Carbon

[zizmans]

I have a small bag of reef carbon in my AC 200. What are the proscons of the all the time, some times, never vibe with carbon? Also, the bag has gotten pretty brown, is that that "good" suff or bad. Stuff=hadadrinkor2youknowwhatImtalkingabout.

[Physh1]

How long has it been in there? Carbon is usually good for around 1-2 months in a tank then it should be removed. There are some here who run carbon and some who don't. There are also people who run it a few days a month. I'd recommend a search to find some info.....it's been covered quite a bit.

 

Cameron

[Catspa]

Ya, like physh1 said, its only good for a month or two.

In terms of who's using and who's not - its a preference thing. But either way its not a problem. Personaly, I run with carbon sometimes, and sometimes i don't bother.. it depends on my tank conditions... if i'm overfeeding a bit cause of new addition, or finished medicating or somethin... then i run carbon... If every thing is pristine then i don't bother.

[printerdown01]

I run carbon the vast majority of the time. The only negative thing is that it removes all organic compunds that it can -it is not selective. Thus, it will pull "good" stuff and "bad" stuff from your tank. I use those terms loosely because everything that it pulls out is BOTH good and bad -it just depends on the levels of concentation. Some people are afraid that it removes too much "good" stuff and thus will not use it (or a skimmer) on their tank. As everything in life there is a trade-off. I personally feel that it is worth it (just make sure you keep up on water changes to replenish the "good stuff," and replace the GAC every month or so if you run it).

[ReefMatrix]

I concur with the above statements. I don't run it all the time myself, but only when the water is not looking so good (yellow/greenish) or when I want to "crispen" up the water to make it more clearer and pristine. I usually put it in and let it go for about a month then pull it out. No set schedule really.