Chemical filtration ????

[Hiker4twenty]

I'll have to give it a shot at running both again. I put too much carbon in when I tried it out so I guess that was my problem.

Yes, there is a plate and sponge that will separate the materials.

Also, make sure to prerinse bother GFO and GAC prior to putting it in the reactor. There is a lot of dust with those materials that will need to be rinsed off before putting in the tank. I use an old tupperware containter and flush it with ro water a few times.

 

[ccCapt]

ok so you can run both ?? in the same reactor ,
YES

it looks like you have them seperated some how?? please explain do you have an extra difuser plate and sponge to make 2 seperate chambers in it to keep the media sepearate.
The reactor comes with plates and sponges to seperate the 2 different materials.

and do you also run the stuff from bulk reef supply???
YES. If you get the ROX carbon from BRS, don't even attempt to rinse it. Besides the fact it has virtually no dust, the pieces are so small if you try to rinse it, they will float away.

you also run it 24/7 in a reef tank correct? and whats prefered running on bottom and top any difference
YES. It probably doesn't make any difference where you put them, but if you put the ROX carbon (if you choose that type) on top, make sure the sponge seals the top tightly or the carbon will end up making it's way out of the reactor and into your sump.

sorry for so many questions but id like to get this right the first time before i kill anything.

That should help answer some of your questions.

 

[crazy cajun]

thanks Larry and dave yall have been most helpful, im ordering mine today, im going to order the GFO and GAC from BRF how much do i need to order and the rox8 and the high capacity GFO?"is that what you use successfully ?THANKS

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I bought this GAC

3 Pounds- 1 Gallon Bulk Lignite Aquarium Carbon - English

and this GFO

1 Gallon - 4 pounds Bulk GFO "Granular" Ferric Oxide - English

 

[dcantucson]

That a lot of it! You should be set for maybe, ..... life? :)

 

[ccCapt]

When I make my order, I get these.

3 Pounds-1 Gallon Premium ROX 0.8 Aquarium Carbon - English

4 Pounds ? 1 Gallon Bulk GFO "Pellets" Ferric Oxide - English

 

[crazy cajun]

do any of yall use a UV sterilizer??? i have my reactor and media on the way.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I do not use a UV sterilizer, but I believe dcantuscon does. He may be able to chime in on this one.

 

[ccCapt]

do any of yall use a UV sterilizer??? i have my reactor and media on the way.

Nope.

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't use one either.

 

[crazy cajun]

any thoughts on using one?? good and bads??

 

[Hiker4twenty]

They can be good at killing bad bacteria and algae spores, but it will also kill beneficial bacteria and pods. If it were me I'd only use one as a last resort if you really need it. Why were you thining about running one? I think the GFO and GAC will take are of any algae issues you have.

 

[crazy cajun]

just reading about people using it , i will use the reactor with the gfo and carbon and see how that goes , thanks

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I also thought about using one when I first set up my tank, but after doing more research on them I decided against it. If you do decide to go with one, let us know how it works out for you.

 

[crazy cajun]

Larry when using both GFO and GAC, in the reactor i see you have gfo on the botton with a space then a set of plates then the carbon on top is their a plate and sponge on the top to keep carbon to keep it from going through the lid??? and is their a plate and sponge on the bottom of the GFO where the water comes in??

 

[ccCapt]

The reactor comes with 2 plates and 2 sponges. I have, from bottom to top, a sponge then a plate with the GFO. There is a small space then a plate and a sponge and then the GAC. I had to make a 3rd sponge for the top. If you use ROX carbon, you may want to have that on the bottom and then GFO. The carbon is really small and light and the next time I change them out I'm putting the carbon on the bottom.

 

[crazy cajun]

thats what i thought it has to have a 3rd sponge thanks for clearing that up

 

[crazy cajun]

VIA AQUA reactor is working grerat with the gfo and gac in it the only problem i have is if the electricity goes out ofr if i turn it off for cleaning and changing the gfo and gac i have to manually tap on the pump several times to get it back running anyone have this issue ?? i guess i can just replace the little pump with a better one, what is the GPH on that pump ??? and if i replace it should i use a little more GPH??

 

[ccCapt]

My pump occasionally doesn't want to restart either. That's when I give it an overnight vinegar bath and all is good. I think the pump is around 200 gph. I guess a good replacement would be a Mini-Jet.
Aquarium Systems Pump/Powerhead?Maxi-Jet, Mini-Jet & Micro-Jet