Carbon life

[Waynerock]

How long will carbon keep working for? Specifically the rox .08 from BRS. I just keep it in a bag where the bubble trap sponge was in my reefer. I have been changing weekly, it that too soon? I hate wasting stuff so just wanna know if I should keep it In The tank longer. For a 65 gal tank I use 1/2 cup.

 

[Spare time]

Weekly is definitely too frequent. I prefer swapping carbon once a month but I am sure there are others who prefer more frequent changes.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

As long as your corals are not loosing color then I would say your fine. When I run it that’s about the amount I use and frequency I change at. Maybe I use a tad less.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Not used carbon in a few months now, i only change it if I see the water going yellow or if some corals start sulking

 

[ichthyoid]

I don’t run carbon longer than about 10 days. My thinking is that after a couple of weeks it’s losing activity & begins to become a bacterial colony. If you want a simple objective way to measure it on your tank, watch this video-

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How fast it depletes depends on too many factors for anyone to tell you how long it will last in your tank.

How much organic matter is present at the start.
How fast organic matter is generated.
How good of flow through the GAC you have.
If you are driving bacterial growth with organics, etc.

I think 1-3 weeks is a reasonable time frame to change it.

In an emergency (like a toxin release from a fish, etc.), change it more often.

 

[Waynerock]

Thank you everyone!!