Carbon??

[tinman]

At what point and how often should I add a carbon pack to my SW tank? Is it nessesary? It is stable and no fluctuations in water quality. I know in my fw tanks I change the carbon every 2 weeks like religion, but I have never used it in my SW tank.

 

[ASpec]

Consider SeaChem's Purigen in place of running carbon. Do a search and you'll turn up additional information on Purigen. I speak of Purigen because it's a synthetic adsorbent (i.e. will not leach contents back into your water).

Your question though... replacement of carbon will get varied response here. Some will say don't run it at all, other will tell you after a water change for only a week, and yet some will say run it all the time, changing every 2 to 4 weeks.

I only ran carbon (GAC to be exact) right as my cycle was finishing to "polish" the water (and I only ran it for 4 weeks). I've been using Purigen ever since with no issues. I replace/recharge it every 10 to 12 weeks.

 

[Thumper]

I use it only when my water seems to get a slightly yellow tint for a week or two depending on how fast it clears up. I can say this, use reef carbon as the cheapo stuff is loaded with po4, I found out the hard way.

 

[xahx]

I use ChemiPure and It suppose to last 8 weeks

 

[Felf]

I use purigen on my fw tank. I havent had to change it yet and the water is always crystal clear

 

[tinman]

so only run it if I need it..Cool..The water has been crystal clear so I am probably not going to run any. I may look into Purigen if I need too. THANKS everyone.

BTW AQUARIUM ADVICE ROCKS! I always get good advice here.

 

[Steppa]

I checked out Purigen and it looks like you 'recharge' it with bleach..?? How do the clean the bleach off before putting it back into your tank?? That sounds a little scary to me.

I also checked out ChemiPure and it sounds good. Anyone else tried this stuff? Xahx, do you still do water changes with this stuff? They kind of indicate that you don't need too with it (not that I trust them).

 

[lando]

I run carbon for one week a month. Oncemy current supply is out I am switching to ChemiPure. It is important to rinse your carbon in RO/DI instead of tap before you introduce it to the tank. It will absorb the "undesirables" in tap water and decrease the life of the carbon. Leaving any chemical filtration in the tank for too long can cause it to leech back into the water the stuff it is suppose to take out.