Activated Carbon - Thread

[downonthereef]

Hi guys! I just wanted to get a few opinions on activated carbon and running it constantly in your aquariums, I have always ran carbon myself, but I saw somebody say the other day that carbon can take too much out of the water, and they only use it when the water is slightly yellow. I was just wondering if anyone doesn't use carbon and what their corals look and grow like and preferably somebody who has ran it and no longer runs it too see if they noticed one being better than the other.

Also, if I have a leather coral, should I always run carbon?

 

[anthonygf]

I think carbon will take out coral food like phyto, amino acids etc. I reduced my usage to 2 weeks a month several months ago, haven't used it for a little over a month now and water looks ok and corals seem to be doing a little better but I also increased my phyto and AB+ dosing to almost daily now. I will use it only when I see a problem or once every 2 months. Carbon only lasts about 2 weeks in a reef system anyway, from what I hear from Melev's Reef.

 

[anthonygf]

I don't know about leather corals but I have a mixed reef with a clam. Clam is growing.

 

[anthonygf]

I run carbon 24/7 in my fresh water cichlid tank.

 

[downonthereef]

I don't know about leather corals but I have a mixed reef with a clam. Clam is growing.

Thanks! Really helpful and just what I was looking for! I only questioned the leather as they supposedly release toxins into the water as a sort of chemical warfare to establish dominance, just don't want it upsetting any of my other corals but I'm on week number 1 of no carbon and the corals all look fine so far

 

[SPR1968]

Just run it 24/7 and change it every 3-4 weeks and you will be fine with that

 

[downonthereef]

Just run it 24/7 and change it every 3-4 weeks and you will be fine with that

Okay, I have done this since I've started. However, I haven't really noticed much growth from stuff, I mean my torches appear to be growing but the "fast growing, invasive zoanthids" are still the same amount of polyps as when I bought them, I dose 20ml of AB+ daily as the bottle told me to "increase dosage if using less and growth is not noticed", I just assumed maybe the carbon is doing too much

 

[anthonygf]

I tend to disagree with SPR1968 somewhat. It won't hurt to use carbon 24/7 but I don't see the need for it. The carbon will filter out phyto and zooplankton that is added, in my opinion that is a waste. Since I stopped using carbon 24/7 I notice a little better color and growth, maybe because the phyto, zoo etc., stay in the water column longer. More food for the corals.

 

[anthonygf]

Thanks! Really helpful and just what I was looking for! I only questioned the leather as they supposedly release toxins into the water as a sort of chemical warfare to establish dominance, just don't want it upsetting any of my other corals but I'm on week number 1 of no carbon and the corals all look fine so far

I don't think you need to worry about chemical warfare until it comes in contact with other coral, or something else that threatens it. Just have a bag of carbon on hand and WC ready if it does happen.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I was running GAC, but switched to a foam pad type of carbon, and added Blue Life Clear Fx media bag. I have noticed a significant decrease in my Sailfin Tangs HLLE. It's colour is returning and the scarring is healing slowly. I'm really not expecting all of the scarring to disappear, but I really do see a major improvement to the Tang.
My water is really clear, took about 3 days for the cloudiness of the Blue Life Clear Fx to dissipate, and now everything is doing great.

 

[anthonygf]

I was running GAC, but switched to a foam pad type of carbon, and added Blue Life Clear Fx media bag. I have noticed a significant decrease in my Sailfin Tangs HLLE. It's colour is returning and the scarring is healing slowly. I'm really not expecting all of the scarring to disappear, but I really do see a major improvement to the Tang.
My water is really clear, took about 3 days for the cloudiness of the Blue Life Clear Fx to dissipate, and now everything is doing great.

So you are saying GAC can cause HLLE? I know it is known to cause same problem with fresh water Oscars.

 

[Suohhen]

So you are saying GAC can cause HLLE? I know it is known to cause same problem with fresh water Oscars.

Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE)

This article discusses studies performed regarding head and lateral line erosion in captive fishes. Specifically, carbon use and nutrition as they relate to this syndrome.

www.reef2reef.com

GAC is one of those everyone will never agree on so rather than give my experience I'll just say I am always skeptical of anything that was popularized by freshwater. Half of the nutritional demand for the typical coral is dissolved organic matter.

Coral Nutrition, Part Two: Foods for Corals

While once reefkeepers believed lighting and chemical additives were all we needed to sustain corals, coral nutrition is now recognized as vital for a thriving captive reef. Dana Riddle delves into more detail about foods for coral.

reefs.com

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE)

This article discusses studies performed regarding head and lateral line erosion in captive fishes. Specifically, carbon use and nutrition as they relate to this syndrome.

www.reef2reef.com

GAC is one of those everyone will never agree on so rather than give my experience I'll just say I am always skeptical of anything that was popularized by freshwater. Half of the nutritional demand for the typical coral is dissolved organic matter.

Coral Nutrition, Part Two: Foods for Corals

While once reefkeepers believed lighting and chemical additives were all we needed to sustain corals, coral nutrition is now recognized as vital for a thriving captive reef. Dana Riddle delves into more detail about foods for coral.

reefs.com

This has been proven to cause HLLE, as per @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[anthonygf]

Maybe I will just stop using carbon and use poly-filter. Anyway my fish have been fine for 5 years now with carbon use, although I only use it maybe up to two weeks every month or two. I still have a 5 gallon bucket of carbon left.

 

[MarcPinsky]

Hi guys! I just wanted to get a few opinions on activated carbon and running it constantly in your aquariums, I have always ran carbon myself, but I saw somebody say the other day that carbon can take too much out of the water, and they only use it when the water is slightly yellow. I was just wondering if anyone doesn't use carbon and what their corals look and grow like and preferably somebody who has ran it and no longer runs it too see if they noticed one being better than the other.

Also, if I have a leather coral, should I always run carbon?

You can take my opinion as you wish........ I "had" a 65g breeder reef tank for over 25 years. (It recently started leaking for no reason and had to be broken down. [Never found a cause for the leak]. Don't even try to ask about the mess! To my luck my [family owned] LFS where I have been buying my fish and coral for years is storing my corals and fish until a new tank arrives --> 4-6 wks due to "covid" backlog). I have always added a bag (mesh or old panty hose) of carbon pellets to my canister filter. I have not noted any adverse results over my many years of 24/7 use. I assume that when they get exhausted they simply act as an additional biologic filter media. While I clean my HO filter every 2 weeks (or when filter material looks soiled}, I only go to the grief of cleaning the canister filter (in cabinet under the tank) on a quarterly basis. My protein skimmer cup is drained weekly (but has an overflow tube to a bottle if I forget to do so). The water has always been clear with this method. As far as I can tell fish and coral are/were happy. Just my thoughts on the topic.