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:) I'm not going to say it. Carlo

We got the same thing going in two thread so I covered this in the other thread since it's the same thing. I TOTALLY disagree. The test isn't supposed to be "real world". It's supposed to be isolated and without outside interference. If you want to see how much phosphates are leached out of the...

I don't think so but it's hard to take everything in. For example in 1998 Timothy Hovanec reviewed the performance of GACs on freshwater and found bituminous coal to be the most effective. Harker also tested tannic acids but in Saltwater and found TLF hydrocarbon to work the best ounce for ounce...

Cool, glad you found the problem! Good job Rich. Carlo

I'm not sure I follow you Phil on this logic. Why would you want to add something to the water supply that could potentially alter the results of PO4 buildup you are trying to test? If you add anything besides water you have the potential to skew the results. Take a look at the way Harker (from...

Yep, or maybe at the grocery store as pickling lime. You've got the expensive part down. One thing to remember and it's important. You want the container to be as air tight as possible. Carlo

Is each piece large or small? If you soak a few granules and then dry them are they shiny or dull looking? Are the granules hard or kind of crumbly? Do the granules look like any other type of carbon you have used before? Carlo

I usually don't comment on species ID either Chris because I think there's a lot more to it then trying to match photos which I think is a bad way to go and leaves way to much room for error. How or what method do you recommend when trying to ID corals like this for the hobbyist? Carlo

I think part of the problem in saying what's the best type of carbon is first to determine what you want to remove from the water. Without saying what you want the carbon to do is like comparing apples to oranges. If you want to remove tannic acids then I'd agree lignite is best and you can...

I'd agree with Phyl not to run the reactor while you are gone. This is asking for to much trouble IMHO also. The best thing you could do if possible is get a fellow reefer from here to check on your tank a couple of times when you are gone! With the 20% water change the only thing they will...

I agree with most everything you said above boomer. The only points I "may" have an issue with are purely opinion type matters. They would be: The amount of PO4 leached from carbons and the impact on the tank. I think it's really more then you think for the average carbons people use. I test...

Seachem's carbon had a high molasses number in the high 500s and it's bituminous coal. Chemi-pure also has a very high molasses number but I don't remember what it is anymore. I agree on the acid washing but then that brings other problems. Carlo

Boomer take a couple pieces of carbon from your system that's been running for a few days and try the test tube test. It should be well flushed by then and you'll typically still see it leaching phosphates. With that said I'm not so sure it's really a bad thing. All living things NEED...

Did you Tim Allen it? :o The stock 205 has a 180 gph rated motor with 111 gph circulation rate. A little less then 2 gpm. Carlo

I dug the first two paragraphs out of my archive material. Don't remember where it came from but it was from somebody important. :) Activated carbon should be a little larger then a pin-head in size. When washed and dry, it should be dull and not shiny. It should also tend to float when first...

It's not a secret just not available on the market yet. :) It's not one product per say but a mixture of different synthetic polymers that when combined in the right proportions do a great job of removing proteins, dissolved organics & nitrogenous waste (that would break down into...

Yea, something kind of like that NEWSALT. That particular product is for Phosphates & Silicates. Another similar type product would be PÛRA NitrateLock which of course is a selective ion exchange resin that can be regenerated made for Nitrate removal. Seachem's CupriSorb & HyperSorb are also in...

Ut oh, Phyl your turning into the mad scientist now too. :) I've done this "test" with a lot of different carbons over the years and most of them fail. :( Two Little Fish Hydro Carbon is good and Black Diamond was also decent (pretty cheap too). I myself have stopped running carbon completely...

Assuming you cause it with an overdose of two part or with an alk boost, but if you overdose on just calcium you can pretty easily bottom out your alk from the prcipitation which is pretty harmful. :) Carlo

If you have a phosphate test kit do the test on RO/DI water which should come up at zero. Then drop a few pellets of carbon in there and see if you see "trails" coming from the carbon as it sinks. If so it's leaching phosphates bad. Then mix it up and let it set for a day and see if the color...