active carbon

Fastlife · 01-18-2005, 11:54 AM

Hello there everyone. I just added Active carbon ( i think thats what its called) to my overfow box (tank side of overflow) . I noticed that i am getting some brown hair alge growing on the acrylic where the bag is with carbon. Does anyone know why this is happening?

Danny

Birdlady · 01-18-2005, 05:36 PM

How long has the carbon been there? In a flow area such as that , it also works as a mechanical filter and may be retaining particles of organic debris, thus feeding the algae bloom there.

fletch · 01-18-2005, 05:53 PM

Fastlife Did the container the carbon come in state that it is phosphate free carbon?

Fastlife · 01-18-2005, 05:53 PM

I put it in on sunday evening. I thought that it would have the best flow in there. I never put that into account. Should i just put it in the return sump section of my wet/dry filter. There is also no light there. That might help with the alge problem.

Danny

Fastlife · 01-18-2005, 05:57 PM

fletch
Well i received it with the live rock that i purchased back in November. It was in a plastic bag. I have about 5 pounds of it, so i realy dont know. The place where i got it from said it was phosphate free.....who knows if he was telling me the truth.....

Birdlady · 01-18-2005, 06:06 PM

Welcome to 3 Reef, by the way, Danny!

I would go ahead and place it in the sump. You only need to run it for a few days.

I put a bag in my sump about once per month for 3 to 5 days. I use Black Diamond carbon, as recommend by others on this site, and it seems to work well. No algaie growth on the bag.

fletch · 01-18-2005, 06:06 PM

[quote author=Fastlife link=board=General;num=1106078087;start=0#4 date=01/18/05 at 20:57:48]fletch
The place where i got it from said it was phosphate free.....who knows if he was telling me the truth.....[/quote]

Well if you are not sure that it is phosphate free I wouldn't use it but that is just me.

Fastlife · 01-18-2005, 06:15 PM

Thanks birdlady , i was only planing on 3-4 days. Its the second time i use it . The last time was about 6 weeks ago. And that was for about 4 days. I will be putting it in the sump from now on.......

fletch
i think i am going to get rid of it and go with the one that birdlady said........

By the way Birdlady, do you know where i can get that carbon?

JohnO · 01-18-2005, 06:19 PM

So the brown algae is growing on part of the acrylic overflow box, but not on the carbon bag itself? If that's the case I would suggest it is purely because the water flow if different where the algae is growing, probably lessened because the bag is restricting the flow.

John

Fastlife · 01-18-2005, 06:26 PM

Well the water flow is the same going to my wet/dry filter, it is also growing on the bag. I am going to take it out tomorrow night ,so i guess i can live with it till then?........... Its not going in till next month again( for 3 days) only.