# To use, or not to use?



## Green Ocean (Jun 24, 2014)

Hey guys, I haven't added any reactors for filters other than a skimmer(obviously) yet. I'm planning of adding a gfo & carbon reactor in my tank(450L/110g), any suggestions? Should I use it or not? Which model suits my tank? This is the one I think works best for me;
http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Vertex-RX-U-media-reactor-2.0L.html It's all in one so it saves space and only need one pump, also I've use vertex things and it's definitely a brand I trust.


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## twobytwo (Oct 25, 2014)

I don't have experience with that style - but just ordered a dual canister reactor. I chose it because I felt it make changing out only the GFO or Carbon a little easier. BRS recently posted a youtube video on GFO, Carbon etc that might help your decision.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

GFO and Activated carbon require different flow rates. GFO needs to lightly tumble and Carbon does not. They also exhaust at different rates therefore they should not be used in the same reactor. Each requires it's own. TLF 150 reactor works just fine for either. It's the cheapest best option.


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## Themaddhatter (Feb 7, 2011)

I've been running carbon and phosguard in a dual BRS, and it work but gfo didn't work at all. Now I just setup a tlf 150 with mj1200 for vertex biopellets and it won't tumble much. Half tumbles and the other half clumps. 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Like I said, the TLF 150 is the best cheap option. It works Great for carbon and I managed to get a good tumble for GFO but I wouldn't use it for bio pellets. For bio pellets you need a bottom feeder or better yet a recirculating reactor. Avast marine has a Mod kit to turn a reactor into a recirculating model.


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## Green Ocean (Jun 24, 2014)

How of often should I change each media? What what is the flow needed for each media? Also can I put it in the sump?


fesso clown said:


> Likening aid the TLF 150 is the best cheap option. It works Great for carbon and I managed to get a good tumble for GFO but I wouldn't use it for bio pellets. For bio pellets you need a bottom feeder or better yet a recirculating reactor. Avast marine has a Mod kit to turn a reactor into a recirculating model.


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## mauricion69 (Sep 4, 2013)

I've been using GFO AND Carbon in reactors for a few years now. Both Units that I've used were from BulkReefSupply. First I used their dual reactor. It worked very well. The only issue I didn't like was (as stated above) that the carbon and GFO require different flow. So with the dual reactor you have to dial it back so there is a light tumble in the GFO. Carbon should have a much higher flow.
I now have separate reactors with their own valves that I Tee'd from my return pump. My water is very clean.. Too clean maybe. I think it's robbing my corals of nutrients. Carbon I swap out every 2-3 weeks.. GFO every 4-5 weeks. I just go by how often I need to clean the glass of algae.
You should go on YouTube and search "BulkReefSupply Carbon" and "BulkReefSupply GFO". They have a crap load of videos explaining different reactors, different Carbon types, how to use them properly.... So much good info!


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## goobafish (Jan 27, 2015)

They do a wonderful job of explaining it. I run both on seperate TFT reactors with different flow rates, swap out the carbon every 3 weeks and GFO every 5 or 6.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Just a suggestion, which I don't know if it's been touched on.
Don't put GFO and carbon in the same reactor. As Jeff said, the GFO needs to tumble and the carbon does not. If you put them together the GFO starts to grind the carbon down and tends to either gum up your foam insert or gets spewed into your tank as a black mess.


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## jd81 (Dec 16, 2011)

For the past 3 years, I've been using two separate reactors from BRS, and I have been very happy with them. I find they are the easiests 

The Vertex units are nicer, but I think they are over-kill and not worth the extra money $$. Keep in mind, that you will need 2 of them.

If you want to use a dual reactor, the one from spectrapure is a nice solution as it allows independent flow for each side.

As others have suggested. Look at youtube videos, try to visualize how they would fit under your tank and how easy/hard it would be for you to replace the media.


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## noy (Nov 19, 2012)

There are a lot of articles/writings that say you can just run carbon in a media bag in a high flow area (like in a media bag in your filter bags) - look this up under advanced aquarist. As long as there is flow the carbon will work because the carbon pellets are big enough for the water to flow though (and carbon is highly porous and very reactive). This is what i do.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/beginner

If you put carbon in a reactor that is causing it to tumble; the carbon will grind into fines which has been documented to cause HLLE in Tangs. I can personally attest to this.

Before adding GFO I would suggest that you get a good phosphate (PO4) meter (Hanna or Milwaukee) and get a handle on what your week to week readings of PO4 are. If the load on your system is very light (i think you are just starting out). You might find for now water changes weekly or once every 2 weeks may be enough. If its a scenario where PO4 gets a bit high occasionally - a media bag with some Seachem Phosguard may be the easier solution.

