carbon or what

[harleymike]

OK more confusion.
How many people use carbon in there tanks. I was looking at purigen. Is purigen in place of carbon, and is it safet than carbon.
It seems it would do more than just carbon
Thanks again for the help
mike

 

[Salty Cracker]

I use carbon, but honestly, I just don't like seachem products at all.  The great thing is, I can be biased.


I had a whole lot of seachem shit pushed on me when I was having tank problems, and really they just made matters worse, needing more product purchases.  It was like being a crack addict and needing more crack.

I like ROX.  I swap it out when I swap out the GFO.  I use it for water clarity.  I would discontinue carbon way before I would quit GFO. 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-bulk-premium-rox-0-8-aquarium-carbon.html

 

[Victoss]

I'm using the BRS dual reactor and their ROX carbon and GFO in each chamber. The ROX gets replaced every 2 weeks (every WC) and the GFO every 6 weeks right now. I haven't used Purigen but I believe its similar to Chemi Pure and Clear FX pro which I like to use in my nano because im lazy (just switched to Clear FX because its what the store had ) but I don't use them in my display any more because their just too expensive and I don't think they last nearly as long as they say. I think most of them are a mix of carbon and gfo but again I'm not sure on the effectiveness of them used like that.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I'm using the BRS dual reactor and their ROX carbon and GFO in each chamber. The ROX gets replaced every 2 weeks (every WC) and the GFO every 6 weeks right now. I haven't used Purigen but I believe its similar to Chemi Pure and Clear FX pro which I like to use in my nano because im lazy (just switched to Clear FX because its what the store had ) but I don't use them in my display any more because their just too expensive and I don't think they last nearly as long as they say. I think most of them are a mix of carbon and gfo but again I'm not sure on the effectiveness of them used like that.

The white products are not GFO since GFO is ferric oxide and is brown.  The white stuff is aluminum oxide I believe, and is better at getting rid of silicates than it is at removing phosphates.  The common thread on chemi pure is that if it's used them removed it is fine, if it's not, it may leech aluminum or silicates back into the tank, which ferric oxide does not.

As I understand it, aluminum oxide predates the use of ferric oxide (Fe2O3) as a filter media. I think Fe203  was first used by German aquarists, who were getting amazing results in their reef tanks that others could not.  For example a lot of the high end sps we are seeing in tanks now would have been almost impossible to keep 10 years ago, and a lot of the improvements people are seeing is from advancements in biological and mechanical filtration (pellets and gfo). 

I think LFS like to push seachem because there's a good markup on it, whereas gfo is just an ore...rust basically, and if you charge too much for it, people can find alternative sources.  Ferric oxide is the brown stuff they used to use on cassette tapes.  I almost think that one of us could find a way to get it by the bulk barrel and sell it by the pound...not so with seachem stuff, so be wary of the advice you get about those products.  Kind of like when you eat a hamburger straight from a cow, or you eat a hamburger from McDonalds.... what are you putting in your system from the manufactured stuff?  Who knows really.

As always, these are just my own opinions.  Many scientists and LFS owners throw tomatoes and dead cats at me, so take it for what it's worth

 

[chuckm]

What are cassette tapes?
We must be old!!!

[quote author=Victoss link=topic=3962.msg35329#msg35329 date=1357632512]
I'm using the BRS dual reactor and their ROX carbon and GFO in each chamber. The ROX gets replaced every 2 weeks (every WC) and the GFO every 6 weeks right now. I haven't used Purigen but I believe its similar to Chemi Pure and Clear FX pro which I like to use in my nano because im lazy (just switched to Clear FX because its what the store had ) but I don't use them in my display any more because their just too expensive and I don't think they last nearly as long as they say. I think most of them are a mix of carbon and gfo but again I'm not sure on the effectiveness of them used like that.

The white products are not GFO since GFO is ferric oxide and is brown.  The white stuff is aluminum oxide I believe, and is better at getting rid of silicates than it is at removing phosphates.  The common thread on chemi pure is that if it's used them removed it is fine, if it's not, it may leech aluminum or silicates back into the tank, which ferric oxide does not.

As I understand it, aluminum oxide predates the use of ferric oxide (Fe2O3) as a filter media. I think Fe203  was first used by German aquarists, who were getting amazing results in their reef tanks that others could not.  For example a lot of the high end sps we are seeing in tanks now would have been almost impossible to keep 10 years ago, and a lot of the improvements people are seeing is from advancements in biological and mechanical filtration (pellets and gfo). 

I think LFS like to push seachem because there's a good markup on it, whereas gfo is just an ore...rust basically, and if you charge too much for it, people can find alternative sources.  Ferric oxide is the brown stuff they used to use on cassette tapes.  I almost think that one of us could find a way to get it by the bulk barrel and sell it by the pound...not so with seachem stuff, so be wary of the advice you get about those products.  Kind of like when you eat a hamburger straight from a cow, or you eat a hamburger from McDonalds.... what are you putting in your system from the manufactured stuff?  Who knows really.

As always, these are just my own opinions.  Many scientists and LFS owners throw tomatoes and dead cats at me, so take it for what it's worth
[/quote]

 

[harleymike]

ya what are cassette tapes? Are they better than my 8 track tapes?

 

[Salty Cracker]

I'm not too proud to admit I had a 5lb sony walkman slung over my shoulder on a strap...under my denim and leather.  Long live the....wait for it......

 

[AdamS]

Kind of like when you eat a hamburger straight from a cow, or you eat a hamburger from McDonalds....

The hamburgers have as much beef as the 'shakes have milk...
but don't get me wrong, McDonald's stock pays me about a 4% dividend, so please do not stop eating there.