Refugium, gfo reactor, or both?

[mikemdvm]

210 gallon reef with trigger system emerald 34 sump. Running for 6 weeks. Deciding if I should keep my five going go with gfo reactor or both?

 

[thegrun]

I'm a big fan of having a refugium but would set up the system so you can easily add a couple of reactors in the future.

 

[RobZilla04]

What are the phosphate levels? Six weeks in is too early IMO to know where the level of No3 & Po4 are going to settle. If you have a major issue with Po4, running both before putting any livestock in the tank would be wise.

 

[nereefpat]

Good advice above.

Fuges are always good. Having a reactor ready to run carbon or GFO is a good idea too. Definitely test phosphate levels if you are running GFO, and only run it if you need it.

 

[hijinks]

Go refugium first and have the reactor ready when you need it.

 

[JTL]

I have always run a fuge with Cheato and I also keep a decent sized pile of live rock in there as well. I made a basket out of egg crate to keep the live rock in confined area. I also have a reactor that I use for carbon which I run 24/7 to polish the water. I feed the fuge from both tank water and water from the return pump eliminating the need for additional pumps.

 

[ImTacticool]

I would personally run a fuge. Could potentially keep cost down from having to replace reactor medium when needed.

 

[thinhn1]

Only run gfo if have a large bio load. Fuge is the best filtration imo