First reactor - question on flow

[duijver]

Hi guys,

I just put together my first reactor, the BRS Dual Reactor, and I placed ECOBAK in the first chamber and GFO in the 2nd. Eventually, carbon will go in the first and the ECOBAK in the 2nd.

Anyway, the input and output lines are really short and I needed to put the MJ-1200 at full blast to get a good churn, but I was wondering if I should step it down a bit?

Thanks!





[video=youtube;hHrHiAbquKk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHrHiAbquKk[/video]

 

[jpelzer]

Churn seems way too high on the GFO, it's going to grind itself to bits. I don't know what the pellets are supposed to run at, but I'd expect that to be too high for them too.

 

[magic]

The churn for the ECOBAK is fine but the GFO flow is way to high.

Bob

 

[TanksNStuff]

I got a few things for you here...
1. When you first start using Bio pellets, you shouldn't run gfo also. You need the pellets to get seeded with bacteria for them to work and if you run gfo it will slow down the seeding process. Take the gfo out for at least a month and only put back if your phosphates are substantial.

2. The flow you have for the pellets is just about perfect. If anything, its slightly fast. You want a slow tumble... just enough to keep em moving to prevent clumping. People think they need to churn away but actually they get more contact time with the water with a slower tumble. As long as none sit still at the bottom, you have enough flow.

3. If/when you put the gfo back online, that's way too much flow. You want gfo to be barely percolating because any grinding breaks it down into fines that get into the tank.

3a. Also, it's generally not recommended to have pellets with other media in a dual reactor because either the shared flow doesn't work for both or the snot from the pellets clogs up the other.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[kevin]

Skip to 1:20
http://youtu.be/cwfuo7OIosQ

I just set up a single deluxe reactor last night with carbon/gfo. I can't believe how clear the water is now...

 

[duijver]

Thanks guys!

I know that long term GFO and EcoBAK should not be run, but on reefcentral the main thread talked about running it for awhile till the 3-4 week break-in period is over. I also picked up the 16oz bottle of Microe-lift special blend as recommended to kickstart the process. But, the tank only has about 9-12g of water until I finish pumbing in the other 15g.


This may sound strange, but what if I put some chaeoto and caulerpa in the 2nd reactor with a light attached? It seems like most have little success with EcoBAK and chaeoto, but would there be any negatives to that approach? I'm guessing that it should still grab some N and P or just die if the EchoBAK starves it? I have both in my other tank, so it's just a matter of transplanting it and seeing if it seeds.