Dustin Pedretti Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 ok...so i've got a dumb noob question how do yall rinse your carbon? i've been messing with this stuff for almost 2 hrs and every time i smoosh the bag around and put it under water again all that carbon dust comes out again....it's driving me crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I always just ran it until the water was pretty clear. When you smooth it you are probably creating more dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Theres a thread already going on about this titled 'do you boil your carbon?' I rinse it. But in RO water. I wouldnt run tap water through it or saltwater. There are theories/arguments/bickering about the volatility of carbon beyond anywhere from 5 minutes, to 6 months.. No one seems to agree how long each lasts. But I definitely rinse it, otherwise you end up with carbon sediment all over everything, which in turn makes your sps and softies start sliming. The method I follow is I do a quick rinse of it, and then let it sit in the container for a bit longer, then dump the water, re-rinse and then toss the sucker in. You wont be able to get ALL of the dust out. However, if you can, throw in some filter floss right before you drop in the carbon bag or start up the carbon reactor. It will catch a lot of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 agreed, just rinse in RO/DI water till it get pretty much clear and use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 yeah i saw the post...i didnt do this in rodi water...should i still use it?...should i just toss it in and be done with rinsing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 re-rinse with ro/di, soak in ro/di.. if you have any dechlorinator, add it to the rinse/soak (if you used tap water to rinse/soak it the first time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Back when I ran carbon, I would soak it for an hour and then lift it a few times like a tea bag. You can also run it under the hose while kneading the bag with your hand. It takes about a minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Grog Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I have a mixing bowl,2 quart, that I use for this. I put the bag in the bowl and add about 1 quart of RODI water. I swirl and swish and crunch it a bit, about 2 minutes. Water is inky black. Dump water. Add 1 q RODI to rinse, dump, rinse again, dump, use carbon. Been doing it that way for years, since freshwater days and haven't changed. Just I used to use distilled instead of RODI... Same concept though. I guess you could do it with salt water but I never have. Easier with RODI IMO as I always have a gallon sitting around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Would any of y'all be concerned about using tap or tank water to rinse carbon? Wouldn't the carbon absorb alot of what's in the water, effectively weakening its cleaning ability before it even makes it into the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Would any of y'all be concerned about using tap or tank water to rinse carbon? Wouldn't the carbon absorb alot of what's in the water, effectively weakening its cleaning ability before it even makes it into the tank? I wouldn't, but I'm often accused of being an idiot...shrug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 well I guess that really depends on the amount of impurities. If there are a lot of additives and what not in your water, it could burn up a bunch of carbon just rinsing it. One of the water pros isg oing to have to jump in on this one... vic? timfish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 550 ppm tds in our tap. I could give you specifics but I would need to hunt down the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 I have always rinsed it In tap water before I use it and change every 3 weeks tops. After that its prob not doin much anyways. If your smooshin the bag around its gona make dust. Just do a quick rinse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share Posted June 1, 2013 I have always rinsed it In tap water before I use it and change every 3 weeks tops. After that its prob not doin much anyways. If your smooshin the bag around its gona make dust. Just do a quick rinse ok thats pretty much what i did...i figured the stuff was already waisted anyways...might as well just throw it in and see if it worked or not...looks like its working...my tank is super clear....like SUPER CLEAR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 good work sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I stick some in a nylon sock rinse it for a couple of minutes in tapwater and stick it in a homemade "reactor" I replace it monthly, well, I don't expect it to be doing much after a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I rinse my carbon with tap water to get rid of the dust then do a second rinse with RO/DI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 The quality makes a huge difference as well. If you use ROX carbon, it rinses clear in about 5 seconds. The lignite and bituminous carbons can take a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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