Can I turn carbon reactor back on?

[Myka]

I agree. Carbon is cheap, just use new stuff. That wasn't the OP's question though. I boil all new carbon, so if I'm going to pull the old stuff out and boil it, I would just put new stuff in there even if all it means is that I don't have to change it as soon.

Originally Posted by Madreefer

I'm not tryin to be a dick or anything. But why? Would rinsing with R/O not be good enough?

Boiling will release most of the phosphate and nitrate out of it at the very least (carbon doesn't absorb any significant amount of phosphate, but any trapped detritus/fish food/etc would be in there breaking down), and will kill and rinse many of the bacteria out that won't survive when the reactor is turned back on. High temperatures always do a better job of "general" cleaning.