Chemistry Department, The Pennsylvania State University. In this first part of a two part series, the authors will introduce granular activated carbon and explain the experimental goals and mathematical models used in their research.

More... (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/1/aafeature1)

Although the chemistry in this article may be a little daunting I recommend you read through it. The experiment seems well designed and I am anxious to see the results in next month's Part 2.

sorry, but what the hell did that article say?

Basically it said that they are using very specific parameters in an experiment to see:
1) How much GAC is needed to remove impurity from a given volume of water
2) Given a steady flow and amount of impurity how long is GAC good for

The first case is when you medicate and then run GAC to remove the byproducts a couple days later. How much GAC do you need for this job?

The second would be a case where you run carbon all the time as a water polisher. How often should you change the GAC?

ok, I was looking for some results, but I guess there aren't any. cool. I thought I was going crazy.

The results will be published in Part 2 next month.