phosban reactor

[saltynuts]

does anyone use this. i have been doing some reading on RC and have read nothing but good things. can anyone give me their pros and cons.
i would like to learn more before i take the leap!
i dont want to start a battle. any info would be great
thanks for the time.

[christyf5]

I have one. They work great, nice flow through the reactor and it really maximizes the efficiency of the media. I was using ROWAphos in it but was having problems with RTN and losses so currently I am running carbon in it, which is working out really well. I purchased some phosban this weekend to try so hopefully it works out better than the rowaphos. :)

[saltynuts]

what type or carbon are you useing. i have read that you can run two reactors one with phosban and one with carbon is that a road you would look at going.if so what are your thoughts. the carbon is just to polish the water right. sorry i just want to under stand this thing!

[christyf5]

I was using Kent carbon. Basically you can use any carbon that isn't too finely grained or if you use a finer grain just turn down the flow. You don't want the carbon rolling around in there breaking off little bits that might go into your tank. Mostly the use of the reactor increases the efficiency of the media by allowing increased contact with water as you are pushing water up through the media and allowing the water reach all areas of the media vs using a filter bag in your sump.

A lot of people have 2, one for carbon and one for phosban. While I'm running the phosban I will probably go back to running the carbon in a filter sock. I'll see how the phosban works first, if it doesn't appear to be doing anything for my tank, I'll go back to using the reactor for carbon only :biggrin:

[Psyire]

I've been running one for a few months now, with Seachem Seagel. I just use a maxijet 400 to feed it, and let it go. Seagel is a mixture of Phosguard & Carbon Matrix. So far I have no complaints, but I wasn't using it to fix a problem either, more so as to avoid future problems.

[seashells]

Had 2ppm phosphate levels. Tried using rowaphos in a bag and after 3 or 4 days did not see much of a change. I installed a phosban reactor with rowaphos and was amazed that phosphate levels were reduced by more than half in 24 hours. Using salifert test kit it currently is less .003. I'am very pleased with the results.

Doug

[Biotech]

I have 2 Phosban reactors in my sump. One for PhosBan/Rowaphos and the other one for nitrate sponge (Kent) and Chemipure.

[StirCrazy]

I just purchased one but instead of the phosban reactor I purchased the oazone reactor (same thing but cheaper with a couple extra lines you can use for stuff or bypass like I did. it is also UV red so it looks cool. but I am running rowaphos in it and have had no rtn isues or anything.

Steve

[spikehs]

Would it be a good/bad idea to mix what you put in there... say carbon/phosphate media/nitrate media? I myself couldn't see a problem with that....

[christyf5]

I think the carbon would long be used up before any of the phosphate removing media. If you put them in nylon filter socks you could change out the carbon more often though.

[TheReefGeek]

Stircrazy, where did you get this cheaper reactor?

Is everyone feeding their reactors with a powerhead?

[GMGQ]

How often do you guys change out the carbon? Do you ever rinse it out and reuse it?

[TheReefGeek]

I dont think you can rinse out carbon, because it actually traps stuff, rinsing will not release it. How often you replace it depends on how often you run it, and how much stuff you are soaking up, but most generally switch it out ever month. Some do it weekly, others every couple months.

[Willow]

How often do you guys change out the carbon? Do you ever rinse it out and reuse it?

i run a cupfull every month in a mircon bag. its basically useless after about 3 days. im to lazy to pull it back out tho till next month.

[StirCrazy]

Stircrazy, where did you get this cheaper reactor?

Is everyone feeding their reactors with a powerhead?

at a local fish store but it was there last one. and it was only like 15.00 cheeper than the phosban one.

Steve

[Ruth]

I just hooked up a reactor yesterday with about a cup of rowaphos in it. I ran RODI water through it first to get all the brown gunk out as was recommended. My question is do you let these run 24/7? How often do you/should you change the media?

[seashells]

Let it go 24/7. Depends on how much phosphates you have to deal with. I change mine about every 2 months. When you begin to see an increase in phospahtes then its time to change.

Doug

[Ruth]

Doug are you using Rowaphos? Have you noticed any adverse reactions from you SPS?