Activated carbon reactor

"TSJ" wrote in message ups.com...
Do you have a PAR meter? It would be interesting to get some numbers,
along with nitrate and phosophate readings, and compile it into a
graph type chart and see what effects one obtains with weekly vrs
monthly carbon changes and no carbon vrs carbon plus skim and no skim
etc etc.........Makes me wish I now pickedup that PAR meter at the
yard sale the other month.

No, I do not have PAR meter.
And I do not have problem with nitrates, rather with too low nitrates.
My DSB is running with undetectable nitrates for a long time now.

"Pszemol" wrote in message ...
"Pszemol" wrote in message ...
Other than hanging a bag filled with carbon in the sump,
what do you use to make carbon work more efficiently?

Tha idea with a bag works, but in my understanding
water would penetrate carbon better if it was flowing
forced through not around the bag...

I was trying to put a layer of carbon in the phosphate
reactor, but carbon is very light and it is easily
lifted up with water and travels back to my tank...

How do you put carbon to work in your reef tanks?

Now I have an idea... what if I dump the carbon loose
into the sock in the sump? The sock I am using is quite
fine to prevent carbon escaping to the sump and the
water is pretty well agitated in the sock so the carbon
will work efficiently there...
The sock lasts about a week or two before it clogs
with dirt, so I could dump the sock with used up carbon
to the garbagge and put new sock with new carbon portion.
Sounds like a good idea - have to test it :-)

This is the stupidest idea ever :-)

I tested it and it caused carbon in the sock to turn
into a microparticles (crushed) and passed through
the sock coloring my water and covering everything
with black dust... Do not try it at home :-)))

On Oct 4, 3:29?pm, "Pszemol" wrote:
"Pszemol" wrote in ...
"Pszemol" wrote in ...
Other than hanging a bag filled with carbon in the sump,
what do you use to make carbon work more efficiently?

Tha idea with a bag works, but in my understanding
water would penetrate carbon better if it was flowing
forced through not around the bag...

I was trying to put a layer of carbon in the phosphate
reactor, but carbon is very light and it is easily
lifted up with water and travels back to my tank...

How do you put carbon to work in your reef tanks?

Now I have an idea... what if I dump the carbon loose
into the sock in the sump? The sock I am using is quite
fine to prevent carbon escaping to the sump and the
water is pretty well agitated in the sock so the carbon
will work efficiently there...
The sock lasts about a week or two before it clogs
with dirt, so I could dump the sock with used up carbon
to the garbagge and put new sock with new carbon portion.
Sounds like a good idea - have to test it :-)

This is the stupidest idea ever :-)

I tested it and it caused carbon in the sock to turn
into a microparticles (crushed) and passed through
the sock coloring my water and covering everything
with black dust... Do not try it at home :-)))

My husband suggested placing the carbon
in a condom. That way the dust does not
seep into the water.

On Oct 7, 10:36 am, Tynk wrote:
On Oct 4, 3:29?pm, "Pszemol" wrote:





"Pszemol" wrote in ...
"Pszemol" wrote in ...
Other than hanging a bag filled with carbon in the sump,
what do you use to make carbon work more efficiently?

Tha idea with a bag works, but in my understanding
water would penetrate carbon better if it was flowing
forced through not around the bag...

I was trying to put a layer of carbon in the phosphate
reactor, but carbon is very light and it is easily
lifted up with water and travels back to my tank...

How do you put carbon to work in your reef tanks?

Now I have an idea... what if I dump the carbon loose
into the sock in the sump? The sock I am using is quite
fine to prevent carbon escaping to the sump and the
water is pretty well agitated in the sock so the carbon
will work efficiently there...
The sock lasts about a week or two before it clogs
with dirt, so I could dump the sock with used up carbon
to the garbagge and put new sock with new carbon portion.
Sounds like a good idea - have to test it :-)

This is the stupidest idea ever :-)

I tested it and it caused carbon in the sock to turn
into a microparticles (crushed) and passed through
the sock coloring my water and covering everything
with black dust... Do not try it at home :-)))

My husband suggested placing the carbon
in a condom. That way the dust does not
seep into the water.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Talk about a stupid idea. Placing carbon in a
condom................duh............it would be basically out of play
and do not good.May as well leave the carbon in a zip lock baggie.

On Mon, 8 Oct 2007 01:20:31 -0500, "Jeffrey St. Clair, Ph.D."
wrote:

These days, carbon is pretty much recommended only to remove meds from
water. The cons outwiegh the pros, such as it doesn't filter microbes,
nitrates, sodium or flouride. It also lowers dissolved oxygen levels
significantly and also filters out needed elements, such as trace elements.

"Tynk" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Oct 4, 3:29?pm, "Pszemol" wrote:
"Pszemol" wrote in
...
"Pszemol" wrote in
...
Other than hanging a bag filled with carbon in the sump,
what do you use to make carbon work more efficiently?

