Charcoal? Chem-Pure?

[smile57]

Hey guys,

Do any of you guys use any one of these additives? And if so, for how long at a time?
What are the results?


Thanks!!

 

[Turbosnail]

I use carbon 24/7 and change it out every couple of weeks it helps keep the water clear and keeps it from smelling. Plus its a mixed reef so it helps keep the chemical warfare down.

 

[Ruge13]

What size tank? On a larger tank Chemi pure is going to cost $$$$$. A combo of Carbon and GFO is cheaper. Also if you are using it to compensate for a larger problem it will cost you $$$$ with Chemipure. If its just to keep slowly creeping parameters in check for a while it will do the job but depends on water volume to make it economical IMHO.

I ran Chemi-Pure Elite for a year on my 12g nano tank. Had a pouch of it changed out every month or other month. Seemed to work great, water stayed clean and phosphates were in check. It was the only chemical / mechanical filtration I had on the nano which kept SPS, LPS, and softies (the photo in my avatar). I was not using it to solve a phosphate problem, just as a safeguard to keep parameters level in a small water volume.

 

[pallobi]

I use activated carbon in two BRS reactors... 1 cup in each, for about 1 week at a time... i would never not use it, and i strongly recommend its use in a proper method, ie canisters fed with a pump... what i really like about the BRS reactors is you can actually exchange the smaller in diameter and crappy tubing they give you and set it up with... i replaced mine with 1/2" pvc and feed it with a mag drive pump... the only down side to any reactors imo, is the discs used to keep the media in place, usually gets clogged before the media is exhausted lol... but i believe very strongly in the use of activated carbon, which is always to be rinsed with fresh water before use...