GFO tumble question

[Reef Jedi]

I recently installed a GFO reactor to combat some higher phosphate levels. I had one maybe 15 years ago but I don’t really remember the proper tumble. This is a BRS premium reactor with a sicce pump kit. The valve that came with the kit is super touchy and I can’t quite tell if this is too much or too little. I feel blind after messing with it and need another set of eyes.

I appreciate any and all advise!

 

[JGT]

A bit too much tumbling IMO. You want it to be a slow tumble like when you take a boiling pot of water down to a simmer.

 

[petcellar]

I have the same reactor and the same GFO.

I never seem to get it to tumble right. I sort of gave up. As long as the water is flowing through it I guess it's doing something.

Probably would work better if I kept messing with it. I should try again.

 

[Reef Jedi]

I have the same reactor and the same GFO.

I never seem to get it to tumble right. I sort of gave up. As long as the water is flowing through it I guess it's doing something.

Probably would work better if I kept messing with it. I should try again.

I swear, the slightest touch and it’s either too much or seems too little. But in the video that’s too much?

 

[Reef Jedi]

A bit too much tumbling IMO. You want it to be a slow tumble like when you take a boiling pot of water down to a simmer.

Okay, I dialed it back the best I could with this valve. Does this look a little better? This thing is touchy

 

[JGT]

Okay, I dialed it back the best I could with this valve. Does this look a little better? This thing is touchy

That looks good. Yes, I had their basic reactor and it was the same with the valve. Really need a gate valve but that would be too expensive.

 

[Reef Jedi]

That looks good. Yes, I had their basic reactor and it was the same with the valve. Really need a gate valve but that would be too expensive.

For the price of these things they should come with a gate valve. I have the mini reactor running carbon. Since I’ve always had it full bore I’ve never noticed how touchy they are.

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

Try one of these (they won't break the bank):
https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23076
Or a cheaper option that could work, but with less precision:
https://www.amazon.com/10Pcs-Plastic-Tubing-Clamps-Instruments/dp/B0DDKM2WZ5/ref=mp_s_a_1_2

 

[Reef Jedi]

Try one of these (they won't break the bank):
https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23076

Wow that’s actually really cool. I’ve never seen anything like that before. So that just slides over the tubing and adjusts with finer movement?

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

Wow that’s actually really cool. I’ve never seen anything like that before. So that just slides over the tubing and adjusts with finer movement?

Yup.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I don’t even bother with the mess. I toss it in a media bag or dollar store natural pantyhose and place it in a high flow area.

If you don’t want to mess with flow adjustment, just leave it low and give it a blast every day or so to remove the channeling.

 

[Reef Jedi]

I don’t even bother with the mess. I toss it in a media bag or dollar store natural pantyhose and place it in a high flow area.

If you don’t want to mess with flow adjustment, just leave it low and give it a blast every day or so to remove the channeling.

Interesting, I thought about that at first but didn’t know if it would get enough contact through the bag. But now that you’ve mentioned it channeling, I’m guessing with out a proper tumble it does the same thing? Essentially not all media is absorbing since it’s found a path and bypasses the rest of the media?

 

[BeanAnimal]

The proverbial they say it is more efficient if it tumbles for contact. I don’t recall if there have been actual studies done or if it just avoids long term clumping and channeling, or is just misguided conventional wisdom.

I would tend to think it doesn’t matter, as it is not single pass filtration and osmotic pressure keeps flow from stagnating fully, but could be wrong.

I think giving it a tumble every few days would help if clumping and channeling is reducing overall efficiency. I just don’t care enough to fiddle with the mess of a reactor and that is why I use a media bag. No level of extra efficiency could get me to deal with a reactor.

 

[BeanAnimal]

@Dan_P this is a simple enough one for you to setup. Maybe not exciting, but rewarding?

 

[JGT]

The proverbial they say it is more efficient if it tumbles for contact. I don’t recall if there have been actual studies done or if it just avoids long term clumping and channeling, or is just misguided conventional wisdom.

I would tend to think it doesn’t matter, as it is not single pass filtration and osmotic pressure keeps flow from stagnating fully, but could be wrong.

I think giving it a tumble every few days would help if clumping and channeling is reducing overall efficiency. I just don’t care enough to fiddle with the mess of a reactor and that is why I use a media bag. No level of extra efficiency could get me to deal with a reactor.

I think conventional wisdom cited both. Since channeling supposedly doesn’t expose the water to all the GFO, it’s supposedly less efficient. Not sure I buy it.
I also found that even at a low tumble, it resulted in GFO “dust” which gets into everything which is annoying. I also found GFO was hard to dial in- especially when it would get exhausted and I changed it out. Moved to LC… but that’s a whole other topic.

 

[Dan_P]

@Dan_P this is a simple enough one for you to setup. Maybe not exciting, but rewarding?

What does your GFO look like after sitting in a bag for awhile? GFO particles seem to be fragile when I have used it, easily turning to mud.

In principle tumbling, aka, fluidized bed, is the optimum, but like so many other things in this hobby, good enough gets the job done.

What do you see as needing a nice clean experiment? Flow through a column v a media bag sorta thing?

 

[Jamie9]

Okay, I dialed it back the best I could with this valve. Does this look a little better? This thing is touchy

Thanks for posting these. As it happens, I'll be dialing in my first GFO reactor today, so reading your thread here was a big help!

 

[Jamie9]

What does your GFO look like after sitting in a bag for awhile? GFO particles seem to be fragile when I have used it, easily turning to mud.

In principle tumbling, aka, fluidized bed, is the optimum, but like so many other things in this hobby, good enough gets the job done.

What do you see as needing a nice clean experiment? Flow through a column v a media bag sorta thing?

If you wind up doing anything like this, I can send my data along. I've been using GFO in a bag for a while. Finally started tracking how much I put in, when I put in, how long it was in, etc. vs. the rise and fall of my phosphate...and found that in my case the bag of GFO was essentially doing nothing for me (swapping to a reactor now).

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

What does your GFO look like after sitting in a bag for awhile? GFO particles seem to be fragile when I have used it, easily turning to mud.

In principle tumbling, aka, fluidized bed, is the optimum, but like so many other things in this hobby, good enough gets the job done.

What do you see as needing a nice clean experiment? Flow through a column v a media bag sorta thing?

The other consideration is the amount of GFO required to adsorb the same amount of phosphate per volume water over a fixed time period by each method. I use RowaPhos, and they recommend using 2x the reactor amount if using a bag. I usually use only half their recommended amount anyway in a go-slow approach. But if 2x in a bag is needed for a given result, it may be economically worth it to purchase and fiddle with a reactor.

 

[get-salty]

that seems like a lot of GFO. How long do you let it run a day?

Also, as long as there are movements preventing them from clumping up, you are good.