- My very first salt water aquarium
was a Red Sea REEFER 170, and it tanked.
Get it?
Tanked.
It's a pun. Why did it tank?
Because I overused chemical media.
So stick around in this video to learn the do's and don'ts
of chemical filtration.
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Ciao, everybody, Matthew here, your BRS beginner guru,
coming at you with week 22 in the beginner how-to guide
for saltwater aquariums and reef tanks, chemical filtration.
If properly used, chemical filtration
can be highly beneficial to your saltwater aquarium,
but if overused, or used incorrectly,
it can lead to a tank crash,
and a quick exit from the hobby.
We will just be scratching the surface in this video.
So to learn more about the science
behind chemical filtration,
as well as how to properly set up and use media reactors,
check out some amazing videos we've already made.
We will put some links to our favorites down below.
All right, I'm ready.
Are you ready?
Let's get you all the information you need to know
to successfully use chemical filtration.
So what is chemical filtration?
Simply put, it is the use of chemical media
to remove certain unwanted things from the water column.
By far, the two most common types of chemical media we use
in this hobby are granular ferric oxide,
or GFO, and activated carbon.
There are many types of different chemical medias out there
from GFO to activated carbon, like we already mentioned,
to Purigen and different types of resins.
But honestly, today we're just gonna focus
on GFO and carbon,
because those probably comprise 95%
of the kinds of chemical media we use in this hobby.
There's a fantastic video that Ryan made way back
in 2013 called chemical filtration media.
So if you wanna know all the science behind GFO
and activated carbon, check it out, we'll link it below.
First up, we have activated carbon,
which is really good at removing certain dissolved organics
from the water columns, such as chlorine,
chloramines, smells, colors, and certain medications.
GFO, or granular ferric oxide, is fantastic
at removing phosphates from the water column.
There are several other products
that we're just not gonna dive into today.
Most of these products,
such as Chemi-pure from Boyd Enterprises,
or Purit from Brightwell Aquatics are a mixture
of different kinds of chemical media.
Sometimes they're just a mix of carbon and GFO,
but other times, they add in other medias,
such as Purigen, or different kinds of residents.
Don't get me wrong.
These products can be absolutely fantastic
for you in this hobby, but as beginners,
we just wanna start with the basics.
And that is, of course, activated carbon and GFO.
Why is chemical filtration important?
Chemical filtration can be an important weapon
in the arsenal, but just like with any weapon,
if you don't use it correctly, it can cause a lot of damage.
For example, sometimes using chemical filtration
is the only way to remove certain things
from your water column.
If you live in some sort of big city center,
oftentimes your public water system
is packed with chlorine and chloramines.
And the only way to remove those is with activated carbon.
Another example is that over time,
your water will turn slightly yellow,
and you could either remove that
through gigantic water changes,
or you could throw in some activated carbon,
and it will absorb those tannins in the water.
Do you need chemical filtration?
Most of the time, the answer is no,
you do not need chemical filtration,
but there are times when it can be helpful.
And honestly, for most beginners out there,
unless you know exactly what you're doing,
using chemical filtration can cause more harm than good.
I currently have eight tanks in my gallery,
and none of them are currently using any form
of chemical filtration, but that being said,
every single one of my tanks
has either used chemical filtration,
or is going to use chemical filtration.
Just take, for example,
my Innovative Marine 14 gallon peninsula tank.
There's just a ton of hair algae growing right now,
and that just means my phosphate levels are too high.
I've been feeding less.
I've been feeding only frozen foods,
and I've been changing out
my mechanical filtration frequently,
but it's still too high.
So for that tank,
what I'm gonna do as a part of my regimen
is to use a very small amount of GFO
to lower those phosphates
to really tackle that hair algae outbreak.
And while I don't run activated carbon all the time,
every single one of my tanks that you see
will be running activated carbon
at some point in the future,
because it really does freshen up the tank.
It removes a whole bunch of smells,
and it makes that water crystal clear
that you just can't get without using it.
