brs GFO reactor

[robbywood20]

Ive got a brs GFO reactor that I cant seem to keep the resivor full of water.I get it adjusted to where the media is rumbling good and the next time I look at it the resivor is almost empty,I put my finger over the output line and it fills back up and works fine for a while then empties again.It almost acts like it need a valve on the output. Any input would be great.

 

[kzoo]

What size pump you running?

 

[robbywood20]

maxijet 1200 at a little over half flow.at first I thought it may be picking up micro bubbles so I moved it to the other side of the bubble trap and had the same results. I will say that it did not start this until I changed the media for the first time.

 

[kzoo]

Has to be pulling air in, sure you got the top on right when you changed the media?

 

[robbywood20]

not 100% sure but its not leaking anywhere. Ill try and take it back apart and see if that helps

 

[darth reefer]

Mine does the same thing. I don't think it's pulling air in, I think it's just not pushing all the air out of the system so it collects in the chamber. Look closely, if its doing the same thing as mine the actual media chamber will be full of water and the air is just trapped in the outer chamber. Mine has been running like that for 6 months with no problem. The only reasoning I can come up with is there is just not enough pressure to push the air all the way through when the valve is closed off enough to get a gentle tumble for the gfo.

 

[robbywood20]

that is exactly what it is doing, the media chamber is full and the outside housing is only about half full. so you are saying it will still work fine that way?

 

[ralph atl]

there is no way a maxi jet 1200 can handle a dual BRS...upgrade your pump to an eheim or similar.

 

[darth reefer]

robbywood20;826083 wrote: that is exactly what it is doing, the media chamber is full and the outside housing is only about half full. so you are saying it will still work fine that way?

Mine works just fine that way. As long as you are getting water through the system it's doing its job. You don't want a high flow rate, you're aiming for a trickle. Contact time is what gives the media a chance to do its job. I am by no means an expert but I think your pump is fine. It's what they recommend. If you got a bigger pump you would just have to cut it back further and the extra gph would just be wasted right?

 

[ralph atl]

Darth Reefer;826156 wrote: Mine works just fine that way. As long as you are getting water through the system it's doing its job. You don't want a high flow rate, you're aiming for a trickle. Contact time is what gives the media a chance to do its job. I am by no means an expert but I think your pump is fine. It's what they recommend. If you got a bigger pump you would just have to cut it back further and the extra gph would just be wasted right?

if your GFO is not "percolating" on the surface at a constant rate, then it is not working.......MJ is not going to do that......why waste your money?

 

[picoreefguy]

ralph are you sure youre talking about a 1200 and not a 400? i have a cobalt mj1200 on mine and it tumbled gfo just fine and if it wasnt throttled back than it would tumble it too much and the gfo would be all over the inside of the media cartridge

 

[darth reefer]

mysterybox;826164 wrote: if your GFO is not "percolating" on the surface at a constant rate, then it is not working.......MJ is not going to do that......why waste your money?

It does percolate at a steady rate, in fact I have to cut the in-line valve almost all the way back or else it blasts the media chamber and fluidized the entire column of gfo. It's a difficult problem to describe. There is plenty of flow to percolate the gfo with a mj1200. For some reason it won't flush all the air from the first chamber though. It almost seems like a design issue with the chamber. It does work fine though, even with air in the outside chamber.

 

[ralph atl]

if your gfo has it's surface that is "percolating" at a 1/4 inch, than there is enough water in the inner reactor and you are fine!

Outside the reactor might not be full of water, who cares?

 

[robbywood20]

I never said I had a dual reactor. It's a single and the maxi jet 1200 is more than enough pump. I have it throttled back over half way. My concern was that it may not be working properly without the outer canister filled to the top . Thanks for all the input. My media cartridge is defiantly full and GFO has a good tumble rate to it.i will run it like it is if you guys say it will still work. Thanks again for the help

 

[darth reefer]

Lol, sorry man, guess we got a little off track. My answer: you're good to go. As long as the inner chamber is full and the gfo has a gentle tumble then it's working. Like I said mine has been running that way for the past 6 months with no problems. Hope that helps.

 

[acroholic]

If the media is moving like it should, don't worry about it.

 

[ff337]

It only tumbles so it doesnt turn into a brick. If water is passing by it. It may still be working. Only true way to know if it expires is a phosphate test.

 

[glxtrix]

yeah I run a throttled back mj 900 (old style) on a dual reactor with GFO and ROX...no problems. When I change the media I get that issue as well, but it's usually gone by morning.

 

[acroholic]

The OP is probably only seeing air in the outside part of the reactor, and the media chamber with the GFO in it is filled with water. That is the way my BRS reactor has always operated. Like I said, don't worry about it.