Gfo reactor not working properly

[Jvesche20]

A few weeks ago I ordered a gfo reactor from brs. The recommended GFO was over 2 cups but it said the maximum is 2 cups. I placed 2 cups of gfo inside and turned it on. I had it so that it was a slight tumble and a few days later I noticed nothing was moving. I turned it up a little more and same thing kept happening. Is this normal? Do I have too much gfo? Any ideas on how to fix this??

 

[Thor2j]

How big is your tank?

 

[cedwards04]

Which gfo did you buy? 2 cups is a lot of gfo. But to answer your question, I'd say yes, that is what mine does also. You only want it to tumble a small amount, and its probably still tumbling when you dont see it, its just tumbling in a spot you cant see.

 

[Jvesche20]

How big is your tank?

Tank is 125 gal with 45 gal sump.

Which gfo did you buy? 2 cups is a lot of gfo. But to answer your question, I'd say yes, that is what mine does also. You only want it to tumble a small amount, and its probably still tumbling when you dont see it, its just tumbling in a spot you cant see.

I got the normal gfo not the premium kind. I used the brs calculator and that’s what it told me to use. I never thought about that that it would tumble even though I don’t see it

 

[cedwards04]

In a tank that size you really need the high capacity gfo, simply for what you are experiencing now, you cant get enough of the standard in the reactor.

 

[saltyhog]

I usually have the flow adjusted so that about the top 1/2" of the media is tumbling. Less than that and it will bind together as it gets depleted and seize up. I would run a little less GFO and change it more often. How high is your PO4?

I also run about 4-5 gallons of water through the reactor with the effluent in a 5 gallon bucket to throw away (over kill I'm sure) to keep any GFO from getting in to the tank.

 

[cedwards04]

I rinse the gfo for a bit before putting in the tank also. I run the water coming out of the reactor through a coffee filter before it goes back into the sump to help catch any media that may have escaped.

 

[JimFuller]

I have the BRS GFO Carbon unit. I found that I need to rinse the GFO cartridge well before placing in the reactor. The dust or fine particles will clog the sponges in the carbon section and cause a flow restriction. It gets worse. As the unit runs.

 

[cedwards04]

I have the BRS GFO Carbon unit. I found that I need to rinse the GFO cartridge well before placing in the reactor. The dust or fine particles will clog the sponges in the carbon section and cause a flow restriction. It gets worse. As the unit runs.

I run the same unit. I ended up disassembling it, rotating the individual housings 90 degrees, and then putting it all back together. This makes each reactor independent of the other while keeping them nice and tidy. Water enters the front of each housing and exits the rear. I plumbed them to a manifold off the return with independent valves for each reactor. Now i can run one without running the other, and adjust flow to each one seperately.

 

[gfox]

I have the BRS GFO Carbon unit. I found that I need to rinse the GFO cartridge well before placing in the reactor. The dust or fine particles will clog the sponges in the carbon section and cause a flow restriction. It gets worse. As the unit runs.

Did you use tap water to rinse?

 

[JimFuller]

No, I rinse with RODI water from my water station. It only takes a few gallons.


I have 75 Gallons RODI available with 75 Gallons Saltwater available.

 

[saltyhog]

I have the BRS GFO Carbon unit. I found that I need to rinse the GFO cartridge well before placing in the reactor. The dust or fine particles will clog the sponges in the carbon section and cause a flow restriction. It gets worse. As the unit runs.

I ran that unit too several years ago but quickly got disenchanted with not being able to get the proper amount of flow through the respective media. Since I had a manifold it was no big deal to change to two separate reactors. Doesn't take up any more room than the previous unit. These days I don't have to run GFO very often at all.

 

[Jvesche20]

I usually have the flow adjusted so that about the top 1/2" of the media is tumbling. Less than that and it will bind together as it gets depleted and seize up. I would run a little less GFO and change it more often. How high is your PO4?

I also run about 4-5 gallons of water through the reactor with the effluent in a 5 gallon bucket to throw away (over kill I'm sure) to keep any GFO from getting in to the tank.

I just measured and my phosptates are super high. I got a gfo to get them to go down but nothing is working. Currently at .87ppm with the gfo.

I have a refuge with chaeto that’s been growing for like 2-3 weeks. It’s growing super fast but still have a lot of hair algae in my tank. I flushed it out before I used it so none is in my tank.

I have a 2 part reactor so should I run like 1 cup in each chamber? I’m not using carbon in the other chamber I just have filter floss

 

[Jvesche20]

I lied about my phosphates being super high. I just got a hannah phosphate checker and it said 87 and the top says ppb I didn’t covert the math right I thought it would be .87 ppm but it’s really .087 ppm

 

[cedwards04]

I would continue with manually removing the gha, and keep running the gfo until your phosphates get down a little lower. As long as you are moving in the right direction i would just keep doing what you are doing.