DVH Aquatic AquaChar

The all natural alternative to activated carbon designed to buffer pH and last for months!

DVH Aquatics AquaChar

Most activated carbon in aquariums today use fossil fuel byproducts and hydrochloric acid. For millions of years forest fires and rain running into the streams, rivers and oceans has been nature´s way of cleaning itself.

AquaChar is an all natural product. By burning wood at several thousand degrees hotter than the ash point of carbon, AquaChar leaves the lightweight carbon skeleton that trees use to grow intact.

AquaChar is negatively charged. Broken down organics (which are positively charged) are the cause of most water clarity issues . AquaChar’s negatively charged ions pull fine particulates out of the water creating crystal clear water.

AquaChar has natural porosity and a massive surface area (>20 bioballs per gram*) which makes it the ideal support system for beneficial bacteria to colonize. Once AquaChar is colonized with beneficial bacteria, the negative charge allows for a more on demand absorption and breakdown of organics which stabilizes ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.AquaChar provides pH stability: For freshwater it stabilizes pH between 7.5-7.7 and saltwater between 8.1-8.4.

We recycle resources from the Earth to create a safe product which uses Nature´s power to maintain your aquarium with optimal clarity. AquaChar is not a chemical or synthetic product and provides a natural alternative to activated carbon. AquaChar can be used in freshwater, brackish and saltwater.

Key points:

  • Makes water crystal clear
  • Purifies contaminations
  • Surface area of 20 biobals per gram*
  • Helps controll Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites
  • Stabilizes pH in freshwater at 7.5 - 7.7, in saltwater at 8.1 - 8.4

* Bioballs = 1.5m2/gr., AquaChar =>32m2/gr.

Available in 250, 500, 1000 and 2000ml. Other sizes on special request.

Directions of use:

  • Use 250ml / 1 cup per 200L / 50 gallon.
  • Place new AquaChar in a mesh bag and rinse throuroughly.
  • AquaChar lasts for 3-6 months depending on your bio-load. When changes are noticeable, remove 3/4 of the existing AquaChar and replace with new AquaChar to allow the bacteria to jump start the fresh AquaChar.

History of carbon use

Human use of fire and water to make carbon to use for water purification, cooking fuel, and agriculture dates back thousands of years. Charcoals slow, clean burning property has been essential for mankind’s success allowing to use wind to reach the temperatures needed to melt, forge, and create metals and glass. Explorers would char the inside of wooden barrels to keep clean water at sea. The Mayans incorporated charcoal into their soil using its water and nutrient absorption qualities for sustainable agriculture for civilizations of over 100,000 people prior to the 1700’s. When the explorers first discovered the new world they brought back samples of fertile Amazon soil they called Terra Preta (Portuguese for “Black Soil”). Over the past century the the positive characteristics of carbon has been incorporated into almost all aspects of everyday life. It has become the staple of municipal water purification to remove volatile organic compounds to producing better tasting water.

Activated carbon is used for purification, solvent recovery, deodorization, and decolorization in the chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, food & beverage, and many other industries. While activated carbon can accomplish the needed task, it has a short usage life and rapidly loses its effectiveness. It only absorbs organic material in the water which makes it a costly and labor intensive maintenance process. Today, most activated carbon is made out of coal waste that is heated to 300-500°C to burn off organics and increase porosity. This mass produced carbon is then sent to different countries and companies who then acid wash and burn the carbon again to further increase porosity. Most “innovation” in new products uses existing bulk carbon production to acid bake or impregnate with an unknown proprietary chemical.

The use of biochar (typically made from feed stock) is a growing market in agriculture but with a return yield of ~20% it has not become economically viable for large scale use. Biochar has increased porosity over activated carbon but impurities left behind during the process makes it incapable of water purification. Regardless of the base material all carbon used today is restricted to a lower temperature range or the additional heat causes the return yield to be low and unsustainable. 

History and development of AquaChar

While in Africa and living the “global water crisis” first hand, AquaChar’s inventor, who was already working on a process to purify water on Mars, realized that is was time for his team to “think out-of-the-box” and look to create a brand new form of carbon that could actually help to purify the water, and not just filter it. After confirming that the methods used to make activated-carbon involved reconstituting coal dust and washing it in hydrochloric acid,  we looked to biochar as a more natural alternative to activated-carbon, but found that working within the “temperature limitations of pyrolysis”, that is, the maximum temperature that can be reached before biomass turns into ash, left a toxic “pre-smoke” resin that was unsuitable for clarifying water. So, our focus shifted to nature, investigating the 2 ways that nature cleanses and purifies everything - Water + Fire. Hence the name given to our “brand new form of carbon” were the Latin words for Water (Aqua) + Fire (Char) combined  to form the word “AquaChar”. A Proprietary Process was then developed using machines designed by rocket scientist for the sole purpose of producing the world’s first naturally structured carbon to purify water. We spent 2 years perfecting the process working with a local university and testing at a local fish store on over 100 fresh and saltwater tanks before we went to market in 2019.

Each batch of AquaChar is created over 36-hours using a proprietary 12-step method reaching temperatures well over 4000°C. AquaChar leaves the natural porosity trees use to bring water from roots to leaves. The end result is a carbon structure that was designed to attract any unwanted organic compounds to purify and clear water. AquaChar not only reacts quicker but lasts longer than any other carbon product on the market.  

 Super close-up porosity AquaChar


Close-up AquaChar