Carbon block--anybody tried one?

[gvildawg]

I ordered one last night during Big Al's big sale they were having after deciding that I'd rather have one block in the tank and one control on the outside versus the myriad tubes, powerhead, reactor, bubble counter, tank, etc. that a "traditional" CO2 setup requires. I'm curious to know if anyone else here has had any experience with this relatively new technology.

[Mgamer20o0]

if it really worked more people would use them. not sure how much co2 it will give you.

[theotheragentm]

It's expensive to maintain. Other than that, it works. I've seen tanks at my local fish store running on them, but the owner did mention in the long run it costs more than a pressurized system. Also, go with the China brand instead of the German one. It's half the price. It may contain lead though. ;)

[mellowvision]

just seems like a fundamentally flawed system... expensive AND running electricity in the tank...

[loaches r cool]

I've heard it is more expensive in the long run that pressurized and much more difficult to maintain. It sucks the KH out of your water like its going out of style and messes with your TDS. I guess you need to monitor and add KH often. I havent heard of anyone personally that has had one that still uses it. There is endless questions about it on various plant forums, you might try a search for 'carbo plus'. If I recall properly the carbon blocks only last a couple months and many of the parts that suppose to be lifetime like the stainless steel holder get so corroded they need replaced occasionally as well. Someone once said the best part of the system was the suction cups, since he could pull them off and use them on something else...

[gvildawg]

I don't know that it is really going to be more expensive. The blocks supposedly last 6-8 months and replacements cost $40 apiece vs. my 10 lb. CO2 tank which lasts 3 months or so on the same size (65G) aquarium and cost $25 or thereabouts to exchange. They must work to some degree or they wouldn't be able to sell any! I've already ordered one anyway so I guess I'll find out firsthand how well it does or doesn't work. If anyone's interested I'll report back with my results/experiences with it.
KH isn't a big issue as I always keep crushed coral in my filter media containers.
What's TDS?

[Sammie7]

They must work to some degree or they wouldn't be able to sell any!
What's TDS?

And if they worked well then everybody would want one. People buy lots of things that serve no real purpose or that don't live up to their name, so that isn't really a great indicator of it's efficiency. They aren't new technology they have been out for some time. The only thing I have heard about them has been bad reviews, but you do you. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids.

[loaches r cool]

There are a ton of aquarium related products that are complete snake oil.

They also way overrate things. I think the block is not going to last nearly as long as you think. I think I saw it equated to around a couple pounds of gas once...

But since you've already ordered it do be sure to let us know the results. But remember for anything conclusive you'll need to be able to accurately measure your CO2... i.e. drop checker with 4dKH solution ;)

But yeah, these things have been around for years and I've yet to hear a good story come from them. For more info on these units search over on plantedtank.net and aquaticplantcentral.

TDS is total dissolved solids which is probably one of the most important things that should be measured, but rarely is. pH is practically meaningless, its what causes that pH that matters. Its a rapid change in TDS that causes osmotic shock. I worry to with crushed coral and this thing raping your water of KH it might start dissolving lots of calcium (meaning your GH might go ^) but thats just a guess.

Good luck man,