Do i NEED carbon in my tank?

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-Nemo-

-Nemo-

Master Diver
Jul 31, 2007
274
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Great Barrier Reef
it's only a 20 gallon FOWLR. 30lbs of live rock and an octopus bh100-f HOB skimmer (rated for tanks up to 90 gallons). the output chamber of this skimmer has a foam block in there for mechanical filtration, the guy at the store said i should put some carbon in a media bag on top of it. is this needed in my setup? i do water changes every week (about 15%) and my water always tests good btw, tank has been up for 4 months, 2 months with livestock)

oh and i don't yet have an RO unit, so i'm using dechlorinated tap water at the moment.
 
Sploke

Sploke

resident boozehound
Staff member
Oct 20, 2005
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South Windsor, CT
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I only run carbon when I'm removing meds (extremely rare) or if something bad happens like a die-off or tank/filter crash.
 
Ace25

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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There is no requirement to run carbon, it is something each person decides on for their setup. For me, I always run 2 bags of Chemi-pure in my sump and change it out every 30 days.. just an old habit that stuck because I always had success with my tanks since using chemi-pure. My success and the carbon can be completely unrelated and all in my head.. but for me it is like an insurance policy on the tank if anything dies/fouls the water I have carbon in place to deal with it. On the opposite side of the coin I know people that have gone 5+ years without running carbon and have great tanks as well.

If your running tap water like you say, then I would say you should run carbon if that is the case. I know you have been told not to run tap water and I am sure your working on resolving that issue so I won't say any more about that.
 
-Nemo-

-Nemo-

Master Diver
Jul 31, 2007
274
0
0
Great Barrier Reef
Ace25 said:
There is no requirement to run carbon, it is something each person decides on for their setup. For me, I always run 2 bags of Chemi-pure in my sump and change it out every 30 days.. just an old habit that stuck because I always had success with my tanks since using chemi-pure. My success and the carbon can be completely unrelated and all in my head.. but for me it is like an insurance policy on the tank if anything dies/fouls the water I have carbon in place to deal with it. On the opposite side of the coin I know people that have gone 5+ years without running carbon and have great tanks as well.

If your running tap water like you say, then I would say you should run carbon if that is the case. I know you have been told not to run tap water and I am sure your working on resolving that issue so I won't say any more about that.
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thanx guys. is there a reason you advise in using carbon because it is tapwater i'm using? i assume it will help remove phosphates or something else? is there a special kind of carbon for saltwater? the stuff i saw at walmart said "for freshwater", made no mention of saltwater anywhere.

all that will be in the tank until then is a firefish, 2 common clowns, a green chromis a cleaner shrimp, some hermits and snails. many have said that with that livestock, conditioned tap water along with my skimmer and liverock will be fine.

but yes, this year before i start with corals i will be investing in an RO unit.:thumbsup:
 
Ace25

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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www.centralcoastreefclub.com
Tap water has so many unknowns in it, heavy metals, phosphates, silicates, and many other things I don't even know how to spell.. carbon will help suck up some of that bad stuff.. not all of it, but a good portion. Carbon is carbon.. there is no such thing as FW vs SW carbon, but there is definately different quality of carbon. Stuff you buy cheap at wal-mart/petsmart is the lowest grade carbon you can buy and you will be lucky to have it last 7-10 days.. with high grade carbon like Chemi-Pure it will last 30-60 days depending on your tank. It actually comes out quite a bit cheaper to get the high grade chemi-pure vs the low grade carbon and replacing it every week.
 
Sploke

Sploke

resident boozehound
Staff member
Oct 20, 2005
6,797
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South Windsor, CT
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Don't tell anyone. I've been using tap water for 2 years now, but finally breaking down and looking at RO/DI units. I've been lucky, we have well water so my tap water is 0 nitrates, 7dKH and 320 Ca straight out of the tap. I've been having cyano problems lately though, so I think its time to break down and start doing it right.

I know a lot of people will disagree with my approach, but my thought was, I'll try it, and if it doesn't work I'll switch to RO if necessary. Well, it worked for a while, but its time to move up. The only thing to be seen is how long it will take to clear up the algae issue after I start using RO.


edit - as an addendum, I don't recommend doing anything I do - I have slight algae issues, I use tap water, my lighting sucks, my corals grow slow, and my skimmer barely works. I just haven't had the money available to get my tank set up the way I would really like to, so I've basically been doing just enough to keep everything healthy and thats about it.
 
-Nemo-

-Nemo-

Master Diver
Jul 31, 2007
274
0
0
Great Barrier Reef
Ace25 said:
Tap water has so many unknowns in it, heavy metals, phosphates, silicates, and many other things I don't even know how to spell.. carbon will help suck up some of that bad stuff.. not all of it, but a good portion. Carbon is carbon.. there is no such thing as FW vs SW carbon, but there is definately different quality of carbon. Stuff you buy cheap at wal-mart/petsmart is the lowest grade carbon you can buy and you will be lucky to have it last 7-10 days.. with high grade carbon like Chemi-Pure it will last 30-60 days depending on your tank. It actually comes out quite a bit cheaper to get the high grade chemi-pure vs the low grade carbon and replacing it every week.
Click to expand...
alright. i guess i'll get some. i have to go back to the store as i forgot to get some spare shells for my hermits. you're right about the cheap stuff. the walmart stuff was about 4 dollars, the stuff at the saltwater store is 17.

for a SW newb like me, is there a way i can gauge on how often i should change it (the carbon) out? i've listed the livestock and rock amount and skimmer and i do 15% water changes every week to 10 days, water always tests good no matter when i check it.
 
-Nemo-

-Nemo-

Master Diver
Jul 31, 2007
274
0
0
Great Barrier Reef
sploke said:
Don't tell anyone. I've been using tap water for 2 years now, but finally breaking down and looking at RO/DI units. I've been lucky, we have well water so my tap water is 0 nitrates, 7dKH and 320 Ca straight out of the tap. I've been having cyano problems lately though, so I think its time to break down and start doing it right.

I know a lot of people will disagree with my approach, but my thought was, I'll try it, and if it doesn't work I'll switch to RO if necessary. Well, it worked for a while, but its time to move up. The only thing to be seen is how long it will take to clear up the algae issue after I start using RO.


edit - as an addendum, I don't recommend doing anything I do - I have slight algae issues, I use tap water, my lighting sucks, my corals grow slow, and my skimmer barely works. I just haven't had the money available to get my tank set up the way I would really like to, so I've basically been doing just enough to keep everything healthy and thats about it.
Click to expand...
lol, ok. i understand. i have some green hair algae on part of one rock and part of my heater too. i saw the turbo snail eating it yesterday so i hope he helps control it a little.
 
Blossom112

Blossom112

AC Members
Feb 25, 2008
610
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Toronto
Yep I use tap too but I have to get A RO/DI also like sploke states on the algae i have been fighting and finally it is all but gone away .
I always run carbon as per advice from ace long ago ...search around i get mine for 20 for 5 lbs .......
Good luck
 
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