do I nedd " reef " carbon?

[aggiebball07]

can i just use regular carbon in my reef or do i need reef carbon i saw ?

[DrHank]

The most important thing about carbon is to select one which doesn't release phosphates into the water. Many reef keepers only use carbon occasionally and not continuously.

[JaredWaites]

Its not a necessity unless your running Ozone, or trying to remove something that isn't supposed to be there, such as a spill...or possibly if your done doing a treatment, then you would use it to remove the treatment as well.

Although it is nice to run carbon once or so a month get get all you can get out of your tank...it won't hurt anything if that's what you mean.

[scootman]

If you plan on using carbons or resins, I'd encourage you to look into the Chemi Pure product. I personally use Chemi Pure Elite and I love the stuff. It's not easy to find in the LFS, so I order it online. It's not all that cheap, but it lasts several months, so it seems to ease the $$$ pain a bit. Forgive me if it sounds like I'm plugging a product here, but I just get excited to find things that live up to the promises on the container.

[yeldarbj]

I agree that the Chemi Pure is pretty good stuff. I've also used Seachem Matrix Carbon which is a bit cheaper and also very good. I've read a lot of recommendations for Marineland Black Diamond carbon too but haven't tried it.

I ran carbon 24/7 for about a year and am not using it anymore and haven't noticed much change.

If "aggiebball07" refers to Texas A&M, then "Gig'em". I'm an Ag - class of '94.

[AnOldSalt]

Sorry to wander even further off topic, but is Dr. "Sneaky" Pete Rizzo still at A&M the last you checked? What a character! He's got a band on the side, and I've got a couple of his hilarious albums.

An old girlfriend of mine is now a professor there as well, teaching English and Women's Studies, whatever that is.

So.. reef grade carbon, eh? I'd say that yes, if you're going to use carbon, then at least use the good stuff.

[Acro-Phobia]

Carbon is natures most imporatnt element. The carbon atom can attach itself to more of the elements in the periodic table than any other atom. Thats why we are carbon based creatures as well as every other living organism. Complex protiens are biult around the carbon atom. Running carbon in your system allows that process to take place. Any free floating atoms in your system that can attach to a carbon atom will do that and can be removed from the system. If you use RO/Di, don't over indulge in feeding, and do your water changes religiously, you don't need to run carbon 24/7. There are not that many free atoms. It won't hurt if you dorun 24/7, but may not be neccesary if you have a fairly clean system.

Any carbon product that has a high surface area, and is strong enough to not turn to powder is an okay product. They will do the job and not break down in the system. If you run carbon 24/7, how long it's useful depends on how many free floating attachable atoms are in your system. If you leave carbon in for longer that a month, there is a side problem to be aware of. Anything that has your water moving through it a restriction will stop and hold things in the water. A carbon pad, bag or phosban reactor still needs to be cleaned out periodically to prevent a decaying nitrate source.

[DrHank]

A lot of what carbon removes (organic compounds) in freshwater are removed by a good protein skimmer in saltwater. That makes carbon less important for routine maintenance in a marine environment.

Also while you may occasionally need to medicate a freshwater tank, and use carbon to remove the meds. In saltwater, medication is normally done in a separate hospital tank.

[jadeguppy]

Ditto Acro. Another use for carbon that I have not heard mentioned is that it is often used in mixed tanks to help keep chemical warfare from the corals removed from the water. Careful placement can also help.

[yeldarbj]

AnOldSalt, Sneaky Pete was there in my day. I remember seeing him play at the Flying Tomato in Northgate in my early days at A&M. My brother had him as a prof. - I forget in what, seems like bio-chem department. I don't know about him these days. Even the Flying Tomato changed names a couple of times while I was at A&M.

[Acro-Phobia]

Heather, I had not heard that before, but it makes since. Sounds like a good idea to research. What kind of junk do the corals actually release in the tank to combat each other. When I rearranged my tank last month I have had several corals that did not do well after being put in a new location. The commonality seems to be they are now closer to big guys that are growing really fast. Makes me wonder if those big fast growing corals are doing the old chem warfare on them. I have moved some over to the frag tank and they are recovering.

Most famous words of Rosanna Rosanna Dana, "If it ain't one thing, it's another!".

