miggs76 December 18, 2012 December 18, 2012 I need to change the GFO in my reactor. I was using Phosban. Should I stick with it, or switch to BRS GFO, or even BRS High capacity GFO? Thanks for the suggestions in advance.
OldReefer December 18, 2012 December 18, 2012 I am a big fan of the BRS HC. I notice the difference. It pulls the phosphate levels lower and lasts longer.
jimlin December 18, 2012 December 18, 2012 phosban didnt really work for me. i am thinking about switching to something else as well for my next setup.
ridetheducati December 18, 2012 December 18, 2012 I am a big fan of the BRS HC. I notice the difference. It pulls the phosphate levels lower and lasts longer. +1 Run GFO through a reactor and replace when effluent reads .02 ppm or above. Depending on your bio load and husbandry, it could take 2 days or 2 months between media exchanges.
overklok December 19, 2012 December 19, 2012 BRS high capacity works well and it is more durable than the standard stuff. I use mine in a canister filter, I don't like the dust created by the tumbling in a reactor.
miggs76 December 20, 2012 Author December 20, 2012 How long does the high capacity work for? The phosban worked for about a month and I had to change it this evening.
ridetheducati December 20, 2012 December 20, 2012 How long does the high capacity work for? The phosban worked for about a month and I had to change it this evening. See post #5.
miggs76 December 20, 2012 Author December 20, 2012 See post #5. In comparison to the regular GFO. So if the regular GFO lasts for a month, would the high capacity last for two?
Ryan S December 20, 2012 December 20, 2012 I run my GFO for 2 months. I have both regular and HC GFO. I am sure the HC is better, but since I change it monthly anyway; I would lean towards saving money at this point and getting the regular GFO. Cost-wise, the HC is almost 3 times as expensive as the regular. So you can get 1 gallon (4 pounds) of regular for $61.99 vs $179.99 for HC. That's a big jump for 2 medias that essentially do the same thing. And even if the HC lasted twice as long, it still costs nearly 3x as much. Just rinse it a little longer when you install it and you'll be fine with the regular IMO.
ridetheducati December 20, 2012 December 20, 2012 In comparison to the regular GFO. So if the regular GFO lasts for a month, would the high capacity last for two? Theoretically, HC GFO would last twice as long as the regular GFO because it is twice as dense. However, in a real life situation, I stand by my comment above, it depends on your bioload and husbandry. Most people run carbon on the same schedule as activated carbon, changed monthly regardless if it was exhausted. Note: If you are dealing with high phosphates you will be using a lot of GFO, regular or high capacity to remedy the problem. Also, consider what level of phosphate is appropriate for your setup. For example, I run an Ultra Low Nutrient System (ULNS), phosphates between 0 - 0.02 ppm, I would not recommend that for a level for a softie setup.
miggs76 December 20, 2012 Author December 20, 2012 I run my GFO for 2 months. I have both regular and HC GFO. I am sure the HC is better, but since I change it monthly anyway; I would lean towards saving money at this point and getting the regular GFO. Cost-wise, the HC is almost 3 times as expensive as the regular. So you can get 1 gallon (4 pounds) of regular for $61.99 vs $179.99 for HC. That's a big jump for 2 medias that essentially do the same thing. And even if the HC lasted twice as long, it still costs nearly 3x as much. Just rinse it a little longer when you install it and you'll be fine with the regular IMO. Ryan, What do you mean by "rinse a little longer". I do rinse it to get the brown color out, but does rinsing it for a longer period of time help it to work better?
miggs76 December 20, 2012 Author December 20, 2012 Theoretically, HC GFO would last twice as long as the regular GFO because it is twice as dense. However, in a real life situation, I stand by my comment above, it depends on your bioload and husbandry. Most people run carbon on the same schedule as activated carbon, changed monthly regardless if it was exhausted. Note: If you are dealing with high phosphates you will be using a lot of GFO, regular or high capacity to remedy the problem. Also, consider what level of phosphate is appropriate for your setup. For example, I run an Ultra Low Nutrient System (ULNS), phosphates between 0 - 0.02 ppm, I would not recommend that for a level for a softie setup. Ok, thanks. I'd like to have it very low and I am starting to put more and more SPS in it. I don't run carbon other than throwing in a bag of chemi-pure in the sump and I change that about every 2-3 months. I think I will try a big box of the regular GFO from BRS and just keep up with testing the phosphates every week or so. I had enough Phosban to change it last night and it was .08 before the change. I am going to test it tonight to see how much it went down. I totally got rid of any trace of cyano as soon as I set up the phosphate reactor in October, but the last few days I started to notice a tiny bit of red string in a few places in the tank. I have no clue how the cyano got there anyway because I don't overfeed.
Ryan S December 20, 2012 December 20, 2012 (edited) Ryan, What do you mean by "rinse a little longer". I do rinse it to get the brown color out, but does rinsing it for a longer period of time help it to work better? Just long enough to get out as much of the fine particles/dust that you can. Both GFOs produce dust, the regular GFO produces a little more that's all. Do you have a refugium? Chaeto? That's another easy way to lower nitrate and phosphate. Edited December 20, 2012 by Ryan S
miggs76 December 20, 2012 Author December 20, 2012 Just long enough to get out as much of the fine particles/dust that you can. Both GFOs produce dust, the regular GFO produces a little more that's all. Do you have a refugium? Chaeto? That's another easy way to lower nitrate and phosphate. I dont have a fuge..not enough room in the sump, but I might be getting a custom made one soon. I have no problems at all with nitrates....it is just phosphates which isn't really too big of a problem. I just hate seeing that red cyano anywhere in the tank. The tank is only 7 months old so I assume it is just a maturity thing also.
Ryan S December 20, 2012 December 20, 2012 (edited) I did a treatment of chemi clean red slime remover in my tank - it got rid of all of my cyano and it never came back. good stuff. Edited December 20, 2012 by Ryan S
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now