Activated carbon (GAC) quality differences

[Alexander1312]

(corrected/photos previously uploaded in the wrong order)

I normally pour hot RODI water over the carbon a few times before I put it into my tank, to remove the finer particles. I always use the same type of carbon for this - left picture.

Today, I did the same with another carbon product (right picture), which normally does not get into the tank but sits on top of the skimmer to absorb ozone. This is the first time I did it with this product because it always releases a bit of dust on the skimmer cup, and with my OCD regarding GAC's impact on tangs, I wanted to further reduce this. There was a distinct smell from this and the reddish color you can see in the picture.

Fair to say, I will continue to use this (cheaper) carbon for my skimmer air filtration but would never put it into my tank.

(btw, if you think this comes from the bag it was in, the answer is no since I typically do the exact thing with the carbon in the left picture inside the same bag, and have been doing this every month for the past 18 months now, without any odor etc)

 

[Darkxerox]

What the heck. Looks like it had GFO mixed in.

If you're worried about fines, I've been putting my carbon bag in a filter sock and hanging it in my sump, so they can't get out.

 

[Alexander1312]

What the heck. Looks like it had GFO mixed in.

If you're worried about fines, I've been putting my carbon bag in a filter sock and hanging it in my sump, so they can't get out.

That's how it smelled, in my opinion. This was the carbon btw that folks should not add into their tank - https://premiumaquatics.com/collect...3&_sid=5dbbbd915&_ss=r&variant=47329510818034

And I would recommend to test your own carbon with hot RODI. This carbon looked and smelled perfectly normal in its original condition.

I am not a fan running carbon without a dedicated media reactor as the return flow far exceeds what is recommended for carbon, creating much more grinding issues. The sock offsets this problem probably to some extent but then I would need the dreaded filter sock. I have just set up my second DELTEC media reactor with the sicce syncra silent 0.5 at the lowest setting, which still feels a bit strong, but the sicce nano pump felt too flimsy, so will try this for now.

 

[MichaelB]

What the heck. Looks like it had GFO mixed in.

If you're worried about fines, I've been putting my carbon bag in a filter sock and hanging it in my sump, so they can't get out.

That's how my Rowaphos often looks wondering if they had it packaged wrong or bad batch etc. I use carbon as well never seen any that look like that beyond the Rowaphos or chemipure which has gfo in it as well.

 

[Alexander1312]

That's how my Rowaphos often looks wondering if they had it packaged wrong or bad batch etc. I use carbon as well never seen any that look like that beyond the Rowaphos or chemipure which has gfo in it as well.

Did you ever pour hot water over yours?

 

[MichaelB]

Did you ever pour hot water over yours?

No just cold water

 

[PizzaOven]

What brand was the cheap carbon? There have been at least a few threads on reddit blaming PetCo's "Imagitarium" carbon for tank crashes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ReefTank/comments/1ltk6jc/petco_carbon_kills_proof

This person did an ICP test on freshly mixed saltwater after soaking a bag of the above carbon in it. The results are pretty shocking. I wouldn't ever use this stuff, or any other cheap carbon in my tank.

 

[Alexander1312]

What brand was the cheap carbon? There have been at least a few threads on reddit blaming PetCo's "Imagitarium" carbon for tank crashes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ReefTank/comments/1ltk6jc/petco_carbon_kills_proof

This person did an ICP test on freshly mixed saltwater after soaking a bag of the above carbon in it. The results are pretty shocking. I wouldn't ever use this stuff, or any other cheap carbon in my tank.

View attachment 73083
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View attachment 73085

That is very interesting. I had shared the link above of the carbon ‘brand’ / bulk ‘premium’ product from premium aquatics, who I normally like quite a bit. I reached out to them today for comments about this.

 

[L/B Block]

What brand was the cheap carbon? There have been at least a few threads on reddit blaming PetCo's "Imagitarium" carbon for tank crashes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ReefTank/comments/1ltk6jc/petco_carbon_kills_proof

This person did an ICP test on freshly mixed saltwater after soaking a bag of the above carbon in it. The results are pretty shocking. I wouldn't ever use this stuff, or any other cheap carbon in my tank.

View attachment 73083
View attachment 73084
View attachment 73085

Holy smokes

 

[RandyC]

Is there a reason you're rinsing with hot water? Any source material that says you should be doing this? GAC is really only for use with cold and room temp water. As far as I understand, hot water can degrade and decrease its effectiveness.

Activated Carbon Filters: A Complete Guide to How They Work & What They Remove

This guide explains the advantages and limitations of activated carbon filters, what they remove, and how to get the best performance from your system.

www.freshwatersystems.com

Not ideal for hot water​

Activated carbon filters are designed for cold or room-temperature water. Exposure to hot water can damage the filter media and drastically reduce its effectiveness.

How to Maximize the Effectiveness of Activated Carbon in Water Treatment

Purification with activated carbon for water is a simple water treatment that enhances quality. Click here to read more about its features with Keiken Engineering.

www.keiken-engineering.com

The water temperature​

In many cases, the temperature of the water also plays a vital role in enhancing the effectiveness of activated carbon. Warm water can typically improve the adsorption in water treatment, but extremely high temperatures may not offer the same.

Maximize advantages of Activated Carbon Filtration

Carbon has always been a hot topic when it comes to global warming. Read this article how we can minimize the disadvantages

www.karbonous.com

Activated charcoal filters have one disadvantage in everyday life: There are two reasons why you should refrain from letting hot water flow through your activated charcoal filter. For one thing, hot water can release pollutants trapped in the water. On the other hand, the activated carbon filter can be damaged if the water is too hot. This is because hot water can negatively affect the strength or porosity of an activated carbon block filter. So it is better to take cold water and then heat it.

 

[MichaelB]

Is there a reason you're rinsing with hot water? Any source material that says you should be doing this? GAC is really only for use with cold and room temp water. As far as I understand, hot water can degrade and decrease its effectiveness.

Activated Carbon Filters: A Complete Guide to How They Work & What They Remove

This guide explains the advantages and limitations of activated carbon filters, what they remove, and how to get the best performance from your system.

www.freshwatersystems.com

Not ideal for hot water​

Activated carbon filters are designed for cold or room-temperature water. Exposure to hot water can damage the filter media and drastically reduce its effectiveness.

How to Maximize the Effectiveness of Activated Carbon in Water Treatment

Purification with activated carbon for water is a simple water treatment that enhances quality. Click here to read more about its features with Keiken Engineering.

www.keiken-engineering.com

The water temperature​

In many cases, the temperature of the water also plays a vital role in enhancing the effectiveness of activated carbon. Warm water can typically improve the adsorption in water treatment, but extremely high temperatures may not offer the same.

Maximize advantages of Activated Carbon Filtration

Carbon has always been a hot topic when it comes to global warming. Read this article how we can minimize the disadvantages

www.karbonous.com

Activated charcoal filters have one disadvantage in everyday life: There are two reasons why you should refrain from letting hot water flow through your activated charcoal filter. For one thing, hot water can release pollutants trapped in the water. On the other hand, the activated carbon filter can be damaged if the water is too hot. This is because hot water can negatively affect the strength or porosity of an activated carbon block filter. So it is better to take cold water and then heat it.

I also believe hot water heaters can have rust inside of them. Which could add random metals and gunk to your tank. It's also not recommended to drink water from hot tap. Especially in cooking industry we always heat cold water up for food preparation.

If we shouldn't consume definitely shouldn't be used in a aquarium. In any way.

 

[tribbitt]

Sounds like @Alexander1312 was using heated RO/DI water