Running Carbon, Yeah or Nay?

[mony97]

I am planning on building a sump for my 65g FOWLR here in a couple of weeks, and I was thinking of adding a carbon reactor to the mix, nothing terribly fancy but something that would hang on the back of the sump.
I was wondering if I should go ahead with this plan, and what would be the pros and cons of adding one to my system?

 

[mony97]

Bump Please

 

[btldreef]

ChemiPure Elite in your sump is more than enough. Don't have to get fancy with a reactor.
I definitely notice a difference using carbon and will not run a tank without it.

 

[mony97]

Wow, that was a quick reply, thank you.
ChemiPure Elite was my first choice actually, but have heard that a reactor is better due to the fact that the bags rely soley on rate of flow passing through them vs. PH always pushing water through the reactor. But you would recommend the bags, having good success yourself?
Also I have heard that running carbon 24/7 can strip the tank of other nutrients that are benificial to our tanks, and in extreme cases have cased the slime coat on tangs to dissapate, any one heard of this happening?

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by mony97
http:///forum/post/3223100
Wow, that was a quick reply, thank you.
ChemiPure Elite was my first choice actually, but have heard that a reactor is better due to the fact that the bags rely soley on rate of flow passing through them vs. PH always pushing water through the reactor. But you would recommend the bags, having good success yourself?
Also I have heard that running carbon 24/7 can strip the tank of other nutrients that are benificial to our tanks, and in extreme cases have cased the slime coat on tangs to dissapate, any one heard of this happening?
I have heard this too about the stripping of nutrients which is one of the reasons I prefer the bag to the reactor. With the bag, the flow rate is less than a reactor so not quite as many nutrients are taken out.
I think if your tangs are healthy, you're okay. I always add vitamins and garlic to their food regardless, so this may be a factor in their overall health?

I really like ChemiPure Elite. I've used it for years and in more than one tank. Great stuff

Usually change it out every 2 months instead of the 3 it suggests on the packaging, but this is due to the fact that I do feed my tank on the heavier side and have a HUGE stock list.

 

[btldreef]

My suggestion would be to start with the bag and see how that goes.
Mine is setup as follows:
Tank to sump through filter pad and carbon, to Protein skimmer, through return pump, back to tank
That's enough water movement for me to notice a difference.

 

[mony97]

Very cool, I will plan on using the bags than, saves me some cash too!!
Also quick question, what vitamins are you using I got some Selcon the other day and havent used it yet, I wanted to run it by all of you? I might just start its own thread so watch for that in case I start double posting..
Thanks agian for the advice!

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by mony97
http:///forum/post/3223130
Very cool, I will plan on using the bags than, saves me some cash too!!
Also quick question, what vitamins are you using I got some Selcon the other day and havent used it yet, I wanted to run it by all of you? I might just start its own thread so watch for that in case I start double posting..
Thanks agian for the advice!
I would at least give the bags a shot before going full out with a reactor, which to me is just overkill.
I use Boyd's VitaChem, but Selcon is just as good from what I hear. My one LFS always has VitaChem in stock, so that's what I went with. I only use the one that has added Omega 3's (blue label NOT the brown label). I also add Kent's Garlic Extreme, but that was more because I had a finicky Yasha Goby that didn't want to eat and now it's just habit that I add it.
For the record, ChemiPure ELITE has an added phosphate remover in it, which for me, works great. ChemiPure plain does not have the phosphate remover and with this version I usually end up adding PhosLock. I found that ELITE is cheaper in the long run.

 

[mony97]

Yeah I read up on the differances on their sight, pretty cool stuff actually.. Well at least for what most of us on this site find to be cool
And I'll keep the Selcon than, start using it tomorrow.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by mony97
http:///forum/post/3223140
Yeah I read up on the differances on their sight, pretty cool stuff actually.. Well at least for what most of us on this site find to be cool
And I'll keep the Selcon than start using it tomorrow.
Start off with 1/2 the recommend amount of vitamins. I've found that some of my fish needed to get used to the new flavor being added to their food. Also, when I first started using it way back when, I had an algae bloom because it was too much thrown at my tank at once.

 

[mony97]

Good to know! Thanks for the heads up..

 

[srfisher17]

I like Chemi-Pure too and it works well wherever there is good flow; I think a reactor would be over-kill. BTW, the "Elite" just adds ferric hydroxide to remove phosphates and costs more, and the FH does not last nearly as long as the Chemi-Pure. Most Ferric-type phos removers last only a month or so, the CP will last at least 3 months under normal conditions. IMO;If you want to remove phosphates, use a remover when you need it; that's when to use a reactor.

