filtration..loading filter with carbon 12g nano

[upinsmoke]

i have 12g nano cube is it good if i add some more bags of active carbon inb filter and an extra sponge
thanks

 

[searcher]

Are you using live rock and sand in your tank?

 

[upinsmoke]

yeah i im using 10 pounds of live rock and 20 pound bag of live sand

 

[upinsmoke]

yeah i im using 10 pounds of live rock and 20 pound bag of live sand

 

[searcher]

Generally, in a reef tank you don't want to use a sponge or any other type of filter material. You want the bacteria to grow on the rocks and sand.
I do run carbon once a week, but only for a couple of hours. Other people run it 24/7. But you need to be careful when doing it that way.

 

[laddy]

What does the carbon do to the perimeters of the water?

 

[searcher]

IMO, and others, there's a couple of problems with long term use of carbon.
It might work too good and remove some desirable trace elements and nutrients.
Also, eventually, it needs to be replaced and or cleaned. The charcoal has such a high surface area that a lot of the beneficial bacteria live on it. So when the carbon is replaced a lot of your bacteria is lost.
There are ways to avoid these issues. But I prefer to run the carbon once a week or after I've done some fraggging or added a new coral.

 

[laddy]

That makes sense. I run carbon one day out of the week, just after I do a water change.