carbon 24/7?

[viet-tin]

would it be a good idea 2 purchase 2 emporer 400s for a reef tank?

 

[zanemoseley]

I don't think you need 2 of them, 1 would be ok for running carbon and other media in. Save your money for the second one and put it toward a skimmer or something. You may also want to look a canister fiters instead of the HOB filter.

 

[viet-tin]

i will be getting a euroreef skimmer later. I dont really like canister filters. They dont do to much good for a reef tank.

 

[reefnut]

IMO canister filters are great for running carbon. Main thing is you have to keep them clean but if you change out the carbon regularly and clean it regularly they seem to work fine. I personally wouldn't use one for anything other than running carbon or other temporary media though.

 

[viet-tin]

I will have a sump/fuge with an in-sump skimmer. I was just wondering if having the emporer 400 with carbon would be ok.

 

[reefer44]

get a two little fishies phosban reactor and fill it with carbon if you want something that works 10X as much as the emperor 400 or any canister filter......if you get a small maxijet and the reactor its only like 50 bucks and like i said works great
if you want the site were to get them email me
bradc444@hotmail.com
Brad

 

[viet-tin]

u got mail

 

[reefnut]

Why would a phosban reactor work 10x as much as a canister filter?? I'm planning to get one to run PO4 remover but never thought about it for carbon!!

 

[zanemoseley]

It would work better since it fluidized the carbon instead of simply pushing water through it. The only problem I see with using the phosban reactor is its a bit of a pain to change out the media because carbon is only good for less than a week.

 

[reefer44]

well they say it is only good for less than a week......changing every two to 4 weeks (using esv) works great for me.........................i mix half phosban and half carbon and run for 3 weeks and it works great
oh and viet-tin i sent you an email
Brad

 

[zanemoseley]

Reefer44 if you're throwing out your Phosban every 3 weeks you're wasting your money. It should be good for at least 3 months.

 

[reefer44]

really????? i thought it only had three weeks two...hmm maybe i should change every month then???????.....I think the carbon can last that long
Brad

 

[zanemoseley]

carbon is not good for a month, I've heard varying reports but most agree that carbon will last from 2-3 days. I keep mine in for a week just because its convenient.

 

[reefer44]

i have never seen any fact that is only good for a little while..just ppl saying it...it seems that much carbon could not asbord enough to fill it completely within a week

 

[viet-tin]

im having second thoughts about the carbon. I think ill just run esv after i learn about what it is and why it is helpful.

 

[zanemoseley]

What do you mean by ESV, its just a company, the make many products varying from Bionic to carbon and many other. Bangguy said carbon said that carbon lasts 2-3 days I believe and his word is good enough for me, he must have learned a ton over 13,000 posts or whatever he has.

 

[viet-tin]

Oops what i meant was that phosban stuff...

 

[zanemoseley]

Please be aware there is a BIG difference between carbon and Phosban. Carbon removes organics, yellowing of water, and some chemicals from the water, Phosban only removes Phosphate which is a byproduct of feeding your fish,excess phosphate leads to nusance algae problem.

 

[viet-tin]

will running the phosban in the reactor and using an emperor 400 work?

 

[zanemoseley]

Yep Phosban or ROWAphos (same thing but different brand, more widely used than Phosban) in a Phosban reactor and running carbon in a Emperor 400 will be good. You can run ROWAphos in a Phosban reactor, they're essentially the same thing but I see more people use ROWA.