[aggiebball07]

thanks for all your help

[jadeguppy]

I'm not exactly sure what the particular chemicals are. This is something I have been discussing with Sk8r. I will probably start running more carbon on my tank as the corals get bigger. I have already moved my leathers closer to the overflow to help keep the chemicals from blowing directly on my sps and lps corals.

[Acro-Phobia]

Heather

Did you read this one by Eric Boreman

http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/ex...nov2002/cw.htm

Makes me want to go check my tank and see who is sitting next to whom.

[JaredWaites]

This is why this sentence isn't entirely true

If you use RO/Di, don't over indulge in feeding, and do your water changes religiously, you don't need to run carbon 24/7.

Ok here we go, I'm trying to put this all together in easy to understand words, so I'm using a few sentences that help me explain myself from Wet Web. Plus I couldn't remember one to spell one item on the list down there

Most often the problem lies in combining corals that use chemical warfare to defend their space on the reef with corals that rely on physical contact to defend their space. The latter do not have the means to defend against the chemicals. The chemicals they produce do not affect all corals the same, some corals have a high resistance to them while others will be killed in days. The family of Sinularia corals produces strong terpenes, which will have a negative impact on many LPS and SPS corals. Sarcophyton species are another family of corals, which produces more than 50 chemical compounds. Lobophytum is another common species that can cause damage to stony corals by producing terpenoid compounds.

This Allelopathy that's happening to our tanks happens everyday to plants and corals all over the world!

Most of the time it differs in species of corals, but they release Metabolites and other chemical compounds which can effect Phenolics (water balance), ionic balance, Photosynthesis, and the actual DNA of the coral its attacking. It works the same way it does on land, as it does on water...same principle.

Species of coral as LPS can't be close to each other because they have sweeper tentacles that are designed to kill other corals and catch prey, Euphyllia (Frog Spawn) also are toxic to other coral. I've seen hobbyists take frog spawn and rub it on unwanted corals to keep them from moving or growing any further. Troublesome corals that is. It won't always kill the other coral...but it does indeed change its direction of growth.

Also, some corals may look small when you buy them, as say a 6" colony...but at night, when the lights are off...that's when the real magic can unfold and warfare can really happen as tentacles are out searching for food. Keep this in mind when selecting certain corals.

HTH

[Acro-Phobia]

Good insight....I knew there was a reason I kept carbon running all the time. Do you think as a tank matures and the coralas all get bigger it would be wise to cycle out the carbon more than once a month?

[JaredWaites]

Possibly.

It will differ from system to system, as there will be different species of corals and could be a lot of other variables to consider. Tank gallonage would also play a role in it as well.

The only way for you to find that question out, honestly would be to experiment and change the carbon out more frequently...or stir it up if its in a canister filter. Stirring or agitating really should be done once a week and it will extend the life of the carbon anyhow.

Remember you can't overdose by running carbon, so you can try to swap out media more often or stir your carbon and watch how your tank inhabitants react to these changes, see if they perk up, see if water clarity is improving, etc.

[Acro-Phobia]

I'm running it in a second Phosban reactor. It gets changed this weekend anyway so I'll watch for "perkiness". Phosban gets changed out also this week. I'll see how it looks.

[jadeguppy]

Great article. It made me look up gonopora since I have a flower pot coral that I love. I found an excellent site. It also has a great suggestion for a diy small diameter target feeder. I may have just saved myself some $$. I'll be making one tonight and can let you know how it works if you wish. Here is the site.

http://www.goniopora.org/feeding.htm

I definatly intend to fix my reactor so that I can run carbon in it. I have way too mixed of a tank for everyone to be safe. IMO.

[JaredWaites]

Yeah they work great actually! I used to do the same thing when I first started feeding big tanks. We had huge tanks where I volunteered at and we used 60ML/CC syringes though, we were feeding a lot more animals and it just made more sense.

[jadeguppy]

I gave it a try and it works much better than a turkey baster.

[JaredWaites]

Yeah turkey basters are only really good for blowing rock off and stuff. Target feeding with them sucks because the hole is too big and leaks half of the food out.

[JaredWaites]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11474399#post11474399 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acro-Phobia
I'm running it in a second Phosban reactor. It gets changed this weekend anyway so I'll watch for "perkiness". Phosban gets changed out also this week. I'll see how it looks.

Have you tried mixing your Phosban with your carbon?

I forgot to mention that, but GFO and Carbon are a great mix. The carbon keeps the Ferric Oxide (Phosban) from clumping and inhibiting water flow.