HELP! Carbon in sump

[MarineCorp]

Hi,

What’s everyone’s opinion in putting carbon in a sump?
Is it beneficial or just a waste of time?
Pros and cons?
For or against?

Look forward to your responses


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[Pancho75]

It is good, part of the filtration you need to keep a healthy reef in my opinion. [emoji106][emoji2533]


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[MarineCorp]

It is good, part of the filtration you need to keep a healthy reef in my opinion. [emoji106][emoji2533]


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Awesome thank you!


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[DaveK]

Carbon is a filter media that can be used, but today it's considered optional and somewhat controversial.

Carbon, especially when it's not rinsed completely clean, is, by some, considered a major factor in hole in the head disease, and lateral line erosion. On the plus side, carbon is good for keeping the water clear. It also can provide a lot of surface area for bacteria, but then so do a lot of other media.

There are also other more modern media such as Purigen. It's more expensive, but it's rechargeable.

If you are going to use carbon, use the highest quality carbon you can obtain. It will be more expensive, but less likely to cause problems.

My personal preference is to use carbon only when I have a specific issue to resolve, for example, something big died and released some toxins. I consider the full time use of carbon optional, but I wouldn't call someone that uses it all the time wrong.

 

[saintsreturn]

I run carbon for about a week at a time per month in the system. i used to use it consistently, but found no major benefits. I also had HLLE on a sailfin due to stray voltage, but decided to remove carbon at that time to remove potential stressors for that disease.

So now, i drop it in for a week and then pull it. No ill effects on the tank and reduced my TCO in running my system, so win win in my eyes.

 

[Oxylebius]

I use carbon and change it out every couple of months. I find it is particularly useful to use if you are adding new corals to the tank and using either epoxy or super glue gel or some other adhesive, the carbon helps to take any chemicals out of the system. I also use it when fragging or moving coral in the tank, to help to pick up any chemical warfare happening between your corals, and the excess slime that some corals can produce when disturbed.

You can read more about carbon on this post: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/carbon.94967/#post-1301165