| The use of activated carbon is sometimes a highly | | | | as well as saving on extra wattage by not running a |
| debated topic on most online reef forums. There are | | | | skimmer. It also removes chemicals as well as |
| many pros and cons on the use of carbon, but I | | | | polishes the water. Soft corals are notorious for using |
| believe the general consensus is shifting towards the | | | | chemical warfare in the tank, activated carbon is a |
| positive aspects of activated carbon. In order to | | | | good way to remove some of these chemicals. |
| disscouse the bad vs the good we need to know | | | | Some of the reasons not to use activated carbons |
| what exactly is activated carbon. | | | | are that all carbons are organic in source. You can |
| Activated carbon is carbon that has been treated | | | | see from the second paragraph that carbon is all |
| with oxygen in order to open up millions of tiny pores | | | | natural and therefore they are often rich in |
| between the carbon atoms. Carbon can be made | | | | phosphates. A solution to this is that some companies |
| from mineral, animal or plant-based materials such as | | | | will acid-wash there carbon and this prevents the |
| bituminous coal, Lignite coal, various woods, coconut | | | | carbon from leaching some phosphate. Some people |
| shells, peat and animal bones. There are three types | | | | will state that using activated carbon strips trace |
| of activated carbon they are granular, pellets and | | | | elements from there tanks water. While this is more |
| powdered. Granular is mainly used in reef tanks while | | | | than likely true, it shouldn't be much of a concern if |
| pellets and powdered are used in other applications. | | | | you are doing weekly water changes. |
| So now that you know what carbon is its also | | | | I use carbon in my reef tank, personally I like the |
| important to know why we use it in reef aquaria. | | | | "safety net" it provides me if one of my soft corals |
| Activated carbon offers some benefits to saltwater | | | | decides to one day nuke the tank. I suggest to |
| aquariums such as organic removal. Some people | | | | others to change there activated carbon once every |
| claim that they could use carbon in place of a | | | | two weeks, this way you don't give the carbon a |
| skimmer and have a better rate of organic removal, | | | | chance to release there organics back into the tank. |