Carbon questions

[angler man]

Is there a difference between active carbon and plain carbon?
Secondly, I'm confused with carbon in general. Carbon absorbs correct? So can I put it anywhere in my sump? Is there a particular spot that's best?
Is there a rule of thumb of how much to use per gallon?
Lastly, what are the negatives of leaving carbon in your tank?
Thanks!

 

[nycbob]

u want it on a spot where the flow will go thr the carbon.

 

[angler man]

Bumpo!

 

[mie]

BUMPO! Is that some type of game?

 

[angler man]

Originally Posted by mie
BUMPO! Is that some type of game?
Hey Mr.935 posts, what's the difference between active carbon and carbon?

 

[mie]

Well active carbon does stuff, and carbon just sits around. you schmuck

 

[keith burn]

Activated" is sometimes substituted by "active." By any name, it is a material with an exceptionally high surface area. Just one gram of activated carbon has a surface area of approximately 500 m², typically determined by nitrogen gas adsorption, and includes a large amount of microporosity. Sufficient activation for useful applications may come solely from the high surface area, though often further chemical treatment is used to enhance the absorbing properties of the material.
(Wikipedia)
Hope it helps

 

[angler man]

Originally Posted by keith burn
Activated" is sometimes substituted by "active." By any name, it is a material with an exceptionally high surface area. Just one gram of activated carbon has a surface area of approximately 500 m², typically determined by nitrogen gas adsorption, and includes a large amount of microporosity. Sufficient activation for useful applications may come solely from the high surface area, though often further chemical treatment is used to enhance the absorbing properties of the material.
(Wikipedia)
Hope it helps
Thank you!

 

[mie]

In english...
The word adsorb is important here. When a material adsorbs something, it attaches to it by chemical attraction. The huge surface area of activated charcoal gives it countless bonding sites. When certain chemicals pass next to the carbon surface, they attach to the surface and are trapped.
Activated charcoal is good at trapping other carbon-based impurities ("organic" chemicals), as well as things like chlorine. Many other chemicals are not attracted to carbon at all -- sodium, nitrates, etc. -- so they pass right through. This means that an activated charcoal filter will remove certain impurities while ignoring others. It also means that, once all of the bonding sites are filled, an activated charcoal filter stops working. At that point you must replace the filter.

 

[geoj]

Activated carbon is carbon that has been heat treated to give it large absorbing properties.

 

[angler man]

Thanks for the responses guys. I went into the archives and found out why you shouldn't run carbon for more than a couple of days. Now, I need to find out where you can buy this stuff in bulk.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Angler man
Thanks for the responses guys. I went into the archives and found out why you shouldn't run carbon for more than a couple of days. Now, I need to find out where you can buy this stuff in bulk.
That is still a point of debate. I run carbon 24/7 and don't see any issues with it. It also really depends on what you're keeping in the tank. If you have a mix of soft coral, LPS, and SPS, carbon is a great idea because it can filter out the chemical warfare that coral can emit. Basically, chemical warfare is a bunch of chemicals and hormones that coral sends out to try and restrict growth of other coral.

 

[sk8r_dave]

There are some negatives to leaving carbon in your tank for long durations (in terms of months.) I've read and had a minor problems... (luckly there arn't any fish or coral in the 10g.) Because chemicals adhear to the surface of the carbon they will eventualy release them back into the tank. So you should change it when the package says so.

 

[mie]

Originally Posted by m0nk
That is still a point of debate. I run carbon 24/7 and don't see any issues with it. It also really depends on what you're keeping in the tank. If you have a mix of soft coral, LPS, and SPS, carbon is a great idea because it can filter out the chemical warfare that coral can emit. Basically, chemical warfare is a bunch of chemicals and hormones that coral sends out to try and restrict growth of other coral.
I to have ran carbon for over 1 year and have seen no ill effects,
Why fix it if it is'nt broken?

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by SK8R_DAVE
There are some negatives to leaving carbon in your tank for long durations (in terms of months.) I've read and had a minor problems... (luckly there arn't any fish or coral in the 10g.) Because chemicals adhear to the surface of the carbon they will eventualy release them back into the tank. So you should change it when the package says so.
Well, yes, you definitely want to change the carbon on a regular schedule. This is true of any mechanical filtration, though. Follow the guidelines on the package and you'll be ok.