Carbon is Passive form, bag it and toss it

[n00by]

I believe they sell carbon in containers that are pre-bagged, open the jat toss it into the sump and voila.

How effective can this be, it must do something? Absorb odour, particles, bacteria?

[billdogg]

if you are refering to Chemipure or similar, you are paying extra for the convienience of having it already in a bag. Chemipure is a very good product - I used it exclusively for years - but i have since switched over to bulk carbon and GFO from www.bulkreefsupply.com. I run both in reactors - IMHO, it is more effective that way.

[n00by]

I think it's chemipure. But will just tossing the bag in the sump do the trick? A different LFS was saying that is has to have water forced through it to work.

[n00by]

Actually it was something else that I saw but this chemipure stuff seems even better. Alot of things it promises, raises ph, etc... hmm.

[Shane Hoffman]

Carbon needs to come in contact with water to do what its intended to do. It comes in contact with much more water and is much more effective if you force water through it. If you dont have a reactor you can use an old canister filter in its place. I personally feel you HAVE to run water directly through it to get its full effect.

[Michael]

it will work in a bag, but is more effective if water is pushed through it as in a canister or reactor, however in a bag is fine as well imo even if its not the best way.

[loosecannon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15329966#post15329966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by n00by
I think it's chemipure. But will just tossing the bag in the sump do the trick? A different LFS was saying that is has to have water forced through it to work. This is true:)

[n00by]

I could toss it into the filter sock where the drain is. How about that? A good solid 600 to 800gph comes out of it.

[boret]

Watch out because you don't want too much water forced into the carbon, it will break down into tiny particles/dust and cloudy the water.

I did just that a few days ago :( I put a bunch of carbon in a filter sock and tied to one of the outputs on a new sump / frag setup I was putting together and the 1" running water at maybe 800-900gph was to much for the carbon and it broke into tiny (dust size) pieces. It got in the water, in the frag tank walls, inside the pipes, everywhere!!! I was lucky because I didn't have any livestock and it was during a test run of the new setup.

I had to connect a sediment filter to clear the water and scrub the areas where the carbon dust collected.

The advantage of the carbon reactors is the convenience of having it in one place where carbon is fluidized. Meaning that water passes through but at a slow rate and the carbon pieces "float" around inside the chamber. It makes it more effective.

You can toss it in the sump and it will work... not as efficiently but it will work. I've seen some people that place it in between baffles.

[Toddrtrex]

I put mine is a refillable bag. I built a shelf out of PVC and egg create that is in the return section of my sump -- that water has to go over the bag. It isn't the most efficient means but works pretty well.

[n00by]

Thanks guys,

I decided to buy the chemipure stuff in a jar. Is there a need to rinse this stuff or it's ready to eat.. err I mean use. :D

[VacavilleFC3S]

i use chemipure elite, i take it out of the jar, rinse it well, and toss the bad in my return section of the sump.

[evsalty]

You could run it bagged in your bubble trap as well but have to run it across the entire width of the sump to get best results or the water will just go around it.

[cloak]

As long as you move the cabon around every couple of days with your hand, sort of shuffle the media within, I don't see a problem.

[boret]

Reactors are not that expensive. Next Reef makes really nice ones.
For $60 you can get the small one (MR1 Shorty) that handles up to 100 gal system. For $10 more bucks you can get the one that handles up to 250 gal (MR1).

I use the MR1, and I mix about 10 parts of Carbon with 1 part of GFO. It keeps my water sparklin and I have no algae. GFO media tends to clump together so mixing it with the carbon takes care of that. I remove the media and clean the reactor every 4-5 months.

I normally purchase it HERE (http://ffaquatics.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15&zenid=o2hn2612g0vn6olcv9m0shsq07) (www.ffaquatics.com)

They have the reactor and the media.

All you need is a small powerhead (a MaxiJet 400/600 will do) to run the water through the reactor.

I recently re plumbed my system so I use an external Reeflo Dart to feed the return, the refugium, a frag tank, a chiller and the media reactor.

You might be able to T off you return line, put a ball valve and feed the reactor that way so you won't need an extra pump.