Tips on packing a reactor?

[ktownhero]

I have a TLF Phosban 150 reactor that I am using for carbon and I'm struggling to figure out how to get it packed tight enough that the carbon doesn't tumble? What do you all usually do? Do you just fill the whole reactor or do you have some technique for doing a partial fill? My tank only calls for about 2 cups of carbon and the reactor could fit a lot more than that... Right now I threw the carbon inside a media bag inside the reactor so I could run higher throughput. But that's not ideal because it likely creates uneven exposure.

 

[blowmecius]

Move the bottom sponge up to leave the empty space below. The bottom feed of the reactor will tend to push everything up. If the sponge is loose try a couple zip ties around the center tube to hold it.

 

[Shaummy]

What I do in my carbon reactor is to run it in "reverse" flow so the water pushes the carbon towards the bottom of the reactor instead of up into the water column. Seems to settle down pretty well once the carbon gets saturated.

I use ROX carbon which tends to float for a bit, and this method helped keep it from getting caught in the upper sponge, or all the way out of the reactor.

 

[ktownhero]

Move the bottom sponge up to leave the empty space below. The bottom feed of the reactor will tend to push everything up. If the sponge is loose try a couple zip ties around the center tube to hold it.

That's a good idea with the zip ties. Without the zip ties, I ended up with a little gap that would cause the carbon to tumble. I'll definitely give this a try... should work!