Carbon - Yes or No?

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

This line of reasoning is flawed. The real question is how long do those tanks last, that are setup without carbon use? ?

your one of a small fraction who keep tanks for ten years , most people upgrade or ditch the hobby long before , how long do you think an average reefer keeps his tank is my question then??

[reefwars]

if my bubble tip hits the powerhead you can better believe ill run some carbon , but i wont run it 24/7

so my question regarding the organics the skimmer doesnt catch , if running carbon is beneficial to solving that(which i doubt carbon would do by its self) would it be safe to say if i ran my carbon reactor one day a week would fix that?? or may be twice a week? or would i have to run it 24/7??

[reefwars]

carbon bad = most times not(notice i said most lol )

carbon good= sure it is its a fact

carbon needed to run reeftank = no

carbon need to run a reeftank longterm = whos to know for sure??

if i have a tank for one year maybe i got lucky and had a good year with no carbon while if i have the same tank for ten years maybe i didnt get so lucky and had a few incidents where i was glad i ran carbon, one method compared to the other can ony really be done by a tank to tank basis, your tank in ten years may not be in the same state mine is in ten years and vice versa.

[lastlight]

there's only about a million other factors to influence how a tank does over ten years or even a year. that said i am still a believer in running carbon 24-7 i just don't have any yet lol.

[kien]

ya, I have no clue if it is needed or not. I have always run carbon though because I like the clearer water that it gives me. I can totally tell the difference. I had a tank in the basement that I didn't run carbon on and that water in a white bucket definitely appeared less clear than the tank that had carbon running.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by kien

ya, I have no clue if it is needed or not. I have always run carbon though because I like the clearer water that it gives me. I can totally tell the difference. I had a tank in the basement that I didn't run carbon on and that water in a white bucket definitely appeared less clear than the tank that had carbon running.

thats another variable too is the fact that carbon does make your water more clear , but that said there are also other products that do the same as well. me personally am happy with my water clarity , im sure it could be better but with my type of tank water being clear is something thats hard to aquire when its being fed 24/7

[kien]

Originally Posted by reefwars

thats another variable too is the fact that carbon does make your water more clear , but that said there are also other products that do the same as well. me personally am happy with my water clarity , im sure it could be better but with my type of tank water being clear is something thats hard to aquire when its being fed 24/7

With my tank being a room divider I have actually noticed my water get dirty when the carbon runs out/is used up. It is evident when you try to peer through one side and out the other.



The cleaner the water is the clearer it is to see the other side of the tank, etc.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by kien

With my tank being a room divider I have actually noticed my water get dirty when the carbon runs out/is used up. It is evident when you try to peer through one side and out the other.



The cleaner the water is the clearer it is to see the other side of the tank, etc.

ok so in your tank carbon is useful for those reasons, its not whats keeping your tank going though, it may help with things for sure and make your tank more enjoyable.

in my tank i could add carbon all day and it wont clear my water as food is added continuiusly and clouds up the tank, for me heavy skimming is my best choice in clear water and keeping things in check.

i also know that i should be running carbon with so much food added but i just dont trust carbon to fix the problems.....i hate relying on things i know will let me down one day im use to it , so i run heavy amiunts of gfo and large water changes.

im not too worried about trapped organics as i dont have a sand bed so i do daily blastings in both the rock and glass for ditrius, which my nps corals love anyways

[sphelps]

I just hate using carbon because it's a PITA to clean and change out on a regular basis. If I can't automate something then it better be damn good for me to consider it. It's also an easy way of adding contaminants, these days you got to be really picky on the brand you use and even then a bad batch is still possible. Not much point using a product for long term tank health of 5+ years when it can wipe out the whole tank from one dose.

Water changes are you friend, carbon isn't going to eliminate all your build ups and ruling out certain organics as causes for long term failures may not be overly accurate either.

For water clarify, UV and ozone are other options. I use UV on and off, water clarity has never been an issue and I can't think of any risk involved in using it.

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by sphelps

It's also an easy way of adding contaminants, these days you got to be really picky on the brand you use and even then a bad batch is still possible. Not much point using a product for long term tank health of 5+ years when it can wipe out the whole tank from one dose.

This is possible with salt too. But of course that's a necessary evil in this case you're suggesting why add more risk.