I'd buy a pretty significant quantity just for myself. I started looking into this a while ago and there are definitely sources where we can save a lot of money -- the question is what specs are we looking for on the carbon. I tried to get hard data from some of the vendors marketing "reef carbon", Kent in particular, but they haven't been particularly helpful yet although they at least Kent responded to my inquiry. Their response is posted below (I never received any additional information after this message):
Hi Joe,
Thanks for your inquiry. There are indeed differences in the grades of activated carbon available in the aquarium market. Some are honestly very effective, and some are not. Effectiveness in this sense would essentially come down to the ability to remove organic compounds from the system with regards to the actual amount of carbon used keeping time and flow rate constant for all samples. In addition, the carbon should have a relatively negligible effect on the pH of the water and preferably would release little to no measurable phosphate; these last two points are not so much a measurement of effectiveness, but rather are the types of qualities that we as hobbyists look for in an activated carbon. If you're interested in getting some basic information regarding the characteristics of different grades of activated carbon, I recommend having a look at the website of a company outside of the aquarium industry that produces the products directly. This will provide an immediate solution to the debate over whether or not there are different grades available. We don't currently have published data of this sort on our website, however in time that may change.
I will prepare some information on our carbon for you as soon as time allows. This is a very busy time of year for us and time is allocated to trade shows and other industry events presently, but I will give it my best effort to get the information for you within the next two to three weeks.
We don't sell products directly to consumers, as this would undermine relationships with retailers and wholesalers that we have worked many years to build. I would recommend contacting a retailer such as Champion Lighting and Supply, outside of Philadelphia, and inquiring about pricing for sacks of our carbon; they should be able to get the product drop-shipped from us with no problem. Keep in mind that any retailer should be able to get the product drop-shipped by going through their distributor, however I have found that distributors rarely want to hassle with such a transaction; this is why I recommend Champion in this instance.
Thanks again for your interest. I will try to get the necessary information for you as soon as possible, and in the meantime should you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.
Kindest regards,
Chris Brightwell
CR Brightwell
Marine Scientist
Northeast Regional Sales
Kent Marine, Inc.