So, no, you don't need chemical media
to be successful in this hobby,
but as you progress and get more and more knowledgeable,
you will find there will be times
when using activated carbon and granular ferric oxide
will be hugely beneficial to you.
There are really only two ways to use chemical media.
Either you gotta put it in a media bag,
or you gotta put it in a media reactor.
Media bags come in different sizes,
as well as different micron densities,
from something that has a really porous micron density
for using something like ceramic media,
to something that has a much more tight mesh
for using activated carbon or granular ferric oxide.
Rather than get hugely confused by it,
I would just go to the Bulk Reef Supply website,
and pick up a few different sizes
of their 200 micron media bags.
And that's gonna be perfect for most uses.
For media bags to be effective,
they really need to be placed in a high flow area
of your tank, because the only way filtration media works
is if water passes through it.
So if you place this in a part of your tank
that has almost no water movement,
it's not gonna have a chance to interact with the media.
So these are usually placed in super high flow areas,
like in a rear filtration chamber,
maybe right after the filter sock,
so all the water is gonna have to pass through it.
Or if you have some sort of acrylic caddy,
you can put it just after your mechanical filtration.
Or if you have a sump,
you can put it right after your filter sock,
or directly on the other side of a baffle
so that the water will cascade over that baffle
and interact with the media.
But one thing to know here,
if you do use a media bag and not a reactor,
you usually have to double the amount of media you use,
because it just doesn't use the media
as effectively as a reactor does.
Reactors are a bit more complicated to set up,
but they use media much more efficiently
than a media bag does.
I think the easiest way to get going with a media reactor
is to just buy one of these kits.
They have a couple of different sizes,
and they come with the reactor and the pump
and the flexible tubing to get you up and going.
I have personally used both of these,
the larger size and the smaller size, for five years now.
And they're still running fantastic.
So you might be wondering why reactors are more effective
than using filter bags,
and it's because reactors actively force water
through using a pump,
whereas using a media bag is much more passive.
This will actively force water through,
thus forcing the interaction between the water column
and the media inside the reactor.
Now for a lot of you out there,
you might not have a sump,
and using one of these would either be some sort
of difficult external plumbing job,
or it's just not feasible,
but lucky for all of us in the hobby now,
that media reactors have morphed,
and you can either get media reactors that hang
on the side of your tank, or that are small enough to fit
in most rear filtration chambers.
So there's gonna pretty much be an option out there
for all tanks.
Can you chemically filter your water too much?
Absolutely. Yes, you can.
While it may be hard to overuse activated carbon,
you can definitely overuse GFO.
I remember thinking back to when I started this hobby,
and I was watching Bulk Reef Supply videos
on granular ferric oxide and/or reactors,
and I thought, hey,
if using a small amount of GFO was good,
then using a large amount of GFO must be better.
Right?
Definitely not right.
That was an incredibly incorrect assumption I made.
When it comes to using activated carbon,
while I don't use it constantly,
you could probably use a small amount
of activated carbon in your tank at all times.
The thing about activated carbon
is it gets used up much quicker.
GFO can last for several weeks, or even for a month,
but to really get the benefit of activated carbon,
you're probably gonna wanna add a small amount,
and change it out every week.
Activated carbon can be fantastic for your tank.
It can reduce those smells,
and it can keep your water crystal clear.
So can you over chemically filter your water?
Absolutely you can.
But when it comes to using activated carbon,
you probably will be fine using a small amount
of it all the time.
When it comes to using granular ferric oxide, or GFO,
you can absolutely use too much.
So start out with a small amount,
and only increase the amount if needed.
If you were to remember one thing about chemical filtration,
it is that less is more.
That's not always true in this hobby,
but for chemical filtration, it absolutely is.
So before you just start throwing in different kinds
of chemical media into your tank, especially GFO,
why not reach out to a fellow hobbyist,
a local reefing club, or even call customer service at BRS?
We are definitely here to help you succeed.
Well, that's it, everybody, for chemical filtration.
Coming up for next episode, 23,
is what to do when the nitrogen cycle is complete.
As always, everybody, thanks for watching.
Happy reefing, be well. We'll see you next time.
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