Is Activated Carbon Nessecary?

[Iceman420]

I accidentally bought regular carbon fabric from a local store. Will it work or should I just fork over the money for activated? If anyone has any good designs hit me up with a post it would be much appreciated.

 

[guineapig]

Do a search for "DIY carbon filters" and you will find a few good designs....

for instance, from our esteemed colleague Blunt_69:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=1590715#post1590715

and here's a micro-carbon filter, a smaller design (from an awesome member named Sugabear)....

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=48949&highlight=DIY+carbon+filter

And yes, in my opinion activated carbon is necessary......the carbon fabric is too easily clogged due to low surface area as compared to activated carbon particles.....you could use a mineral called "Zeolite" for odor control (many industrial-strength filters use zeolite), but i think activated carbon is easier to obtain.....

A good activated carbon filter is absolutely essential (in my humble opinion).....

kind regards from guineapig

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I bought 9 oz. of activated carbon for aquariums at Wal-Mart for 5 or 6 bucks. It works good in micro scrubbers w/o having to spend much. I made the mesh pencil holder scrubber Guinea Pig referenced above for less than $15 with enough carbon left over for a refill in the future. All materials needed were found at WM.

4" mesh pencil holder
3" mesh pencil holder
knee high stockings or panty hose
carbon
tie wraps or tape

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10313138

 

[magiccannabus]

Carbon sold for pets is a terrible buy. You can get 60 pounds of it from a carbon supplier for only about 20-30 dollars.

Also look at litter crystals. Not regular cat litter, but instead find the packs that are all crystals and nothing else. Takes a bit more of them to do the same job as carbon, but they filter some things better than carbon and vice versa. They're also totally reusable, with an almost unlimited lifespan. Even the indicator crystals help you determine when they need recharged(using an oven). Mixing the two mediums is the very best. These crystals can be found in bags(I can't remember the weight, but it's quite a bit of crystals) at Walmart. It's the cheaper brand, not Tidy Cat. They should only cost 3-4 dollars a bag. Totally worth it.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Carbon sold for pets is a terrible buy. You can get 60 pounds of it from a carbon supplier for only about 20-30 dollars.

Reading carefully, expands comprehension. I mentioned micro, this means small. Buying 60 pounds of carbon when used by the ounce is a terrible idea.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Carbon sold for pets is a terrible buy. You can get 60 pounds of it from a carbon supplier for only about 20-30 dollars.

Dudeski, we need a name and address!!! The cheapest I can find it is $120 + shipping for 60 lbs.

Iceman, we need specifics on your grow. An Odorsock type filter is fine for small cabs, workable in larger cabs with low smell plants. Then there are plants that NEED activated carbon almost from the day they sprout.

DurbanPoison's Carbon Scrubber For Dummies

 

[TheShroomDude]

Yea what Freezer said..Would like to know where to get it at that price. Will be needing some of that.

 

[ScrubNinja]

Shit, I just bought carbon today to build a filter and now I looked at it and it doesn't actually say "activated" anywhere on it! It's the granule style though, not sheeting. I did use this same product in my last filter and didn't notice any smell but I was only vegging. It's Aquarium Science "filter carbon". I hope it's gonna be ok :/

What does "activated" mean anyway? I've seen people on here say you should wash your carbon to activate it, but that doesn't make sense if it's already "activated carbon". I'm still gonna use mine but I have to buy more anyway so I'll get the activated stuff for the remainder.

Iceman, if it helps, I've seen plenty of posts saying that the sheeting is pretty much useless to remove smell. Good luck.

 

[Iceman420]

yeah im just a cheap ass. ill switch it out today/tomorrow. Thanks everyone

 

[TexMex McDirt]

I have made the Wally World scrubeer for my new grow. While I can't yet speak for it's effectiveness, I can say it was cheap and easy to make. 2 pencil holders, carbon and a pantyhose sock, maybe cost $12. It did take me a little time to build because I took extra time to drill a lot of little holes in the ends of each pencil holder. And it was easy to attach to a 120mm fan with a dryer vent adapter from Home Depot that cost like $3.

 

[magiccannabus]

My info may be old Freezerboy, but when I have some time I will check into it again

 

[FreezerBoy]

My info may be old Freezerboy

Darn. At 50¢ a lb I was wondering what the formula for a lifetime supply was. Stick it all in a giant space bag for storage. The local fish store wanted close to $5 a lb.

 

[Kush_Dreams]

Here's something you can use...

http://www.petco.com/product/100372/PETCO-Activated-Carbon.aspx

or

http://www.petco.com/product/100374/PETCO-Activated-Carbon-and-Zeolite-Crystals.aspx

 

[FreezerBoy]

That's almost $6 a lb Ebay has it for $1.99.

 

[Hella THC]

Buying 60 pounds of carbon when used by the ounce is a terrible idea.

UNLESS you want 960 ounces all at once...