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Reactor slow to respond to emergency

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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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    Posted: February 21 2014 at 9:24am
Quote Thousands of Flatworms are killing my tank. Should I turn the Carbon Reactor back on?


Answer:  Okay yes, but it won't help fast enough. Instead, lay or hang a loose bag or two of AC right over or next to the main circulation/return pump. Replace the bag(s) with new AC every hour or two for the first 4 hours. This removes the toxins and the dosed chemical. Whether FWExit or pure Lavamisole, the chemical is relatively harmless to other animals, but if left in the system it will continue killing flatworms.


 Why are Carbon Reactors slow to respond to emergencies?

In an emergency, we want to clean the water as fast as possible. It may not be possible or even practical to do a 50-100% water change.
Tank water flows through a typical Reactor very slowly, usually less than 200 gph. In a healthy aquarium, toxins are produced slowly. The slow water flow through a Reactor works fine for removing these toxins, but, when there is a sudden huge increase in toxic chemicals, especially the sudden death of thousands of Flatworms, the Reactor does not clean the water fast enough. That's when the answer given above is the best help.

Aloha,
Mark Hug
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BobC63 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 21 2014 at 10:30am
Carbon, whether hanging in media bags, in a reactor, etc is not enough on it's own to deal with issues of this magnitude. I would add add a second major point to this -
 
When dosing anything to the tank that is designed to 'remove' (kill / destroy, eradicate, etc) a pest that is present in large numbers:
 
1) Read up on what is going to happen - if anything - when those pests start to die / decompose, etc so you can have a halfway decent idea of the scope of what you are looking at and how online 'experts' have dealt with any issues that may have arisen; 
 
2) Ask other local hobbyists for their opinion / experiences; and do not proceed until you have at least 2 or 3 different people's experiences working with the material. Their input is valuable because, unlike online reading, they are local and can tell you specifics as to whether or not local conditions are a factor you need to account for;
 
3) Plan ahead and have everything in place ahead of time to perform a massive (50% or greater) water change should things go awry. If you can't set up (don't have enough water containers / salt mix / mixing pumps, etc), or just don't want to set up (too much hassle / don't want to spend $$$ for salt / water containers / pumps, etc) for an emergency water change... Do NOT use the material.
 


Edited by BobC63 - February 21 2014 at 10:31am
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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