Carbon?

[jnb]

Are there any articles on what carbon may strip out which otherwise benefit the reef aquaria?

If not, can someone please advise as to this?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The problem starts with the debate over what constitutes stuff that benefits reef aquaria. It is unfortunatelythe case that measuring the concentrations of trace elements says nothing about their bioavailability (which is mostly what we care about).

I've not seen any comprehensive articles on what carbon will remove in the context of a reef aquarium.

In general, it removes organics, and whatever is attached to organics. That latter category includes many metals (copper, iron, etc.). Is that good or bad? The answer isn't entirely clear, IMO, but I tend to think it is beneficial in the case of some metals (copper, perhaps), and perhaps less so for others (iron, for example).

In general, I think that running carbon is a good idea, and I do not think that most aquarists should add anything back to replace what might be removed by the carbon, except perhaps via water changes with a good salt mix.

Calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, and strontium will not be depleted by carbon in typical reef aquaria.

[jnb]

thank you - that pretty much sums up everything I have stumbled across over the years - I just wasn't sure their were new insights...

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
The problem starts with the debate over what constitutes stuff that benefits reef aquaria. It is unfortunatelythe case that measuring the concentrations of trace elements says nothing about their bioavailability (which is mostly what we care about).

I've not seen any comprehensive articles on what carbon will remove in the context of a reef aquarium.

In general, it removes organics, and whatever is attached to organics. That latter category includes many metals (copper, iron, etc.). Is that good or bad? The answer isn't entirely clear, IMO, but I tend to think it is beneficial in the case of some metals (copper, perhaps), and perhaps less so for others (iron, for example).

In general, I think that running carbon is a good idea, and I do not think that most aquarists should add anything back to replace what might be removed by the carbon, except perhaps via water changes with a good salt mix.

Calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, and strontium will not be depleted by carbon in typical reef aquaria.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.