Activated Carbon

[blacknails]

Hey guys.. It's like five plus in the morning right now and I'm still studying for my A level paper later... Sigh.. Really hate studying but at the same time really wanna get into a good university..

Anyway, I happened to be thinking and was thinking about using activated carbon in my tank..

I read that all tank water will become yellow after some time..

Though I can't see much yellow in my tanks, after running them for over two years, I was thinking that the water probably is a little yellow..

So I was wondering if it was advisable to use activated carboon in Coral Reef Aquariums? To remove the yellow tinge so that my corals and clams can get more light?

If so, then how much should I use and how long should I run the carbon in the tank?

[junyong84]

hey....did u ever change ur tank water???

activated carbon is good...provided that u change ur carbon 1 to 1 n half mths...

i use chemi pure... water is clear...

[MNCL]

Hi Junyong

I think changing the activated carbon in our tank is very subjective as far as the period is concerned. It really depend on how big your tank is, what is the amount of activated carbon we put in our tank, whether we have frequent feedings and its quantity of left over food that were not collected and left inside the tank etc etc.

Its my 2 cts opinion.

CHEERS

[fishnerd]

If I may add on... The yellowing compounds come from the breakdown of uric acid and other excreta of fishes plus left over food...you probably have overfed them...cut the feeding to alternate days and reduce the use of dried krill or frozen food...activated carbon works to absorb all colouring and odours, use good quality AC like Matrix Carbon from Seachem and it can last a couple of months, put it in a mesh bag, into the filter box to allow water to flow through...good AC actually hisses upon contact with water because of all the empty air space in the pores!

[Achilles Tang]

Highly recommended to use & change out small amounts of GAC on a regular basis.

They absorb dissolved organics and help towards making your reef tank a cleaner environment and keeps the water clear.

The usage of GAC is an integral part of my reef husbandry practices.

[clowntrigger]

Off topics abit, do you guys rinse the GAC(Matrix carbon from Seachem) with fresh water and then put in it the sump or put it straight into the sump?

[Achilles Tang]

A quick rinse to remove fine dust... and then quickly into the sump.

GAC absorbs the most when it is new and dry... unfortunately, if you put it straight out of the container and into the sump, you'll get a lot of fine carbon dust inside your water. No choice, a quick rinse or two is required.

[tansh]

I use chemipure so far so good but must change every 6mth

[blacknails]

But actually doesn't the activated carbon remove alot of good chemicals needed inside a marine tank? Like the Marine Trace Elements?

Anyway thanks for all your helpful advises.. I'll give my tanks an activated carbon treatment in awhile!!

[Achilles Tang]

Trace elements are easily replenished with water changes.

Some reefers feel that as long as you can't measure trace elements, why bother adding such additives cause you may overdose.

For SPS tanks, it's probably more of a concern than other marine tanks as these corals do take up a lot of trace elements more than softies or LPS.

[junyong84]

good luck!

[dfstan]

how does one knows it's time to change the carbon? by seeing the water turning yellow? Also, any difference if the carbon is submerged under water un sump tank? thanks

[tigershark]

1 bad thing about active carbon..... phosphate

[Achilles Tang]

Good GAC should be devoid of phosphates. Don't buy cheap ones.

I use Seachem matrix carbon.

[blacknails]

If I'm not wrong you have to change your carbon once in a few weeks right? Or else their prolonged presence would be detrimental to the tank water..

[Achilles Tang]

how does one knows it's time to change the carbon? by seeing the water turning yellow? Also, any difference if the carbon is submerged under water un sump tank? thanks

The efficiency of GAC drops dramatically after the first week or two. Overtime, they may even become a form of biological filtration as their porous surface becomes colonised by bacteria.

You know when its time to change out the GAC after a few weeks (depending on the dissolved organics content of your tank) when your water is visibly yellower.

As long as there is ample water flow thru the GAC, there is no difference if it's applied in the sump or main tank (but who would leave a bag of GAC in the main tank?? )