A couple questions

[JoshsReef]

I have been using fluvals ultragrade carbon in my canister filter however after reading through alot of posts im not sure this is my best option. Should i switch to purigen, chemipure, or both ? i use the carbon in 3 week intervals, does it remove to much of the good stuff. Any suggestions would be considered.

Also i have been wanting to use lr rubble in my canister filter and havent had the time to order any and cure it yet. I was wondering if it would be wise to take some of the dry reef rock i bought and put in my tank about a month ago out and break it up into rubble pieces and add to my system. Would the rubble continue to colonize bacteria and become live rock rubble in my canister or is this a dumb idea? Thanks guys

[usmcmarc]

My Fluval 405 has 4 lbs of LR Rubble in it. Just gritted my teeth and bought from LFS @ $8.99/lb. I pulled all the included media out if it. The top basket has (1) 100ml bag of Purigen and (1) full unit of ChemiPure Elite. The Purigen I swap out monthly and the ChemiPure bi-monthly.

I suppose you could do the dry reef rock idea...Although you wont be adding to your filtration if you remove it from another part of the tank...so I dont see any benefit.

[Ziggy953]

I agree with USMCMARC.

The LR rubble is a great idea and a lot of people do exactly that and it works well. Nature knows best. Talk with your LFS a lot of the time they will have rubble they will sell you for a lot less then th $8.99/lb that Marc paid. Not always but sometimes. If you order it online it is going to need to be cured again because the tansit time there will be die off and you could see a mini cycle by just putting it in your tank.

Right now the carbon you use really should be changed out every week. After a week carbon doesn't really do much in a SW tank.

So ditch the carbon and get some LR rubble and you will see an improvement!

[roka64]

Purigen should last up to about 4 months depending on your PWC and boiload. You can recharge it but following the directions. I am at work but so I don't know the exact measurements. You use bleach and water, soak and then rinse out and soak in a dechlorinator like Prime....

[pitt420dude]

I have had the same carbon in my tank for 8+months. The water is clear and it doesnt smell, plus I have a ton of mechanical and biological filtration, so I personally don't see the need to keep putting new carbon in when I'm doing fine without it. Soon I also plan on moving to a planted tank, in which you can not use carbon. Am I wrong or missing something?

[Ziggy953]

Is this a FW or a SW tank you are talking about?

[pitt420dude]

Originally Posted by Ziggy953

Is this a FW or a SW tank you are talking about?

Who me? Mine is a SW tank, if you're talking about the OP, I dunno I think his was SW.

What does it matter?

**pitt420dude goes and prepares for tha learning**

[Ziggy953]

Originally Posted by pitt420dude

Soon I also plan on moving to a planted tank, in which you can not use carbon.

FW and SW have different requirements for Carbon use. A FW tank can use carbon for a much longer period of time. SW it is pretty much useless after a week to 10 days.

The above statement made me ask the question. SW doesn't have a "planted tank" that is a FW term.

[JoshsReef]

Why does carbon become useless in a sw tank ?

[Ziggy953]

Basically you need to change it out that frequently because carbon can only absorb so much while cleaning your water. In a SW system the carbon is going to remove bad things along with good elements in the water. AS a result of this it gets "used up" very quickly in a SW tank.

Also something to think about is GAC can leach phosphates out into your system and cause problems. LR, LS and a good skimmer is what is needed for filtration in a SW system. The only time I use carbon is when I need to for a specific reason and it is for a specific amount of time.