To carbon filter, or not ...?

ghost_Nic

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It is my understanding that carbon primarily assists with removing toxins, colorants and odors.

I have noticed that there are several ways to apply carbon filtration:
  • Mesh bag in the sump
  • In the filter cup
  • Reactor
  • ?
So I am now interested in your experiences and uses here at MASA:
  1. Do you use carbon filtration
  2. What product and method do you use
  3. Full time, part-time or just when needed when for example something big dies in the tank
  4. Does it work or is it simply placebo?
Thanks, Nic
 
It does work to take some yellow out of water, but it is also theorized to be the main cause of HLLE, so if you do use it, get a high quality brand (like Seachem Matrix Carbon) and rinse well. Might also be a good idea to have some form of mechanical filtration afterwards to remove any residual dust.
 
  1. Do you use carbon filtration - Yes, I do
  2. What product and method do you use- I use the Red Sea Reef-Spec Carbon, I run in it just in a mesh bag in the first stage of my overflow just after the filter sock/floss
  3. Full time, part-time or just when needed when for example something big dies in the tank- Full-time, I change out once a month, there are many theories about how often it should be changed out, every 4 weeks is just what I have found to work best for me.
  4. Does it work or is it simply placebo?- This depends on want you want to use it for, you mentioned above using it for when something big dies in the tank, the biggest problem when something dies in the tank is the spike in Ammonia, carbon is not really going to do much for this so then technically it is not working. The biggest reason I use it is for water clarity, I have tried many different things to get the water crystal clear and take out that "yellow" which is common. I find that a good quality carbon works best for this
 
Yes I use it in my sump. Change it every month and have nice clear clean water
 
I use to use carbon. But i stopped using it because i cant find myself paying the price of commercial branded carbon. I use to buy coconut shell carbon which worked great but the place i used to buy from closed down
And in all honesty, i cant see the difference with the naked eye when using carbon or not. Only time i really notice it is when i do a waterchange and i look at the white bucket. Then it looks like pee. So it doesnt really bother me

If your only reason is the yellow color in the water, you might aswell run ozone. Much cheaper option in my opinion. But also a bit more riskier.
 
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I run carbon in a mesh bag which sits under the filter roller. Swop out every 3-4weeks.

Main use for me is to clear up the water. Clear water just looks good to me as well as allows light to better reach the corals..
 
Oh and I bought the 3 kg bucket from waterboy, was R450. I used the res sea one previously but the cost was ridiculous for so little.
226733
 
  1. Do you use carbon filtration - yes
  2. What product and method do you use - run carbon and purigen in a reactor. Last stage of filtration. Filter sock --> Skimmer --> Refugium --> UV --> Reactor. I use a mix of red sea reef spec carbon and polyp lab carbon.
  3. Full time, part-time or just when needed when for example something big dies in the tank - approximately 24/7/365 due to load shedding :tt2:
  4. Does it work or is it simply placebo? Works well for yellow pigments for the 1st 2 weeks or so. In general replace it every 4 weeks. Thanks for the reminder, need to replace the carbon this weekend - looking forward to that crystal clear tank :m38:
 
1. Do you use carbon filtration?
Yes, always have.

2. What product and method do you use
Full time, part-time or just when needed when for example something big dies in the tank.?
I use Waterboy carbon. It's the best value and it's used in water filters for human consumption so its good stuff. Full time use but in small amounts along with GFO. I switch it out bi weekly and run it in a reactor as the last stage of filtration before going back into the display.


3. Does it work or is it simply placebo?
Definitely not a placebo or snake oil (it's a fact that it works, not just someone's opinion). It's used in many different water purification applications and it's sometimes administered by doctors to patients who've been poisoned by their wives for spending too much money on juvenile hobbies like reef keeping.

As an extra... I used to run a load of it and found my corals were dull and drab. After running out and having to go without, my corals bounced back within a few weeks. I realized I had been stripping out trace elements and probably too much of the nutrients... I now am careful to run a reasonable amount and change out fairly regularly
 
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Thanks for all who have responded

I have just started adding Iodine and Iron trace elements as my water is consistently low on these elements.
Once I have that sorted out, I will add some RS Reef-Spec Carbon and see if I can notice a difference in clarity - aka get rid of the pee color in my water change buckets :020:

If I decide to go longer term, I will consider some of the more affordable options mentioned above
 
A bit if topic.... If you like reading Randy Holmes articles he advises against the use of iodine in the aquarium. Can cause more harm than good.

 
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