Carbon?

[pearsont74]

Should I start using carbon to help with the water clarity and the smell?
If so, what brand is good....was seeing one that looks good but wasnt sure....dimond mix....carbon with something to help lower the ammion
is that good??

 

[TCTFish]

What does the odor smell like? You may want to check up on the water parameters to make sure everything is ok there. Pay special attention to nitrates. Over feeding can produce a smell if there's alot in there rotting away.

Being you have live sand and live rock, you may want to just run reef grade carbon for a week once a month. I've been informed that running carbon 24/7 in a reef type set up (any tank with live rock and live sand...natural filtration) may rob the system of essential trace elements.

 

[pearsont74]

im still cycling so i have some die off
i saw they have active and high density carbon...didnt see reef carbon..what is the different??

 

[TCTFish]

http://www.kentmarine.com/saltwater/rc2.html

The above web address will take you to Kent Marine's site on their reef carbon. Reef grade is a higher quality grade of carbon with less phosphates and it's much less messy.

You should test your water for the following...ammonia, nitrite, nitrae, pH, SG. Please post the results ASAP. You shouldn't be getting any fowl smells.

It is possible to establish a nitrogen cycle with fish without losing the fish. In fact, you can cycle the tank with just live rock and not use fish. What was your starter fish population and what species did you use? How often and how much do you feed? How long has it been since you've put the tank up and how many fish have you lost so far? Have you done any water changes yet? If so, how much do you change out at once and how often?

 

[dr.diggler]

I've been informed that running carbon 24/7 in a reef type set up (any tank with live rock and live sand...natural filtration) may rob the system of essential trace elements.

I read that too, to be careful with the addition of carbon. Anyone have any bad experiences with using carbon in a reef tank. My only experience with carbon would be in my fresh tank and the fish are real hardy so the carbon is really not a issue.

 

[mjvincent]

The carbon mixes with stuff to remove ammonia is typically for freshwater only. Make sure you read the carbon mixes and you buy marine quality carbon to be sure you get the right grade of carbon.

 

[Meredith]

When we set up our tank, we had a horrible time with massive die off. My house smelled so bad. I used as much carbon as my filter could hold and the smell went away in a few days. I don't know if this was the "right" thing to do, but it did help. You can see from my sig I don't have much in there right now, so I cant say if it had any lasting negative effects.

 

[steve-s]

Carbon does remove some elements from the system but then again so does a skimmer and planted refugium. Carbon is no worse than either of those. It's use is moreso needed in tanks containing soft corals or anemones. There is little negative effect on using it 24/7 and the possitive results far outweigh the negative (if any).

Cheers
Steve

 

[pearsont74]

added a bag and we will see what happens...
and BTW...teh smell I found is coming from my skimmer....the top on the cup wasnt sealed tight so i fixed that but I figured I goin to be cleaning this skimmer alot cause its really pulling some nasty stuff....after a week I have a gal jub of my overflow so my cup doesnt ever get too full and it had some really nasty smellin water in it...not much but enough to stink

 

[lando]

Also consider Chemi-Pure by Boyd. It is a great carbon product.

 

[got bait?]

Also consider Chemi-Pure by Boyd

My choice.