your tank but Iodide and Iodate. Most reef tank tested for any often are many time that in NSW. About the only trace that is really affected by GAC is Iron and unwanted HM.

 

[Zoanthrope]

then I stand corrected. I mostly use the rotation method so i don't have to change it as often and it keeps my water clear.

 

[Frankie]

I totally disagree that carbon "reactors" are better then a mesh bag. Water is moving through that thing so fast the carbon has very little contact time. Also reactors cause channeling from biofilms making even less contact time with each grain of carbon.

IMO the mesh bag is the way to go for best usage. Daily or by daily kneading of the bag to prevent channeling is all that is needed. Place the mesh bag in a passive flow area of the sump so it can saturate better.

What type of carbon are you using 10gnano? The type of carbon is the key to best results. For me Rox was the best used in a mesh bag.

 

[10gnano]

What type of carbon are you using 10gnano?

The API stuff that comes in something that looks like a milk carton. Didn't really think it was that different from brand to brand, but then again I never really researched why I was putting it n my tank besides it helped with water quality. I've been doing it for probably two years and today was the first time I actually looked into why I was doing it.

 

[DonW]

Its time again for a Boomer lesson on carbon and brands! The man knows his carbon. He's been around longer than carbon.

Don

 

[Krish]

I ran carbon in a media bag in all of my sumps where water entered the sump and on my all-in-one, I clipped the bag on the output of the skimmer so that the water coming from the skimmer fell directly onto the media bag. I ran carbon 24/7 and changed it weekly like this. I don't know, seemed to work fine for me, but I did run very "sterile" tanks with minimum waste and bio-load.

Here's it clipped on the 24gal aquapod right under the skimmer

 

[10gnano]

i'm currently running something pretty similar to that krish, I have it in my skimmer on the return side (CPR Bak-Pak). I have run carbon for a few years, I can't remember what things looked/acted like before I started using it. That was also before I had really gotten into reefing so I wasn't really paying attention.

 

[Boomer]

What the hell happen there ^^^

Somebody fix that

 

[Krish]

What the hell happen there ^^^

Somebody fix that

I deleted it. Might have something to do with the guy Mojo has working on the back end I'm thinking.


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[dnjan]

One potential problem with using carbon in a mesh bag is that after a while the mesh bag of carbon can become involved in the nitrogen cycle (after all, carbon is a porous material with a lot of surface area - perfect habitat for bacteria). If you leave the carbon in long enough for these bacteria to start having a significant role in your tank's nitrogen cycle, when you remove it you making a significant change.
I have put carbon in a filter canistor, with forced water flow through it, and the carbon is exhausted in a couple of days (which I assume is not enought time for a significant bacteria population to develop). So I favour the filter canistor approach.

 

[Darthv247]

think i caught some of what boomer said before you deleted his post. seemed like he said reactors were better because more water is passed through the granules at a controlled rate of flow where as a filter bag in a passive area of water the water just passes by it instead of through it mostly. Think he hinted at the fact that R/O units and water facilities etc use carbon blocks in reactors. wouldnt they use a bag if it was more effective?

i don't put it as elegantly as boomer but i think thats what he said. minus a few finger pointings

 

[mojoreef]

No idea why Boomers post came out like that, and I tried to fix it from Krishes delete but its just to tough. Sorry Boomer no idea what happened their. If you get some more time maybe you could do a do over??

 

[Boomer]

Well I will rewrite it tomorrow, in a gentler way

 

[ksed]

the carbon can soak up iodine and some other useful trace elements.

That is pretty much a hoax and line of BS. You do not have Iodine in your tank but Iodide and Iodate. Most reef tank tested for any often are many time that in NSW. About the only trace that is really affected by GAC is Iron and unwanted HM.

Boomer

If Iron is affected by carbon, therefore running GFO with carbon in the same reactor would exhaust the carbon quite quickly, due to the slow leaching of iron from the GFO?

Thanks

 

[Krish]

One potential problem with using carbon in a mesh bag is that after a while the mesh bag of carbon can become involved in the nitrogen cycle (after all, carbon is a porous material with a lot of surface area - perfect habitat for bacteria). If you leave the carbon in long enough for these bacteria to start having a significant role in your tank's nitrogen cycle, when you remove it you making a significant change...

This is the main reason I changed mine weekly. Didn't want it to become a little bio-filter. Something people may want to keep in mind who like to run carbon for about 3-4 weeks without changing it.

 

[Boomer]

Kevin

If Iron is affected by carbon, therefore running GFO with carbon in the same reactor would exhaust the carbon quite quickly, due to the slow leaching of iron from the GFO?

It would to agree exhaust it more quickly may but have not seen any tests. I do not like that idea at all of mixing any GAC in with GOF par for a slight reason below. I have posted on this many times which has nothing to do with iron.

1.GFO and GAC have very different adsorption rates and you end up wasting allot of GFO.
2. Wasting GAC in the reactor due to any iron adsorption from the GFO.
3. Adding s spoon full of GAC to a GFO reactor as a spacer gor the GFI, to inhibit the "binding/cluing" of the GFO many see. Not that it has to be GAC.


Krish and dnjan

One potential problem with using carbon in a mesh bag is that after a while the mesh bag of carbon can become involved in the nitrogen cycle (after all, carbon is a porous material with a lot of surface area - perfect habitat for bacteria). If you leave the carbon in long enough for these bacteria to start having a significant role in your tank's nitrogen cycle, when you remove it you making a significant change...


This is the main reason I changed mine weekly. Didn't want it to become a little bio-filter. Something people may want to keep in mind who like to run carbon for about 3-4 weeks without changing it.

"Mesh bag"
Should be moved ever week, taken to the sink, water on full blast, turn and squeeze the bag as you turn/rotate it under the faucet to remove any trapped material, which also exposes new ares of GAC plus keeping it from going Bio and replace it 1 / m.

"GAC reactor"
Good idea to do the same, remove and wash it and replaced 1 / m. However, GAC reactors are somewhat self-cleaning due to the slow movement of the GAC grains, so it is not as big an issue as a mesh bag and goes less Bio in the same time as a mesh bag.