Smelly water

So my water appears to be a bit smelly, kinda low tide stink.
Read somewhere that a bag of carbon will help ?

Fowlr 480 gallons, I have a container of fluval carbon and a nylon bag, I am thinking of popping the bag in the area of my sump with my return pump ?

How much and how ongoing should I be putting the carbon in ?

 

You should get a brs reactor and fluidize it first

 

So I don't have a brs reactor, can I add a bag of carbon prior to getting a brs reactor ?

 

it just doesnt do much. Sure you can, It might help a little. Its alot like a filter sock but for chemicals and organics. If you put a sock in your sump sure some detritus will end up in there but its not very effective.

 

I fill the bag full on mine and placed it in the chamber next to the return pump. The small one with the bubble removing sponge in it. Change it out once a month

 

You'll get best results if you can channel the water thru the carbon as opposed to just popping the bag into the sump. If your sump has an "under" flow baffle, try to put the bag across that space so the water flows thru it.

You can also run it thru a canister filter with the intake on one end of the sump and the outflow in the pump bay. This is nice to do for temporary carbon use...think of it like an old diatom filter...for occasional use.

 

That's where I put mine! Didn't realize it was called the "under flow baffle". Seems to work good there. I plan on a reactor, just haven't pulled the trigger yet

 

Agree, you need to get flow through the carbon. While you can achieve "passive" filtration by simply placing it in the sump, for a 480g tank, it would take several bags to make much difference.

FWIW, I run carbon 24/7/365... and always have.

 

I would look at the recommended amount of the type of carbon that you have and use that much I also put mine in a bag in a high flow area of my sump. I think most recommend to change out about every 2-4 weeks depending on your needs. I have always run carbon as well.

 

I stuck mine in a bag, that is placed in my filter sock, that is placed under my overflow.