Carbon

[statto]

Hello All
I have just started to cycle my 90Gal tank and have just fitted my protein skimmer (HOB)
It has a basket on the outlet to hold some carbon
Just a few questions
1) When should I add this carbon?
2) Should I rinse the carbon before adding it?
3) What will the carbon actually do?
4) How long will the carbon last? (how often does it need replacing?)
Cheers
Statto

 

[jerryatrick]

Originally Posted by Statto
http:///forum/post/2763840
Hello All
I have just started to cycle my 90Gal tank and have just fitted my protein skimmer (HOB)
It has a basket on the outlet to hold some carbon
Just a few questions
1) When should I add this carbon?
2) Should I rinse the carbon before adding it?
3) What will the carbon actually do?
4) How long will the carbon last? (how often does it need replacing?)
Cheers
Statto
You are going to get some personal opinions on carbon.
1) Add it after the cycle is complete
2) Rinse the carbon in RODI/RO/Distilled water
3) It removes a wide variety of organics and chemicals from the water.
4) Change it every month
The only issue that I have with carbon is that it can remove beneficial trace elements. But if you keep up with water changes it shouldn't become an issue.

 

[reefkprz]

1 add it after the cycle is complete
2 absolutly rinse it, rinsing helps prevent adding phosphates to the tank in the form of the "carbon dust"
3 carbon adsorbs many organic compounds including terpines, yellowing compounds, dissolved organics, etc.
4 carbon works really well at first and quickly tapers off in effectiveness. how often you change it will depend on what type of carbon you use. there are many types with many pore sizes, IMO you should not go more than a month, changing every 2 weeks is better. after about 30 days the carbon starts to decompose and actually starts doing more harm than good. running carbon for one week then removing it is fine. a lot of people only run carbon for a week then remove it for 3. this is how I did it when I ran carbon. at this point I only run carbon when I need to, like when I am forced to frag in tank and situations like that when corals are damaged and expelling stuff into the tank.
rinsing carbon also prevents an oxygen crash when you place it in your tank. one of the first things carbon does when moistened is absorb oxygen, by rinsing it it absorbs oxygen from the surrounding air and rinsewater, if you add it to your tank dry it absorbs it from your tank, depending on your tank and amount of carbon added it could temporarily crash your dissolved O2 levels, creating a short but dangerous situation.

 

[keebler]

Its up to you to add the carbon, but after a short while, it stops working. Honestly, I wouldn't bother, but it is up to you.