GFO Reactor $15 DIY

5Bucks · Nov 3, 2014

Here's video of my $15 DIY GFO Reactor [video=youtube_share;Hi9IZyYWqLk]http://youtu.be/Hi9IZyYWqLk[/video]
I'll add details on the build soon if interested

shells4 · Nov 4, 2014

Will be interested to see how this works for you long term. Fyi. You can get one piece plastic lids for ball jars. Thanks for sharing.

reefwiser · Nov 4, 2014

Great job easy and simple.

5Bucks · Nov 4, 2014

Thanks for the tip on the plastic lids. I looked them up. Not sure they would be as watertight/airtight as the metal lids. One nice quality with the metal lids is their 2 piece design. When disassembling, no worries about removing plumbing as the center piece of lid doesn't turn. Also the metal is aluminum and it's coated on the inside. And duh on me… these jars are used for pickling - lots of salt in that so think they'll be fine over time.

shells4 · Nov 4, 2014

The plastic lids are water tight. I use them a lot in my kitchen. The aluminum would definitely be easier when changing the media though! Do you think this would work for biopellets or would there be to much flow? I am just starting to learn about reactors.

5Bucks · Nov 4, 2014

I'm still learning too. If the plastic lids are watertight they could work. Just turn the jar and hold the lid steady to open for media change. For flow control I put a ball valve on the inlet side of the reactor. With that setup, I can adjust flow rate to whatever I want. With the valve approx. 3/4 open I'm getting about 75 gallons/hour thru the reactor.

shells4 · Nov 4, 2014

With the biopellets I would probably have to get the smallest pump available. Thanks for the info.

5Bucks · Nov 6, 2014

Update on my DIY GFO reactor: Been running for 5 days now. I started with 3 tablespoons of GFO. 2 days ago I added 3 more. At that point, flow rate was about 90 gallons per hour. With the 3 more added, GFO did not tumble as high in the chamber. But, still had excellent mix/tumble in the bottom 2 inches. Tonight I switched to a more powerful pump and flow rate is now 130 gallons per hour. Mix and tumble a little more vigorous now and happy no small GFO particles making it more than half way up the reactor. My fear was small GFO particles going through the return. No such problem. I'll continue to up the GFO volume every few days. I'm still way under the amount recommended by BRS on the container which if I recall is 1 tablespoon per 4 gallons of tank. Mine is 55G (70 including sump) so according to BRS I should be running 14-19 tablespoons.