GFO reactor tips requested

mrbacony · Mar 12, 2022

I posted a few weeks ago about a reddish clay looking substance prematurely filling my filter socks and skimmer (re-posting some of those pics). @FurrierTransform mentioned it could be the GFO causing it. I turned off my GFO for the last couple of weeks and sure enough, it went away. However, I would like to be able to use my GFO reactor without the sludge. Any tips on how to eliminate the re-brown sludge?

I have been using Kolar GFO but have a new bottle of BRS waiting to be used (both brands are the high capacity version). Not sure if the brand has anything to do with it or not.
Also, I have the flow from my Sicce pump turned on just enough to make it lightly tumble so I don't think it is grinding it to pulp.

Thanks for any suggestions.

FurrierTransform · Mar 12, 2022

Hey there, once in a while I get lucky with my guesses. What I'm trying to show in this photo of my sump is the water flow; it goes through this box where there is a black sponge, then out the bottom into the next section which pumps it back to the aquarium (yellow arrow).On top of the sponge is a mesh bag with a Phosguard granules. It sloughs off dust and gradually clogs the sponge (maybe over a period of a few weeks), then I take out the sponge and squeeze out the dust and other crud. You can see the slight difference in water levels between the pump section and the sponge area, indicating some loss of flow through the sponge. But as far as I can tell, the sponge traps the dust and it doesn't get anywhere else in the tank.
In your tank, are you able to stash your granules in an area with a sponge filter, so that the water flows through the granules then into the sponge? What about tossing your bag of granules into the filter sock?
And yes, I know my bulb hydrometer isn't doing any good there; I just store it there for safekeeping.

mrbacony · Mar 12, 2022

I actually did find a sponge to fit in the area between the skimmer section and the return pump. I stopped using the GFO reactor after I installed the sponge so not sure if it would work yet.
However, I just found a bigger issue I think I missed. I did not have a sponge at the bottom of the GFO reactor so it was pushing GFO granules past the reactor and out into the tank. I just cleaned and changed the GFO in the reactor and replaced the sponge in the bottom of the reactor. This should take care of my issues.
Thanks again.