BRS GFO and Carbon Reactor questions

[bdesper311]

So I have a 40 gallon tank with a 12 gallon sump and like most of us, I have been itching to do something new to the tank. I don't have an algae problem, but am thinking about adding the BRS GFO and Carbon Reactor. i have 3 questions about his though...

1) what is the difference this and the deluxe one they offer?
2) if I add one, will the MJ 1200 pump that I will attach to the reactor speed up the flow in my sump... I am looking for a way to add a little more flow through there.
3) In a tank this small, would it be more beneficial to just add some chemipure elite to the sump and get the same result?

Thanks for the help!

 

[gnashty]

+1, taggin along. was just looking at BRS GFO and wondering the same thing

 

[budsreef]

I'm not sure what the differences are between the regular and the delux versions so I went with the regular. For the size system you have it would be tempting to run both GFO and Carbon in one reactor, however GFO typically needs to run at a slower flow than the carbon so it is better to have a reactor for each. Before I plumbed them into my return, I was running the carbon with a MJ 1200 wide open and the GFO with a MJ900 closed down some.

Even if you decide to run a product like ChemiPure Elite, I'd still get a reactor to run it in.

Right now I'm in the middle of swapping out the GFO and Carbon in both my systems.

 

[acroholic]

The deluxe one has a couple JG elbows included the other doesn't. It is black, and I think the outer plastic housing is a bit more optically clear, if I remember from when I compared them. I just bought the regular ones. Didn't see the need for the deluxe version. Same media volume as the regular as well.

 

[elfloyd]

You won't get any more flow. The pump will be set where the GFO just starts to 'peculate'. You want some movement of the GFO, but not much. Too much causes the GFO to rub against itself and break into smaller pieces. That's why you need to place the GFO before the carbon.

For the 40g tank I would just use a single reactor. The GSO and carbon are layered, with a sponge disk (provided) separating the two.

 

[bdesper311]

Does the carbon/GFO media do anything to the water chemistry besides remove phosphates... I have a little spending money and everyone seems to run a type of this so I am curious to the advantages.

 

[ralph atl]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php">http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php</a>

[IMG]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php">http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php</a>

[IMG]http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php">http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php</a>

 

[bdesper311]

Thanks Ralph!

 

[weaglereefer]

Keep in mind if you run one reactor, you may want to change out the carbon 2x as often as the GFO. Or use 2x as much and change them at the same time. I used to run both, but haven't had any algae issues in the new tank so haven't seen the need *knock on wood*. I tried running them both in one reactor and it was a bit of a hassle, IMO. If I were to start over from scratch, I'd get 2 single units, a pump bigger than both need (much bigger than a MJ-1200) and split that with valves for each unit, so they can have flow controlled independently of each other.

 

[bdesper311]

Well to add to the problem, I have very little space left in my sump so if I got one it would have to be both run through a single reactor... I just can't decide if it is worth it or not... I dont have an algae problem, but I want my water to stay a clean and near perfect parameters as possible

 

[bdesper311]

So just throwing chemipure elite in the media bag in the in the sump is pretty useless compared to running one of these reactors correct?