phosban reactors

[Drinkmorewater]

Hey Guys and Gals,

any suggestions for a good phosban reactor. Do must people run one?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bigdog1428]

I'm runnin the 2 lil fishes phosban reactor ,, and I have no issues from it


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[KathyC]

Many if not most, do use a phosban reactor. The Two Little Fishes brand is popular as well as the reactor made by Bulk Reef Supply.

 

[Drinkmorewater]

Any pros or cons between the two brands? They seem pretty basic but i just want to make sure I'm making as informed of a decision as possible.

Thx!

 

[Imbarrie]

I used to run Phosban in my TLF reactor.
Now I just run carbon at a higher flow and test for phosphates.

The TLF reactor is well engineered and very reliable. But it doesnt feel very substantial and would not handle higher flow. GFO or carbon require little flow so this is not an issue for me. And you can get the reactor for as little as $30.

 

[LaurieC]

I used to run Phosban in my TLF reactor.
Now I just run carbon at a higher flow and test for phosphates.

The TLF reactor is well engineered and very reliable. But it doesnt feel very substantial and would not handle higher flow. GFO or carbon require little flow so this is not an issue for me. And you can get the reactor for as little as $30.

How are you testing for Phosphates and what do you do if they show up?

 

[Imbarrie]

With a test kit, if they show up I will deal with it then.
Probably add some phosban to the reactor.

Im not positive I had phosphates when I first set my tank up. I have heard they can appear in tanks when they are set up. I noticed my BTA tripled in size starting at the time I bought my reactor but Im not positive they are related.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

I used to run the 2 little fishies- 2 of them 1 with GFO and 1 with carbon. I switched a while back to a NextReef MR-1 Monster. Its huge, holds 2 gallons of water between the both tubes(its basically 2 reactors on 1 base) but I plan on going to a 220 - 270 gallon setup as my final tank down the road so I would need somethin big anyway. I love the construction, its very heavy duty feeling and is constructed extremely well out of thick acrylic.


Even if you dont have a big system its good because it also adds water volume to the system, which never hurts and you can run any amount of media you like to or need to.

This is a pic of the reactor
http://c1.f3images.com/IMD/600/NX1121/NX1121_99.jpg

 

[tosiek]

I just recently switched to the bulk reef supply one. Its pricy but worth it if you have the room. Its a large unit though. The TLF one you can throw in your sump while the bulk reef you need to hang somewhere but it comes with all the hard tubing, speed fittings, and regulator valve. I find cleaning and changing GFO/carbon is alot easier with the BRS than the TLF but thats just me. And i've always had leaks either on the ring when you screw it back or one of the rubber TLF fittings for the hoses gets a little loose.

By the way, its best to run phosban/GFO all the time unless you have a very low stocked tank thats not fed at all. You will ALWAYS have Po4 on the higher side unless your doing WC's 2x a week in any moderately fed reef tank thats stocked. It might not matter if your running a softie/LPS tank as they like Po4 on the higher end of the acceptable spectrum but any SPS or low nutrient tanks you want to be running it. You will regret only running carbon and adding phosban when there is a Po4 problem the moment you see hair algae and realize you didn't test for 3 weeks. Peace of mind.

 

[Imbarrie]

+1 more essential on an SPS tank.

What are you stocking?


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[Reeftanker3295]

I just got my first SPS so I decided to buy a TLF reactor... It made a huge difference. I'm running carbon and phosban and the film algae I got on my glass every day has disappeared completely after only a week of running the reactor and my water is much clearer. My SPS also colored up nicely.

 

[afernandez]

get 2 like they said. one for gfo one for carbon. ive allways used tlf reactors never had a problem. i heard brs reactors clog easy (idk how true this is) smart reef makes some nice reactors also just bit more $

 

[Imbarrie]

Agreed. I have never had a problem with TLF. Either application will be low flow and low pressure. You have to factor in cost of the GFO also. Filling the TLF will cost $15 minimum and some people change every other month. The BRF could cost much more to run.


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[LaurieC]

Q is GFO what you all are running in the reactor for phosphate? (sorry, not familiar with that lingo) I just have one TLF for carbon and am thinking of getting a second for phosphate. I don't have any SPS, but do plan to stock heavy. I was going to run my TLF for carbon off a mini jet 404. Wonder if you could run both TLF reactors off the one mini jet 404?

 

[afernandez]

gfo- (granular ferric oxcide) also know as phosphate remover. You should run it regardless of sps . It helps keep your po4(phosphate) levels down = less algae less complications. And no don't run both in one reactor they need diffrent levels of flow

 

[LaurieC]

Ah, I still wonder if the two reactors could share the one pump--just tee off the tube from the pump and put a valve on each line of the tube. Don't know that a mini jet 404 would be enough for 2 TLF reactors--1 carbon, 1 GFO?

 

[afernandez]

The maxi jet is fine. You don't have to have a b.v. Between the two but you can. And make sure you run carbon first and then gfo . And make sure you rinse both media (I do it with ro/di) before you install.

 

[Imbarrie]

The TLF reactor comes with a small BV you install after the pump and before the reactor to throttle back the flow.
The actual flow through those is between 50 and 100 gph.
You could purchase a Y connector at Home Depot and you could split the output of the pump. Just adjust the GFO to what you want and send the rest through the carbon, which can handle a much higher flow.
That would use the carbon more efficiently.

 

[pweissma]

It's a good idea to run GFO and I think most people do. The OP never mentioned what type of tank he has. For a smaller tank the complexity and space of 2 or even 1 reactors may be bit much. A lot of people use chemipure elite which is a bag of GAC and GFO. It is placed in the sump and works fairly well. When I started using chemipure elite in my Solana the impact was dramatic. I'm still using chemipure elite in my 7gal. Currently in my Solana I mix GAC and GFO in a single BRS reactor with good results but I'm considering switching to using only GFO in the reactor and a bag of chemipure (just GAC) in the sump.

 

[LaurieC]

The TLF reactor comes with a small BV you install after the pump and before the reactor to throttle back the flow.
The actual flow through those is between 50 and 100 gph.
You could purchase a Y connector at Home Depot and you could split the output of the pump. Just adjust the GFO to what you want and send the rest through the carbon, which can handle a much higher flow.
That would use the carbon more efficiently.

Love it--this is what I'll do then. One less pump at least!