DIY Carbon Tube Filtration System Q & A
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Q.  Can I use the TBPC & RN on an ESTABLISHED tank?
A.  Yes.  To introduce this filter system you start by taking 1/2 pound of Tri-Base Pelletized Carbon and hang it in your tank ANYWHERE so water will flow through it.  Let it sit in the tank for 1-2 days to let the fish and marine animals in the tank acclimate to the change in the water quality. You'll be amazed at how crystal clear your water becomes. Then you can hook up your carbon tubes and add the RN Bacteria following the instructions in the DIY article.

Q.  Can I get Right Now Bacteria in Hawaii?
A.  To the best of our knowledge, NO.  We are not aware of any suppliers that have a permit to import it into the state.  In 1994 the State of Hawaii passed a law banning the importation of any type of "cultured" bacteria without a permit. We want to make it perfectly clear that the Right Now Bacteria we have and used for our Carbon Tube Filtration System was obtained prior to this law.  We do not sell Right Now Bacteria in or from Hawaii.  All orders are shipped direct from Hiatt Distributors Limited to anywhere, but the State of Hawaii!  It's amazing to think that the only place in the World this product is illegal is in Hawaii.  Go figure?

Q.  If I have a NEW tank that is beginning to cycle, can I convert it over to this system?
A.  Yes.  If you have a NEW tank that is already in the cycling process (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates showing), just convert over using the ESTABLISHED tank method.

FOLLOW THE PROPER PROTOCOL OUTLINED FOR SETTING UP THIS SYSTEM AND USING HIATT PRODUCTS AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS.

Just like ANY NEW or ESTABLISHED tank the biological cycle needs time to adjust and grow to the bioload added. DO NOT OVERLOAD IT!!!  You can add another fish every 5-7 days until your tank is where you want it.  You can add live rock and other marine animals by the same method, but add them GRADUALLY IN SMALL AMOUNTS.  DON'T ADD A MASS AMOUNT OF NEW STUFF TO THE TANK ALL AT ONCE!

Here is the reason we stress this point!  Someone added the Tri-Base Pelletized Carbon, put the Right Now Bacteria in and said "it didn't work".  Upon further inquiry we found this person had put nothing but a large load of new live rock in the tank.  BINGO!  This person bought a lot of live rock that had bunches of dead stuff on it, but could not see it.  This really polluted the tank!!!  The NH3 was already over 6 when he put in the RN Bacteria and TBPC Carbon.  In three days the tank dropped to zero.  The nitrites are slightly rising and some of the Nitrates are going down.  Still the customer said he can not see the difference.  What he did was just like dropping a pound of dead fish into the tank and didn't remove it, which would screw up any tank. Well, even with the overload the RN is working, it's just that adding all that new live rock overtaxed the system and he is getting delayed results because the RN Bacteria is trying to "catch up".

For more details and information about the Carbon Tube Filtration System and using Hiatt Products read the Hiatt Product FAQ's.  If you cannot find what you are looking for, email your questions to us.