why or why not to use carbon in a reef system. if so what type?

[brad7373]

i made a chemical filter and would like to know if i should or shouldnt run it. theres so many different views on carbon and other chemical type filtration so i would like to hear it from the members of this site as to why or why not on running it and what is the best brand out there. thank you =).

[Crush Coral]

I use chmi-pure. I keep 3 bags in my external filter rotating one out each month. Keeps H2O clear and removes toxins. My skimmer removes organics and my chemi-pure does the chemical filtration that I like.

[BigJay]

Yes carbon is reef safe, but you need to change it regularly.

As to what kind, I run whatever bulkreefsupply.com has. It's cheap and effective.

[suphew]

I've read that some carbon is washed in phosphoric acid and will leach phosphates into your tank, so watch the cheap carbon. If you want to test carbon try soaking it for a couple of days in RO water then doing a PO4 test.

I have also seen people have problems when suddenly adding large amounts of carbon to system that hasn't run it for a while usually they have used fluidised reactors. So add it slowly and build up to recommended levels.

[brad7373]

i was going to go with what the 1st responder said. chemi-pure has great reviews so im going to go with that.

[DarG]

Carbon can pull the good as well as the bad, the good being trace elements and such. Atleast thats what they used to say about it and it makes sense so i assume it still is the case. I dont use a broad trace element supplement. I dont run carbon full time. I run it usually for a couple of days once or twice a month before I do a water change. But plenty of reefers use it full time. I use it mainly to help keep the water color free and a couple days of carbon monthly or bi weekly is all it takes for me. It doesnt take much carbon, a couple scoops is all I use for my 90 which is probably two or 3 heaping tablespoons. I also use the bulk reef supply carbon.

[BigJay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12806804#post12806804 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by suphew
I've read that some carbon is washed in phosphoric acid and will leach phosphates into your tank, so watch the cheap carbon. If you want to test carbon try soaking it for a couple of days in RO water then doing a PO4 test.

I have also seen people have problems when suddenly adding large amounts of carbon to system that hasn't run it for a while usually they have used fluidised reactors. So add it slowly and build up to recommended levels.

Lucky for us bulkreefsupply carbon is washed with hydrochloric acid (HCL), and will not leach phosphates into your tank. I've worked with hydrochloric acid frequently, even the 10 molar stuff is pretty potent.

Molasses Decolorizing efficiency 85 MIN
Dust% 0.40 Max
Iodine Number 625
Surface Area M2/g 650
Total pore Volume mL/g 0.95
Washed with Hydrochloric Acid
Food Chemical Codex Passes

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Carbon-and-Phosphate-Remover-GFO-Bulk-Carbon/c109_6/index.html

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a complete reef-cheapskate. At some point I got tired of paying $20.00 for a few ounces per week for carbon, when I could buy many pounds at a time in bulk for less. When you run multiple reactors that get changed out weekly, you need another source.

Another note: Carbon doesn't remove enough trace elements to worry about. By definition trace elements have an extremely low concentration to begin with. Larger organic molecules (fish waste, toxins, leftover food, etc) with low soluability are going to get pulled out before the smaller two-atom metal and halogen salts.

[jmoney]

i use hydrocarbon and love it, i run it through a tlf reactor real slow, and change it out once a month. I've tried a lot of other ways to use carbon an this has worked best for my tank(75 gallon).

[kdblove_99]

Bulk reef is tough to beat!

[BangkokMatt]

Seachem Matrix Carbon is by far the best - check with Boomer on the chemistry forum.

[nnn614]

I also use Hydrocarbon and like it a lot.

[pjf]

Here's a head-to-head comparison between Hydrocarbon2 and Black Diamond:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/2/aafeature1