GFO / Carbon

Get a dual reactor from BRS. They are about $60.

Good idea going GFO & Carbon, I wouldnt run a system without both.

 

What is your skimmate like? Is it really light or pretty dark?

 

I have that same issue with the Dual BRS.... I was thinking I needed something bigger than the Maxi Jet 1200.....

 

+1
I am very happy with my dual reactor from BRS.  The price is reasonable. I use GFO and Carbon.  It keeps my phos down.  /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif

 

A couple of things;

Carbon and skimmers employ different method to achieve essentially the same objective = organic protein reduction. Although skimmers are more effective at achieving this over the long term. Carbon is most effective during it's first 3 days of use, and it's effectiveness drops off sharply afterwards. Carbon also improves water clarity better than skimming alone due to the removal of organic tannins. In order to effectively employ carbon, you should replace it once every 2 weeks. (and take care to use high quality carbon only and rinse it well as it has been indicated in a positive correlation with HLLE)

GFO provides a service that carbon and skimming cannot, phosphate removal. GFO only needs to be tumbled to keep it from caking into a solid mass, but does not actually need to tumble to be effective. Alternatively you can increase flow rate every 2 days or so to break up masses that form and continue using it at a lower flow rate. This is a problem that running carbon and GFO at the same flow rate causes. Additionally, the largest critiques of GFO is that it has a tenancy to drop PO4 QUICKLY. Anecdotal evidence exists to suggest that this is just as, if not more stressful than elevated PO4 levels alone. Although long term PO4 elevation will lead to inhibition of growth and eventually coral death.

If it was me, I would buy two reactors and run them off of an oversized system pump, usually the BRS reactors have 1/4" murlock/pex/jayco/john guest speed fit pieces. A 1/4" mpt (PVC) x 1/4" pex fitting can be easily aquired at any hardware store and fit into the appropirate sized PVC T with a 1/4" bushing. An inline tball valve can be used to independently control the flow of each channel. Alternatively you can use both GFO and carbon in one reactor and run it at a lower speed. The carbon will break up the compounding of GFO but will exhaust sooner, so you will want to measure out only 2 weeks worth of GFO as not to waste it. This has the added benefit of more continuous filtration of PO4 with each fresh addition of GFO and removes the risk of having large PO4 fluctuations.

 

I run a BRS dual on my 135 (200 with sump). And am happy with it, I use a rio2500 dialed down to about 3/4. I am considring adding another one, that way I do not worry about the 120 gallon rating and will run 1 dual with both carbon and 1 dual with both GFO i think my rio or my mag 12 will run both fine.  120 for 2 duals is better than 240 for the jumbos.

 

The BRS reactors are 1/2 inch and I have found using the BRS bio-pellet cartridge in place of the standard cartridge tumbles the GFO better.

 

I have been running the BRS reactor for a couple days now. Easy to set up, havent seen any improvement yet, but im sure i will

 

yeah i would get 1 reactor with a pump and use it for gfo then a little later get another for carbon.
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The BRS Heavy Duty single chamber reactors are great. They use 1/2" fittings vs. the 1/4" the others use. All things considered, you shouldn't need more flow than what the 1/4" plumbing can deliver.

Another thing to consider...you may be able to get the chambers for the reactor cheaper from your local hardware store, then buy the inserts (the part that holds the media) from BRS. I'm not sure if they would end up cheaper in the long run or not considering that you might have to change the plumbing fittings and stuff like that to get them hooked up, but it's something to look into.

Remember, a fluidized reactor is just a container with media in it. You can buy coarse filter sponge media and use that to contain your media and use just about any kind of container that you can get consistent water movement through. Evenly distributed, consistent water flow is key. They don't make square reactors for a reason...the flow of water can't be effectively distributed across the entire area and it wouldn't make best use of your media. The stuff in the middle would get used up before the stuff in the corners, but you would have to change it all at the same time. If you could find some clear PVC cheap, you might be able to make some from that. Honestly though...you're best off just waiting for a used one to come up for sale. I just sold a BRS Dual reactor last week for $25. It wasn't in pristine condition, but was a good deal for the money.

Finally, if going DIY, think about ease of maintenance. I love the BRS reactors because they are easy to open up, change out the media, and put back into use. Frequently, ease of maintenance takes a back seat with many DIY designs...and all you're doing is creating more work for yourself in the long run.

Not sure why your water is cloudy, but you may also want to consider filter socks. Just get a half dozen or so because you will want to change them every other day to keep them from becoming a nitrate factory.

--AJ