CristianD

Advanced Reefer
Location
Oceanside
Rating - 100%
30   0   0
So i decided to add a bag of Kent marine activated carbon to a mesh bag in a high flow area of my sump. I added this because everybody i talk to uses carbon and says it's a great addition. So i figured it's another way of purifying the water and removing organics and contaminants. I woke up this morning and most of my sps retracted their polyps. granted the lights haven't gone on, most of them have polyp extension throughout the night. My lbs looked normal (frogspawns, acans, candy cane) My anemone also shriveled up more than normal for the night. it does this from time to time but it's fine every time.

I used about 1/4 cup of the carbon. directions said 1/4 cup for 100g. I have a 75g mixed reef tank so i figured with the sump volume i'ld be just under 100g.
I checked my alk this morning and it was around 8.6 usually it's up around 9.8-10. Is alk usually lower in the morning or could the carbon cause this? Also did i dose too much carbon? should i remove it? I guess I kicked myself by adding this. The tank was doin great except a few one or two sps that could look a little "nicer". I"m gonna be home around 4 and see how the tank looks. Any advice on this subject is greatly appreciated. thanks
 

ecchybridLE

Advanced Reefer
Location
suffolk
Rating - 100%
98   0   0
that kent activated carbon might also be incredibly brittle and will cause an over abundant amount of loose carbon into the system. some brands of carbon just fall apart and get an unwanted amount of loose carbon into the tank. u will notice your skimate may turn black
 

Boomer

Bomb Technician (EOD)
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
mbg and ecchy pretty much hit the nail on the head. I will add that the Kent carbon is not a liquid phase GAC but a vapor phase GAC for purifying air not water. It is not that it does not work it is just a very poor grade of GAC for our application.
 
Last edited:

CristianD

Advanced Reefer
Location
Oceanside
Rating - 100%
30   0   0
So I took it out yesterday for the whole day. Corals are starting to get some color back (yea some started to bleach a little) and polyp extension looks good. Also lost a cleaner shrimp. I put it back about 4 hours ago (less than half of the original amount and rinsed it again). Been watching the tank and no change in coral appearance. Everything looks good :) hopefully it was just an initial shock and everything will be ok. I figure I'll leave it in for about a week and see how the water looks. Thanks for all the input!
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top