Do you run carbon in your reef tank?
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=57397
Printed Date: March 04 2026 at 8:08am
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Topic: Do you run carbon in your reef tank?
Posted By: Soehl
Subject: Do you run carbon in your reef tank?
Date Posted: June 26 2012 at 4:49pm
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Do you run carbon in your reef tank? Give us a reason why or why not. ------------- Cory 180 Gallon Mixed Reef Radion Pro LED 75 Gallon Elite Sump/Refugium |
Replies:
Posted By: bstuver
Date Posted: June 26 2012 at 5:12pm
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Yep, seems to help with pollution... ------------- Jackie Stuver "wait these aren't the happy Hawaiians oompa doompa godly heaven on your face zoas? I dont want them then. lol!" Ksmart |
Posted By: builderofdreams
Date Posted: June 26 2012 at 5:50pm
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Mandatory.IMO. There is chemical warefare going on in your reef every second of everyday.These corals have Mastered the art of Chemical Warefare. They been doing this for millions of years and we know literally nothing about it. Carbon and water changes are the only 2 ways to remove them. ------------- It's Not a Hobby It's an Obsession 150&210 Gallons of Madness and. Sanity! 801-850-4915 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65135&title=builderofdreams-feedback-post |
Posted By: BillyC
Date Posted: June 26 2012 at 10:53pm
Yes, because it removes toxins and impurities. Also makes the water crystal clear. |
Soehl wrote:Posted By: Fatman
Date Posted: June 26 2012 at 11:38pm
| I run it because Reef'd Up said I should. |
Posted By: papa-squid
Date Posted: June 27 2012 at 2:01am
Hahahaha that's awesome. But I've been told run it at least a week out of a month, if not all the time. ------------- Officially Addicted! new upgrade from 40cube to 55g. and helping friend and his mom with there new 55g. Dallin Anthony |
Posted By: Soehl
Date Posted: June 27 2012 at 9:40am
Sounds like a good reason to me! lol
I run it too. I keep it in my system most of the time, even after it has run its course. I make sure to change it out whenever I get a new coral or if any of my existing ones get upset. I also will change it out if I notice any sickness or discoloration in my corals. In my opinion, filter socks, protein skimmer, and charcoal are our most basic and standard methods of filtration. Each has it's negatives but I think they are vital to our systems, even in moderation.
------------- Cory 180 Gallon Mixed Reef Radion Pro LED 75 Gallon Elite Sump/Refugium |
Posted By: BobC63
Date Posted: June 27 2012 at 11:43am
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I run carbon 24/7/365 and change it regularly (once / month or once / 2 weeks).
There ae certain chemical compunds that pretty much nothing else we can use will remove / keep in check.
IMO carbon filtration is a MUST. ------------- - My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) - * Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 * |
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: June 27 2012 at 11:50am
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I also run it 24/7 but I only change it out once a month. Very important to run it IMO ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: June 27 2012 at 2:38pm
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I agree with all of the above. I run it in a fuval and change it every 3-4 weeks. ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: Jake Pehrson
Date Posted: June 27 2012 at 3:53pm
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I also run it 24x7x365. ------------- Jake Pehrson Murray http://coralplanet.com" rel="nofollow - coralplanet.com http://utahbeeranch.com" rel="nofollow - :) |
Posted By: 19cobra93
Date Posted: June 28 2012 at 10:12am
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I have two tanks. One has carbon 100% of the time that I change out once a month. It also has a lot of corals in it, and is several years old, so well established. The other tank doesn't have carbon, and never has. It's less than a year old, and only has some real basic softies in it. Other than carbon, both tanks have the exact same filtering and lighting. One is a 14g biocube, and the other is a 29g biocube. The difference between the two is amazing. The tank with carbon (29g at home) is beautiful and bright and clean, and everything grows very well. The tank without carbon (14g at work) is generally green, dull, and growth is non existent. Now, I do more water changes in the nicer tank, but not by much. The "cleanup" crew is proportionally the same/similar. The nicer tank I feed frozen, the other gets dried pellets. Anyway, my point is, between my two tanks the the differences I'm seeing, I'm convinced carbon is absolutely the way to go.
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Posted By: Pete1122
Date Posted: June 28 2012 at 4:00pm
| Is Cemi-pure considered carbon? |
Posted By: BobC63
Date Posted: June 28 2012 at 4:08pm
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Chemi puer I believe is carbon mixed with some ionic resins, so not exactly the same ------------- - My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) - * Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 * |
Posted By: Soehl
Date Posted: July 03 2012 at 8:46pm
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How do you use your carbon? Reactor? Bag? Other? ------------- Cory 180 Gallon Mixed Reef Radion Pro LED 75 Gallon Elite Sump/Refugium |
Posted By: BillyC
Date Posted: July 03 2012 at 10:33pm
| I use ROX carbon in the BRS dual media reactor. If you have the funds and space for a reactor do yourself a favor and get one. It's so incredibly efficient. |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: July 04 2012 at 12:44am
| +1 to Billy i noticed a huge difference with my reactor and it also had gfo reactor and it made such a difference not sure i will ever run without 1 in the future. Media bags work but a reactor is worth the investment imo |
Posted By: DLindquist
Date Posted: July 04 2012 at 6:19am
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I used to. However, I am currently morning the loss of many of my prized acros. The last batch of Carbon I used contained traces of copper and wiped out my higher end pieces within hours. ------------- A government strong enough to give you everything you want, is powerful enough to take everything you have. |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: July 04 2012 at 6:28am
| Dave would you mind telling us where you got your carbon from? If not on the boards will you pm me....sorry for your loss |
Posted By: BillyC
Date Posted: July 04 2012 at 8:16am
Me too Dave. I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. I know the feeling and it's terrible. |
Posted By: Cody
Date Posted: July 04 2012 at 10:09am
| I had a problem with Kent's Reef Carbon. I went from using Chemipure to Kent's and it wiped out nearly everything in my tank in two days. Found out it was the Kent's brand that was bad. There are many stories on other aquarium sites saying Kent's did the same to them. So stay away from Kent's brand. |
Posted By: troyholl
Date Posted: July 04 2012 at 12:13pm
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YEs... Kents had a problem with a few batches of carbon. I believe the Aqaurium had their show tank messed up big time as well with it. They have a post on the Kent's site that gives you which batch numbers were bad. I use Kent's but got lucky that the batch I have is okay. ------------- Troy Hollingsworth Riverton, Utah 270 Gallon "Custom" Tank |
Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: July 04 2012 at 6:10pm
Ditto here ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: Soehl
Date Posted: July 08 2012 at 2:21pm
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If using a reactor, is there a formula that you use to decide how much carbon to put in? ------------- Cory 180 Gallon Mixed Reef Radion Pro LED 75 Gallon Elite Sump/Refugium |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: July 08 2012 at 5:17pm
| yes it came with my reactor and it also tells how much gfo if you run a dual media reactor , if its a single reactor im not sure but brs (bulk reef supply) has a lot of directions depending on your reactor and type of media you use . |