Using carbon from Petco. Okay?

[badstorm48]

So, I got a media reactor for Christmas and want to get it up and running. I'm going to run carbon in it rather than media balls. Any way has anyone ever used the carbon from Petco? They have two brands. The imagitarium activated carbon pellets and sea chem matrixcarbon spherical carbon media. How is it? I thought I read a while back about picking the right carbon and if you don't it could cause some damage or something. I'm not sure but I thought I read something about it and want to make sure I get the right type. Here's a pick of it on there website

 

[nervousmonkey]

Below is a video from BRS about carbon and what kind to get, the pros and cons of different types. What you get depends on what you are using it for, and whether it is going to be in a media reactor like yours or not, and additionally what you will do with it in the reactor, etc.

 

[badstorm48]

Very nice thank you. That pretty much answered my question.

 

[DAPG8GT]

SeaChem matrix is great carbon imo.. If I had to pay retail and those were my choices that's what I would get. I got a ton of "budget" carbon years back for a steal ( 5 gal bucket) and a year into using it figured out it contained A LOT of p04 leading me to realise not all carbon is created equal.. There's a thread here on how to test it for leaching I believe. Basically let it sit for a few days in SW and pull a before and after test to see the difference . It was shocking how much was bound up in a few tablespoons of that carbon.

 

[nervousmonkey]

Very nice thank you. That pretty much answered my question.

Just be careful if you buy the ROX carbon as it strips water quickly. You don't need as much ROX as you would other types. Additionally, I don't run my carbonreactor continuously, just 4 to 5 days a month which is all I need, or 1 to 2 days a week which works great. Don't strip your water rapidly as corals will react to it. That's what you hear as the bad result. Corals don't like anything changed rapidly. Just my thoughts on it. Happy Reefing!!!!

 

[BlueCursor]

Carbon is a debatable addition to a saltwater tank. Buying anything but the best is very questionable because it leaches tiny carbon particles that can cause lateral line disease. When I have to use carbon (like when I'm picking zoas off a rock), I use the ROX variety and I run the canister discharge through my 200 micron filter sock. I rarely use carbon though.