If you decide to add PO4 in a reactor - the best way to figure out when you need to change your media is to test the PO4 in your tank and then test the PO4 from your outflow (weekly) - if the readings are the same (or very close) then you need to change your media (the media is depleted). After a while you will have a sense of whether this is a weekly or monthly requirement and can skip the testing. The rate at which PO4 media is depleted is variable on a number of factors (type/brand of media, amount you put in, flow rate, bio-load) so what works for one system isn't necessary the same for another.


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## Green Ocean (Jun 24, 2014)

Thanks for the advice, that is what I'm thing about doing with the carbon. For the GFO I might as well get a reactor just to be safe with the phosphate. Also since algae is starting to grow in my tank, I want to keep it under control.


noy said:


> There are a lot of articles/writings that say you can just run carbon in a media bag in a high flow area (like in a media bag in your filter bags) - look this up under advanced aquarist. As long as there is flow the carbon will work because the carbon pellets are big enough for the water to flow though (and carbon is highly porous and very reactive). This is what i do.
> 
> http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/beginner
> 
> ...


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## mauricion69 (Sep 4, 2013)

Just in case you have still not watched the video that someone posted (or even more if you searched YouTube), I'd like to clear up few comments. 
GFO and Carbon need different flow for different reasons obv. GFO needs a slight flow to keep the top layer tumbling. This is required to keep all of it from solidifying into a brick. But anything more than that and the GFO will grind itself up and create fine particles.

Carbon works best with High flow. It does a much better job in a reactor with more flow, than with just the "high flow in your sump" in a sock. It's like 100 times better. (They do a test in the video) Also, I'm not sure about any other reactors but the brs reactor has 2 foam discs that you sandwich the Carbon with to keep the Carbon from moving. From my own experience, the flow going through the reactor is enough to keep the Carbon in place. It does not move what so ever.

And Carbon and GFO can be used Together in the same reactor. When mixed, the Carbon seperates the GFO enough. Just set it up like it was Carbon to keep from moving. (Also in video)

And you mentioned having algae. Like bad nuisance algae? I've also seen GFO clean up tanks that you would want to give up the hobbie seeing.


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## noy (Nov 19, 2012)

mauricion69 said:


> Just in case you have still not watched the video that someone posted (or even more if you searched YouTube), I'd like to clear up few comments.
> Carbon works best with High flow. It does a much better job in a reactor with more flow, than with just the "high flow in your sump" in a sock. It's like 100 times better. (They do a test in the video) Also, I'm not sure about any other reactors but the brs reactor has 2 foam discs that you sandwich the Carbon with to keep the Carbon from moving. From my own experience, the flow going through the reactor is enough to keep the Carbon in place. It does not move what so ever.


A reactor may remove dye 100 times faster but who cares. In a reef aquarium carbon is used to remove organics/traces of heavy metals - you really don't need it to react that fast. Julian Sprung has an article which says its better to use passive methods for carbon because it is suspected to remove trace (helpful) elements from the system. If you have that much organics in your system you probably should run something like purigen instead.

Nothing wrong with using a reactor for carbon but it just seems like overkill (imo).

If you run GFO it needs to be fluidized. This means just enough flow for all the particles from the top to bottom of the reactor to be suspended in the water. This will "raise" the level of the GFO in the reactor by maybe about 15% and the particles should not "tumble" any higher than that. GFO particles are solid and only the surface binds PO4. So you need to run it in a way that exposes the entire surface of the particles to the water flowing through it - this will maximize that effectiveness of it. You can control the flow into your reactor to get that effect.

I'm sure you can run both (carbon and GFO) in a reactor but it just doesn't seem that ideal. GFO is much more expensive than carbon and you probably want to run it in a way that maximizes its effectiveness. I just don't see how you can judge how well the GFO is fluidizing with all the carbon inside.

Everyone has their own choice of equipment. I think the TLF reactors are fine for all but larger tanks (and specialized tanks like NPS setups). If you go higher end my personal favorite is the Nextreef reactors (about $100) followed by the vertex ones. They all have the foam insets for GFO and carbon.


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## mauricion69 (Sep 4, 2013)

Even if it is a dye used in the video. It is still doing its job removing the impurities more efficiently than the bag no? You may be on to something though with removing "helpful" elements though, as I mentioned before that my water seems to be a little too "clean".

And with the exhaustion differences between the two, could you not use a mix of 1:2 of GFO to Carbon or even a 40/60 mix. This way you don't wast as much.

Yea, it is pricey.. Especially with our dollar being so crap.
Keep that in mind if you do start using GFO.. And I only know of BRS and reef supplies to carry


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