 

[mony97]

Removing phosphates is one of the reasons I am looking to run a reactor, or the "elite" Chemi-Pure. I have a small outbreak of cyano right now, nothing out of control, but there non-the-less. So I'm hoping to take care of that as well as the added benifits of running carbon.
Is this thinking correct? Or will the phosphate already be stored in the cyano?

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by mony97
http:///forum/post/3223744
Removing phosphates is one of the reasons I am looking to run a reactor, or the "elite" Chemi-Pure. I have a small outbreak of cyano right now, nothing out of control, but there non-the-less. So I'm hoping to take care of that as well as the added benifits of running carbon.
Is this thinking correct? Or will the phosphate already be stored in the cyano?

Suck out the cyano with a turkey baster. Sorry I didn't go through all the posts.
If you have good water and good water current you should not have cyano. I test for phosphates often because I use frozen foods, even though I rinse.
If my phosphates are up I use a product called Phosphate X. I need 4 caps full for my 90g. I have only had to use it twice in a year but it works better than the little pacs I used to put in the filters.
I never ever dose my tank until I do the tests. Carbon does nothing for phosphates, it cleans the water of toxins coral and anemones shoot at each other, and polishes the water for clarity. To my knowledge it won't remove phosphates or prevent it.

 

[gill again68]

GFO is one way to go if you have consistent issues with Phosphate. You will need to identify though why you have consistent issues, probably food, and deal with that. I bought a GFO reactor but now run carbon through it. Gonna put it on my reefkeeper and let it run a few hours a day vs all day everyday.

 

[bulldog123]

When Randy Holmes-Farlly says he runs carbon 24-7 I would not question it.
"I run GAC 24/7 in a canister filter to reduce yellowing, remove toxins, and generally reduce organic material in the water.
I discuss what organics may do in the water here:
Organic Compounds in the Reef Aquarium"
This is a quote from Randy. Sorry I had to remove the link.
As for phosphates use rowa. Hands down the best I have head about. I have tried three different brands and rowa is by far the best. The only draw back to rowa is it can remove the phosphates so fast it can cause damage to your corals. I have not experienced this problem yet.

 

[mony97]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3223776

Suck out the cyano with a turkey baster. Sorry I didn't go through all the posts.
If you have good water and good water current you should not have cyano. I test for phosphates often because I use frozen foods, even though I rinse.
If my phosphates are up I use a product called Phosphate X. I need 4 caps full for my 90g. I have only had to use it twice in a year but it works better than the little pacs I used to put in the filters.
I never ever dose my tank until I do the tests. Carbon does nothing for phosphates, it cleans the water of toxins coral and anemones shoot at each other, and polishes the water for clarity. To my knowledge it won't remove phosphates or prevent it.
I tried using the turkey baster with some luck, but all the stuff I didnt get or the stuff that fell back into the tank and got blown all around seemed to pop up again. Flow is good, although, I would assume that there are a few slow spots and this is where I have the cyano. Water should be clean, I do a 15% water change weekly, but my skimmer is on the fritz and was not very good to start with, so that may off set the good water? Also for carbon and phosphates I am planning on using the "elite" Chemi-Pure which uses ferric hydroxide to remove the phosphates. And I have never heard of phosphate X I'll have to look into that

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3223776

Suck out the cyano with a turkey baster. Sorry I didn't go through all the posts.
If you have good water and good water current you should not have cyano. I test for phosphates often because I use frozen foods, even though I rinse.
If my phosphates are up I use a product called Phosphate X.
Is Phosphate X an aluminum based product (whitish) like SeaChem Phos-Guard? I like Phos-Guard and it really does last a long time. This type of phos remover lasts much longer than the iron-based (Reddish) removers. The downside is that they don't work quite as fast.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/3224043
Is Phosphate X an aluminum based product (whitish) like SeaChem Phos-Guard? I like Phos-Guard and it really does last a long time. This type of phos remover lasts much longer than the iron-based (Reddish) removers. The downside is that they don't work quite as fast.
You're right, they don't work as fast.
I really like PhosLock, and that's what I use, but it's iron based and needs to be changed monthly. However, I did find that you only need about 1/2-3/4 of the recommended amount, so you can make it stretch it a little bit further.

 

[srfisher17]

Just thinking out loud: I've never used carbon in a reactor. Isn't good carbon a bit too soft and crumbly to be used that way????