Tha idea with a bag works, but in my understanding
water would penetrate carbon better if it was flowing
forced through not around the bag...

I was trying to put a layer of carbon in the phosphate
reactor, but carbon is very light and it is easily
lifted up with water and travels back to my tank...

How do you put carbon to work in your reef tanks?

Now I have an idea... what if I dump the carbon loose
into the sock in the sump? The sock I am using is quite
fine to prevent carbon escaping to the sump and the
water is pretty well agitated in the sock so the carbon
will work efficiently there...
The sock lasts about a week or two before it clogs
with dirt, so I could dump the sock with used up carbon
to the garbagge and put new sock with new carbon portion.
Sounds like a good idea - have to test it :-)

This is the stupidest idea ever :-)

I tested it and it caused carbon in the sock to turn
into a microparticles (crushed) and passed through
the sock coloring my water and covering everything
with black dust... Do not try it at home :-)))

My husband suggested placing the carbon
in a condom. That way the dust does not
seep into the water.


I have 5 tanks: 10 to 75 gal. I quit using carbon years ago except
with the prefilled frames. I see no change.

I have also gone from 20% water changes twice a week to 20% every few
months, determined by filter overflow and water debris.

My tanks all have heavy plant growth.

Pszemol wrote:
"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
Other than hanging a bag filled with carbon in the sump,
what do you use to make carbon work more efficiently?

Tha idea with a bag works, but in my understanding
water would penetrate carbon better if it was flowing
forced through not around the bag...

I was trying to put a layer of carbon in the phosphate
reactor, but carbon is very light and it is easily
lifted up with water and travels back to my tank...

How do you put carbon to work in your reef tanks?

Now I have an idea... what if I dump the carbon loose
into the sock in the sump? The sock I am using is quite
fine to prevent carbon escaping to the sump and the
water is pretty well agitated in the sock so the carbon
will work efficiently there...
The sock lasts about a week or two before it clogs
with dirt, so I could dump the sock with used up carbon
to the garbagge and put new sock with new carbon portion.
Sounds like a good idea - have to test it :-)

This is the stupidest idea ever :-)

I tested it and it caused carbon in the sock to turn
into a microparticles (crushed) and passed through
the sock coloring my water and covering everything with black dust... Do
not try it at home :-)))


I use carbon in my phosphate reactor, but I put some floss on top of the
carbon to keep it from moving. I've also learned to run the filter in
some RO/DI water first to make sure there is no loose dust ready to go
into the tank. It seems that some carbon has problems and some do not.

I can't imagine using it in a filter sock as you discovered.

--Kurt

"KurtG" wrote in message ...
I can't imagine using it in a filter sock as you discovered.

Looks like I will pay penalty for experimenting... :-(
Not all animals are doing good with this black dust on them.
Some probably ingested these particles with water... sad thing.

"Dick" wrote in message
news

I have 5 tanks: 10 to 75 gal. I quit using carbon years ago except
with the prefilled frames. I see no change.
==================
I also quit using it years ago. I do keep some on hand but there are cobwebs
on the box. :-D
--

RM....
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

the secret to great fish health. Ingrid

On Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:10:47 -0500, Dick wrote:
My tanks all have heavy plant growth.

"Pszemol" wrote in message ...
"KurtG" wrote in message ...
I can't imagine using it in a filter sock as you discovered.

Looks like I will pay penalty for experimenting... :-(
Not all animals are doing good with this black dust on them.
Some probably ingested these particles with water... sad thing.

Well, the anemone, my pride, looks like it is spliting.

It started gaping couple of days ago and I noticed that
the bottom of its foot is visible through mouth opening.
The foot had small hole going through his body to the
substrate. Anemone continues to eat normally and stays
inflated with bubbles on the tips of the tentacles -healthy
look. Except this hole in his mouth :-) Fish were interesting
for couple of days in his guts accessible by gaping mouth...
I saw male and female clown picking on the guts.

Today afternoon I noticed the anemone slightly moved from
his usual position to the left, little smaller, and the gaping
of the mouth is quite dramatic now - about 2" diameter.
You could see base rock naked through his mouth whole
afternoon.

Now, just after midnight I see with the flashlight that
anemone is already not full circle - it is in shape of letter C.
One part is draging one direction than the rest of anemone.

Anemone stays inflated with bubbles on its tentacles tips
sporting healthy look during the whole process.

There were two major differences in the tank environment
which could be assumed a cause for splitting:

1. Change of intensity of lights new power compacts tubes
replaced over year old ones with brightly visible change.

2. Accident with the activated carbon dust...

I am not happy even if the anemone survives this event
and I will have two of them :-) I would preffered one
big anemone than two small ones in my tank. Especially that
the part of it is already moving in the unknown direction...

Will see what happens next :-(