mixing carbon and GFO in one reactor?

[nanojg]

any problems with that?

 

[danceswithfish]

I am curious about this aswell.

 

[pIankton]

No problems. There are some items sold like that - Chemi Pure Elite I think...

If you use them both in the same reactor, they settle differently so I would recommend using them in separate reactors - I run mine in tandem. First one is carbon, then GFO.

 

[bertoni]

I ran both in my reactors for years without problems. The only downside is that you might have to replace both media when only one is exhausted.

 

[motoms]

Reactor

Reactor

Bulk Reef supply sells a nice duel reactor that has worked great for me

 

[luther1200]

I run both in 1 reactor.

 

[Hookup]

cool... learn something every day around here...

 

[maynardjames]

i too run both in same reactor. no problems

 

[reeflord]

gfo is very hard, and its supposed to be tumbled for maximum effect.... carbon is soft and doesnt need to be tumbled... now if the gfo is tumbled over the carbon it could grind the carbon down into a powder

 

[fish crazy]

I use two reactors because I replace my carbon every 2or3 weeks because it cheep & looses it ability faster than phos remover . I guess it might depend on what phos remover U use to mine is very fine grained & expensive . It does not have to be an expensive phos ban I just like Rowa Phos by D-D 300ml will some times last me more than 3 months. I also get the big bucket to save a little bit of money but not much at over $260. / +1 reeflord

 

[Thefilterguys]

You can run them in a layered cartridge in a reactor they don't need to be tumbled.

Jim

 

[sparty30]

I ran them layered for years before I started dosing bacteria. No I only run carbon

 

[spleify]

I ran both in one reactor for years, but like mentioned the GAC usually exhausts before the GFO does. That was ok with me, just meant I always had fresh GFO running

 

[ScottAAZ]

I put the gfo in a filter sock and run it at the bottom of the reactor, then put carbon on top, that way you can dump out the carbon and change it while still keeping the gfo to change at a later carbon swap.

 

[MadBeach79]

By tumbling either carbon or GFO, you are slowly depleting the surface area of each granule of meadia, thus making it less absorbent and creating more "dust".
If you are going to layer them, it is recommended that you place the carbon first and then the GFO, the carbon will absorb any organics allowing the GFO to concentrate more on Phosphate removal.