charcoal ? carbon ? good bad?

[MorayMadness]

hello i bought a hob filter for my 55 reef just as a turbulent water mover and to clear up the tank a bit before i had my new replacement pc lights in. it was yellowish a bit so i threw a carbon cartridge and i also had a poly bag inthere to currently.

i am looking to grow some coraline i have some on the rock ect

i tested my ca its at 380 going to buff it up a lil i need to get a dkh test and alk test kit.

but is it good to have a poly filter pad? using it for po4 removal but is it taking out trace elements essential ? like iodide? ? i have mushrooms and button polyps now, looking to add some xenia. thanks

reef has been up for 5 years. 65 lbs lr ls , protien skimming.

 

[tecwzrd]

I prefer Purigen versus GAC since it won't leach back into the tank and is more effective at clearing up a tank. The 100ml container comes in it's own bag. Keep in mind that the removing the yellowing also increases the light your corals receive so you may want to reduce your lighting schedule for the first couple of days till your tank is clear again.

Occasional use of either to clear the tank is harmless IMO.

According to their faq page Poly filter does not absorb trace elements.

Yes, please buy a test kit for alk since ca/alk are interlinked

Another good article is Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems.