GFO and Carbon reactors - HELP Please

[kdrof]

Hey all, I had a few questions. I was planning on getting the dual reactors from BRS and start running GFO and Carbon (ROX) on my 180g. Will this benefit me and are there any negative things with these products that i should know about? I have read and watched videos and am on the edge of getting two seperate reactors and pumps or just throwing it all in the dual reactor for simplicitys sake. I know the GFO will pull phosphates out which can cause algae growth and the carbon will help the water clarity and more...

Is there any negative that it can cause? I read on the forum that carbon that produces more dust can cause HLLE? Is this something that i should be worried about with the ROX since it produces the least dust? Will this anything wanted in the aquarium water out?

I will keep them in check and change the GFO every month to stay safe and the carbon every two weeks. Will the dual BRS reactors work for me with their suggested pump at my tank size. I do not have a huge algae outbreak nor horribly unclear water.. Or should i spend the extra 40 bucks and get two seperate reactors with seperate pumps?

I appreciate any help or information provided with your experience. Basically am i ok to run these with out any negative effects? Should i run it for two weeks then not run it or can it be ran consistently. Thanks for you time, Kevin

 

[Lynnmw1208]

I use the dual BRS reactor with the lignite carbon and the granule GFO from BRS as well. What BRS recommends as the amount for GFO is way too much. If you try to put 2 cups in there, it will hard to get to tumble. I would just do 1 1/2 cups. I don't think you have to change the GFO every month either if you don't have large amounts of phosphates going into your tank. I change mine every 2 months. As for the carbon, I change every month. I don't think there's a reason to change it more often than that unless your tank is really really dirty or if something foreign got into your tank.

As for HLLE, I think as long as you rinse your GFO and carbon you should be fine. I just rinse mine after I put the new stuff in the reactors in the sink until the water runs clear. I haven't seen any ill effects from using tap water to rinse. The maxijet pump that they suggest kind of stinks though. It's noisy and after the reactor is running awhile, the sponges get clogged with the media and the pump can't handle it.

Apart from these mishaps, I am glad I bought the unit as it's easy to change the media out and it mounts nicely up in my stand which doesn't have much real estate to begin with

 

[kdrof]

Thanks Lynn for the info. Do you think that a fairly new tank - about 3 months is ok to start running this? I have a little green algae growing on the rocks.. not really out of control.. My snails and tangs pick at it.. but i also am starting to get some coraline growth - not a ton just a little.. But hey its a start.. Will this have any ill effects or should i be good to go? Thanks a lot for the help local reefer

 

[billdogg]

I use 2 x single BRS reactors for mine, plumbed off the return manifold. (150DT, 120 fuge, 50 sump) Start slow with the GFO - pulling too much too fast can cause things to have a bit of a shock. And remember that all life requires phosphate! Pulling it all out really is not the point to the reactor - just to keep it in the barely detectable range on your test kit. YOU ARE TESTING??? Change it when the PO4 starts to creep up. If your levels are high now, it will deplete quickly, so YOU ARE TESTING???

Carbon can be used easily - I put about 2 cups in the single reactor and change it about every 4 - 6 weeks.

Buy both from BRS - rowaphos/phosgaurd/etc is just a name. It's all GFO I like the granular also - easy to clean before use.

And remember that the larger the quantity, the lower the price/lb

 

[kdrof]

I have not tested but i figured i would have to be a littl high to have the growth like that... So i will test before using.. So you are saying test if high use it.. after the phosphates are depleted and to the suggested level do you take the GFO off line? Also, do you run carbon all the time? Thanks

 

[kdrof]

Also when you say starting slow... do you mean like a cup of it? or just not have it tumble as much as it should?

If i do not want to run GFO at any time and have the dual reactor can i just leave that section with nothing in it and still run carbon?

 

[Psyops]

I used to use the BRS dual reactor. I don't know what demand you tank has, but I have a 180 high demand tank. I use two separate phosban 550 reactors. That way I can control the flow the way I want to with each media. Like I said, I used to have the dual reactor. Even BRS recommended to use two separate ones. At the time I thought they just want me to spend more money. When I separated the dual reactor into two separate ones, I could control the carbon flow better.

I like the phosban reactor more. I just think the flow is better. Although that will require two separate pumps and more lines. More junk in your sump area. I have a maxijet 1200 pump running each reactor. I have not had any clogging issues. I don't run the pumps with any sponge in the intake. They always clog.
Hope this helps.

 

[kdrof]

Thanks i may go with seperate then. Im gonna make the purchase in a week or so.. So hopefully ill have my decision narrowed down.

 

[b0bab0ey]

I have not tested but i figured i would have to be a littl high to have the growth like that... So i will test before using.. So you are saying test if high use it.. after the phosphates are depleted and to the suggested level do you take the GFO off line? Also, do you run carbon all the time? Thanks

Once your GFO absorbs all the phosphates it possibly can, it become useless. For me this happens after about 3 weeks. So I change my GFO about once a month to let the phosphates build back up a little.

I don't own one myself, but I've read very good things about the dual reactors from BRS. Don't see how you could go wrong.

 

[Palting]

I don't really want to be the killjoy guy, but I used to run GFO in a BRS reactor. Got tired of messing with replacing/replenishing the GFO. So I stopped, depending more on the 20 gal refugium with a healthy growth of macro for phosphate and nitrate control. Guess what? No phosphate issues. IMO, it's more practical to get a good sized refugium. I would suggest the GFO and reactor ONLY if you cannot have a good sized refugium.

Carbon is a different issue. I run carbon 24/7. It adsorbs toxins, especially if you start having coral warfare.

 

[Ron Reefman]

It sounds to me like you don't know why you are even going to run carbon? I have it in case I need it, but as of yet I haven't and my 180g, very mixed reef is about a year old now. Unless you have an issue you are trying to address, why do it? It's almost the same with GFO. I use one reactor and use GFO for 2 months, then don't run it again until I see a reason. And the reason never comes from a test kit. If I see any algae, any kind, I'll start the GFO again. It's been almost 3 months now since I pulled the reactor and GFO... no algae and no phosphates. And like palting (above) I have a 35g refugium with a DSB and a nitrate reactor.

 

[kdrof]

Well, i prefer to keep things in check and not wait for a problem (i.e Algae). So that is why i would like to run it. I dont mind cutting it off if my phosphates are low or gone, but i would rather not have to deal with an unneeded outbreak. I have a tiny bit of macro in my bubble trap.. i do not think that will make a world of a difference. I do not have the room for a refugium because i am in an apartment. I plan to have one later in life when i get a dedicated fish room... I figured GFO would do the trick.

So does everyone recommend running GFO for a few weeks until my levels are low and let them start to creep up a little then start the GFO again? Do people with older tanks run it constantly? Just curious

 

[Lynnmw1208]

I started running GFO as soon as I had a hair algae outbreak. It's up to you when you want to start to use it. For me I had to because I used BRS pukani rock which was loaded with phosphates. I am still running GFO only because I'm not sure what would happen if I took it offline. I do plan on switching to biopellets as soon as I can because I'd rather do that than run GFO if I don't have to.

All I know is it's better to get your phosphates where you want them now before you get corals and such. Reducing phosphates rapidly when corals are used to them can cause the corals to go into shock and die.

 

[kdrof]

Yea i got the marco rock and have the hair algae starting to pop up.. Tangs like it but they arent cleaning it all out so i plan on getting it for the same reason.

 

[kdrof]

Lynn, the biopellets remove nitrates from water so can you run both of them or is there no need to run both just one or the other?