Carbon?

Hey guys,

What are the real benefits of carbon? I have a 55g tank with 25g sump/refugium and I heard some people put some carbon in a mesh bag and have it in the return section or skimmer section?

What is the point of it?

I currently have a Hydor Performer 450 skimmer, calurpa refuge and phosban reactor in my sump.

Would I get any benefit adding a mesh bag full of carbon to one of the sections? As I actually have some from my fresh water set ups.

Thanks

 

A quality carbon will remove odor, prevent yellowing of the water and remove a limited amount of DOC as well as toxins produced by other corals.

 

Should I add it or is it not necessary?

 

Its not techically necessary, but def a good idea. It'll help also help absorb any other nasties that can get in your tank. For the price, its a nice safety measure, and will help you raise a healthier tank. IMO

 

IMO yes it always good to run some carbon. More is not better however. You can shock corals and inverts like anemones by add too much carbon at one time after not running it.

It will strip the water of DOC too quickly and change some of the parameters too quickly. Like everything else moderation.

 

I was running a Aquaone Marisys 240 which has alot of mechanical filtration, some carbon, some bioballs etc, but it got to hard to regulate the levels between the canister, DT and sump, so I took the canister away.

Should I add the carbon bag that was in the canister to sump and some of the bio balls? Can the bioballs be flowing around the bottom of the return or something like that?

 

I'd ditch the bio balls and just get some rock rubble and use that instead. And yes, you should be able to place a back of carbon near your sump skimmer section in a high flow area.