Does Carbon go bad?

[subsea]

Hydrogeologist here, so i'm pretty comfortable with the subject matter. I have a groundwater treatment system that uses 55 gallon drums filled with activated carbon to remove chlorinated solvents from groundwater. You *can* bake out the contaminants, but only a certain subset of contaminants are able to be removed via thermal destruction. Things that fall into the class of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will come out very readily in that temperature range. However, heavy metals will *not* come out as a result of increased heat. The kinds of things that I would personally be concerned about in my tank would include both VOCs as well as heavy metals. Given the relatively low cost of carbon, I would personally be inclined to toss the stuff and replace. Although the tropic of the thread was technically "can carbon be resued", the answer is yes, albeit with caveats. Whether or not this is the best management practice for reefing depends entirely on your risk tolerance as well as risk tolerance from your wife beating you to death for spending more money on your tank

What aquifier are you getting chlorinated solvents from? I use Trinity Aquifier water straight out of the ground into my reef tanks.Why does ground water have chlorinated solvents?

Patrick

Surficial aquifers. You would be astounded at the quantity of shallow groundwater contamination that we have statewide as a result of heavy industry and oil and gas production. Luckily it only rarely affects the deep stuff that we use for water supply. And to answer the why, it was standard operating procedure to store wastewater in unlined pits.

Sounds like Love Canal.

I could expect this in surface water as well. Becaue of commercial fertilizer in agricultural practices of the past, much phosphate and nitrate have entered our fresh water aquifiers. The water from the aquifier that I am in now was putrid with sulfide smell. Perfume was required in the laundry soap to offset rotton egg ordor. After reworking my well and upgrading my controls to protect pump when aquifier level drop in well bore, I pulled much water from the aquifier creating a small containment pond on my property. After four months of constant flow, I noted that my well water no longer has the sulfide smell to it. I therorized (wild *** guess) that I flowed enough water with oxygen to change the reducing enviroment of sulfide bacteria to an oxidizing enviroment.

Patrick

[+Hydro]

I think when you have the open holding pond it gives the bacteria that creates that smell a place to off gas. I could be wrong. I have a well for my place in Elgin and had the same troubles with my water. We ended up buying a filtration system from a guy in florida, you send a water sample and he puts together a filtration package. It came with a chlorinator which gets rid of the sulphur smell and oxidizes iron so the filters can pull it out. I added a UV light to the well and without the chlorine just the UV alone will take out the sulphur smell, its a bacteria that makes the smell from what I understand. Before we added the filtration we noticed that when we washed clothes they would sour if they weren't placed in the dryer within a few hours, but after we added the UV this stopped happening. Adding lots of chlorine will do the same thing but we add as little as possible, not near as much as city water. We wanted the UV to make sure it was still clean without too much of the posion added....I mean chlorine. Without the filtration I wouldn't give it to my dog, but after the filtration its the best water I've ever had.

[subsea]

I think when you have the open holding pond it gives the bacteria that creates that smell a place to off gas. I could be wrong. I have a well for my place in Elgin and had the same troubles with my water. We ended up buying a filtration system from a guy in florida, you send a water sample and he puts together a filtration package. It came with a chlorinator which gets rid of the sulphur smell and oxidizes iron so the filters can pull it out. I added a UV light to the well and without the chlorine just the UV alone will take out the sulphur smell, its a bacteria that makes the smell from what I understand. Before we added the filtration we noticed that when we washed clothes they would sour if they weren't placed in the dryer within a few hours, but after we added the UV this stopped happening. Adding lots of chlorine will do the same thing but we add as little as possible, not near as much as city water. We wanted the UV to make sure it was still clean without too much of the posion added....I mean chlorine. Without the filtration I wouldn't give it to my dog, but after the filtration its the best water I've ever had.

Good points. However, in my case, the pond is not the process that eliminated the sulfide smell. The oxygen rich water entering my wellbore killed sulfide bactera. The surface pond generated the increased water flow which brought in oxygen rich aquifier water which killed the sulfide bacteria in the wellbore around the gravel pack of the pump. The well driller contractor normally uses chlorine to kill sulfide bacteria and iron bacteria. To accomplish what I described, I have flowed 2.5 GPM for 4 months. My electrical cost for 1000 gallons of water is $0.42. I would never have thought of UV to remove the smell of sulfide. Oxygen, chlorine and UV all kill sulfide bacteria.

Patrick

[+Hydro]

Ahhhh interesting, I learn something new everyday

[wesreyn]

Well, I used it.

After seeing a bucket of this carbon is $50, I decided to give it a shot. I did a small water change last night and added 2 cups in a nylon filter bag. It is TLF GAC, by the way. So far all my fish, corals and anemone are good to go. Hopefully they stay that way!!!