Which BRS GFO should I choose?

[Bowin]

I'm about to order a dual reactor and media from BRS and am curious about which GFO everyone would suggest. Standard GFO or the high capacity GFO? My total water volume is about 110gal. My tank has softies and LPS. Any suggestions?

 

[bknapp]

I would not use the dual reactor it's hard to get the correct flow rates to each canister. Do you know what your phosphates are currently?

 

[Bowin]

Not sure because I haven't began testing for them yet. Gonna order test kit along with my reactor. I've got film algae that is driving me crazy. I want to run carbon and gfo and the dual was suggested by another member. I also watched a video from M.Callahan and he reviewed the same reactor. I was considering adding a gate valve to fine tune my flow but you brought up a good point. Anyone else wanna chime in with experience on this particular reactor? I was also considering their single deluxe reactor which is the same price.

 

[NanaReefer]

How old is your tank?

 

[Bowin]

Coming up on 8 months

 

[Bowin]

How old is your tank?

Any advice or opinions?

 

[backpack]

the brs gfo Is fine. just get a test kit and take It slow at first. I would start at half of the brs calculators volume and work up as needed for gfo.

 

[Bowin]

the brs gfo Is fine. just get a test kit and take It slow at first. I would start at half of the brs calculators volume and work up as needed for gfo.

Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely buying BRS GFO but I'm questioning which one of their's do most of you guys suggest. Their standard GFO or the high capacity GFO that they offer?

 

[Dowtish]

I have just used the standard and it has worked just fine. Its very dusty and has to be rinsed pretty well. I highly suggest getting a good filter media bag and just putting the GFO in the bag inside the reactor. Especially if you are going to get a dual reactor. Both GFO and carbon have to be set with just the right amount of flow or you can have problems. You never want the media to tumble or grind inside the reactor as it will release small fines or dust into the tank. Both of these things can be detrimental to corals and fish. Also be sure to start with a small amount of GFO, maybe 1/4 of the suggested amount. You never want to strip the tank of it nutrients too fast. Slow wins the race.

 

[Bowin]

I have just used the standard and it has worked just fine. Its very dusty and has to be rinsed pretty well. I highly suggest getting a good filter media bag and just putting the GFO in the bag inside the reactor. Especially if you are going to get a dual reactor. Both GFO and carbon have to be set with just the right amount of flow or you can have problems. You never want the media to tumble or grind inside the reactor as it will release small fines or dust into the tank. Both of these things can be detrimental to corals and fish. Also be sure to start with a small amount of GFO, maybe 1/4 of the suggested amount. You never want to strip the tank of it nutrients too fast. Slow wins the race.

Thanks for the advice. Now I'm starting to rethink my choice in reactors. Does anyone out there use this particular one I'm considering?

 

[ritter6788]

Thanks for the advice. Now I'm starting to rethink my choice in reactors. Does anyone out there use this particular one I'm considering?

I use it but I don't run GFO or carbon very often. I've never had any issues with flow rates or anything like that. I would prefer separate reactors but only because I would prefer not to change both medias at the same time.

Just place the GFO in the first chamber and set the flow rate for that. No need to worry about the flow rate for the carbon.

Edit: and to answer your original question, I use the pelletized GFO and not the high capacity. I've also used the granular but couldn't tell any difference in that or the pelletized.

 

[bknapp]

I have just used the standard and it has worked just fine. Its very dusty and has to be rinsed pretty well. I highly suggest getting a good filter media bag and just putting the GFO in the bag inside the reactor. Especially if you are going to get a dual reactor. Both GFO and carbon have to be set with just the right amount of flow or you can have problems. You never want the media to tumble or grind inside the reactor as it will release small fines or dust into the tank. Both of these things can be detrimental to corals and fish. Also be sure to start with a small amount of GFO, maybe 1/4 of the suggested amount. You never want to strip the tank of it nutrients too fast. Slow wins the race.

I thought they recommended a very slight surface tumble with the GFO? I also used the regular GFO for a little while and had no issues just be sure to rinse very well.

 

[BENT STIX]

I use ROWA. I find it to work better for me. However, I am not a fan of the brs reactors. I have moved to using vertex reactors for carbon and gfo.

 

[fishdoc11]

I used a two little fishes reactor for years, worked well. I am not familiar with the others. I just filled the reactor and placed the hose going out of the reactor in a bucket when doing a water change to rinse. Run the water through the reactor until the water exiting the reactor is clear with no dust (takes 2 to 3 gallons or so. Adjust the reactor to where you have a slight tumble on the top of the GFO or maybe a hair back from that when ready to run water to sump). Use a flashlight to make sure the flow rate you choose to start is not suspending small particles in the water column of the reactor. I never had a problem using this method to rinse. With a new tank I would start with a very slow flow and only a cup or so of GFO. Like others have said go slow, you can mess up the tank but that was mainly my experience when GFO came out with SPS not what you are keeping.
hth, Chris

 

[Bowin]

Thanks everyone for all of these suggestions. After doing a little reading I have decided to hold off on running GFO and trying Lanthanum Chloride instead. I've been watching a thread from Melev for a few months and it has me curious. It may be good for me because of my limited space. So I'm gonna order some and a Hanna Checker to see how it goes before adding a reactor just yet. Fingers crossed

 

[Bowin]

Okay one last question. I am now looking at maybe getting one of their single reactors. Either the deluxe or standard. My question is if it is worth it to buy the reactor if I plan on only running carbon?