Rox 0.8 & GFO dual reactor

FishBeard

FishBeard

New member
Since setting up a fuge with my current equipment is out of the question. Won't fit under the stand and understandably the misses doesn't want it sitting out in the open for multiple reasons. I did the next best thing and ordered myself a BRS dual reactor, and starter quantities of Rox 0.8 carbon and generic bulk GFO. At least the reactor will fit behind my stand out of the way. So anyways, I currently run chemi-pure in my skimmer sump.

My questions would be this:

1) should I just run my chemi-pure for the next couple months inside the carbon reactor, it was just replaced last month and I'm supposed to get 4-6 months of use out of the bag. It would stay in the bag inside the canister cartridge. Or should I just switch over and start running the Rox carbon from day one in the reactor?

2) Anyone have a recommendation on initial quantities of the carbon and GFO I should start with for the first month? Total system volume is around 58-60 gallons. I've heard to start with less than normal quantities and slowly add more each month when changing it out to not shock the system.

This is really just a preventative step I am taking with the tank as I slowly convert to an SPS dominated reef and want to minimize nutrients, along with help keep the glass clean so I don't have to scrub it every couple days.
 
I have the same setup and I just used what the BRS calculator recommended -15% cause I wasn't comfortable using there full starting amount since it was new to me. My PO4 was at 0.22 when I started back in July and now I'm at 0.06 according to the Hanna checker. Im still not at full recommended dose. I don't know what effects you'll have if you switch from your current chemi pure so I won't comment on that. If you have any extras ill buy from you for the nano.

For your tank it recommends the following and I used 58g for this calculation.

Carbon- 5tbsp - 0.36 cups
GFO - 14 tbsp - 0.91 cups
 
Thanks, I think what I will do is just move the chemi pure bags to the biocube and just run the Rox carbon from the start when I set this bad boy up tonight or tomorrow. I just hope I'm not setting myself up for disaster with these reactors. I hear horror stories of tanks going downhill even from small "beneficial" changes that just end up making things worse.
 
No way!!! The only bad thing that could happen is the your PO4 will drop to fast and shock your SPS for a few days.. So start will a small amount for two weeks and go with regular amount afterwards. I change mine every month on the 1st.
 
Dual reactor is rough fit and running for 2 days now. I initially had a huge issue with the maxi-jet 1200 pump. It was pumping well enough and I definitely needed to throttle flow thru the reactor with the included ball valve, the issue I had was it would become very loud when restricting the flow enough to get the proper tumble out of the GFO canister. After trying a 2nd new mj1200 I had bought for a different project, and getting the same result from that pump as well, it was obvious that it was not a faulty pump making too much noise. Eventually after enough searching online I found a few mentions of solutions, some which required modifying my brand new pump (out of the question) and another discussion about using a Y connector to split the flow from the pump rather than restrict it. I hit the local HD, and after seeing they didnt have everything I needed, they DID have the Tee connector on the shelf, so I bought one of those. Once home, I replaced the quick-connect coupling that attaches the pump to the inlet line of the reactor with the Tee connector, with the straight run on the connector joining the pump and line. I then placed the pump back into my sump and adjusted the angle of the Tee branch so it wouldn't spray all over. I turned the pump back on and.... NORMAL sound coming from the maxi-jet, and a great little extra aeration swirl in the return chamber of my sump! Going back to the reactor, I then adjusted the ball valve until i got a very gentle surface tumble in the GFO reactor. Unfortunately I did not pack the carbon quite as tight in that reactor, so I do have a minor tumble going on in there as well. I will correct this in a few weeks when I change out the media.
 
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