Best Nano media reactor?

[Ryushei]

So I have a nuvo 20 fusion tank and wanted to see what is the best bang for the buck media reactor, all im going to put is gfo in it. and I dont need a big one considering its a 20 gallon nano. I saw brs and its pretty cheap if you don't add a pump and I was thinking about going to the aquatop or two little fishes. What are your thoughts?

 

[moseley75]

Following

 

[Ryushei]

bump?

 

[bowen1022]

Innovative Marine makes a reactor if that is meant to go in the fusion tanks

 

[Water Dog]

I have an Aquamaxx FR-S nano reactor that works very well with GFO. However, it's a pain to replace media as you must remove the whole reactor in order to do so. I'd go with the IM Minimax Desktop reactor as media changes are much easier as you just slide out a central cylinder while the reactor body stays in place.

 

[Ryushei]

I have an Aquamaxx FR-S nano reactor that works very well with GFO. However, it's a pain to replace media as you must remove the whole reactor in order to do so. I'd go with the IM Minimax Desktop reactor as media changes are much easier as you just slide out a central cylinder while the reactor body stays in place.

okay, but what about the brs nano one? how do you feel about that?

 

[Water Dog]

The BRS one is not meant to fit seamlessly into an AIO tank. Aesthetically speaking, it's meant for a nano tank with a sump. You'd have to plumb it remotely and keep it in your stand whereas the Aquamaxx and the IM will seamlessly fit into your AIO's rear chambers and not be an eyesore.

 

[Ryushei]

ok, well can i section the media reactor into two parts? the bottom half is for gfo and top half is for carbon, would that work?

 

[Water Dog]

No. Whenever you use both carbon and GFO together, regardless of reactor, you must mix them together. Keep in mind, GFO is much harder than carbon and if allowed to tumble, the GFO would grind the carbon to dust. Thus, you must arrange the sponges over the top of the media and set the flow such that the combined media doesn't tumble.

Remember also, that carbon exhausts faster than GFO. I use a full dose of carbon to a 1/3 dose of GFO and replace the media every two weeks. I did that with my FR-S reatctor using 1 tbs of GFO to 3 tbs of carbon for my Biocube 29 and it worked very well.

 

[Ryushei]

im contemplating weather to just get a bag of carbon, and use gfo in the media reactor. i know that other ways is mixing the two but if one exhausts faster than the other, changing the half used gfo is a waste of money.

 

[Water Dog]

That's precisely why if mixed, you use a lesser dose of GFO for your recommended tank size vs a full dose of carbon. I found a full dose of carbon to a 1/3 dose of GFO to work out well for biweekly media changes.

 

[Ryushei]

alright thank you. ill get the IM reactor and see where to go with that. what kind of gfo and carbon do you prefer that works well for the price?

 

[Water Dog]

Not the cheapest option, but I use BRS ROX carbon and BRS high capacity GFO.

Also, if you get the IM reactor, buy a sponge block. I know Eshopps sells a black prefilter sponge block. That way, you can custom cut sponge pieces to match your intended use. I've heard (no first hand experience) that the provided sponges are sometimes loose in the IM reactor. I got the Eshopps sponge to custom cut sponge configurations for my Aquamaxx FR-S as well.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Get some chemi-pure blue nano and put it in the tank. Sometimes DrF&S has a buy one get one sale. I run that in my Fluval HOB filter for my 12'' cube tank.

 

[leadsinker]

Any one use Rowaphos in this reactor