Is a reactor worth the money?

[MONTANTK]

Picking up some new equipment sometime in the next week or two and wanted to get some insight on reactors.

I have experience with reactors but never on my own tank and thus never really paid much attention to their effectiveness.

So, with that being said, is a reactor worth the money? I’d probably just run some Carbon in it seeing that, for now, nutrients aren’t an issue in my tank. Fwiw, I am not currently using a skimmer

 

[ReefGeezer]

If it ain't broke...

Efficiency means different things to different people. For example, in the same period of time, a decent reactor with carbon in it will remove more organics than a bag of carbon laying in the sump. It could be said to be more efficient. But, the reactor requires a pump to create flow through the carbon. The bag of carbon doesn't. So, for power consumption the bag of carbon could be thought of a more efficient. The reactor also requires maintenance, the bag only requires replacement. Again, the bag could be said to be more efficient. Efficiency is really a balance of all of these things as compared to your need. I wouldn't use a reactor unless I needed something like GAC or GFO to work better than just a bag laying in the sump.

 

[punchy7080]

For me I think it depends on size of tank and type of media needed. For my Red Sea Reefer 350, I'm just running a bag of carbon in the plastic sock from RS. I don't need a ton of carbon for this size tank and there's an easy way to utilize it already (I only use one of the felt socks alongside). If I was doing GFO or had a larger tank, I'd probably go reactor.

 

[KrisReef]

I was talking with the dude’s at the lfs about getting an chaeto reactor. They told me to set up a fuge and save the money for corals.

Reactors are typically tubes with in and out ports. (Add a lightbulb and you have a Chaeto reactor.)

I use one for GFO stability. I siphon from the display through the reactor and into the sump. (It’s set up to not cause a flood when the power goes out.) It has a purpose and it works. What is the purpose of the reactor you want and do you need it? I don’t know.
HTH.

Fillet reactor at the lfs!

 

[srobertb]

I like simplicity. I really think long and hard before I add anything to my tank. There was a time when I wanted to add one of everything and try every new thing. I found that isn’t great for stability or my personal enjoyment.

extra pumps and flow mean more variables and more equipment to maintain. If the reactor is doing something, what happens if it breaks or you don’t change the carbon frequently enough?

carbon is functional for water clarity and in emergency situations but I would be afraid that if it’s doing more than that, it’s another point of failure. Stability with the minimum amount of equipment will mean there is less that can go wrong.

 

[Jeffcb]

I just added a large carbon reactor to my FOWLR tank. It really cleared the water. I was running a small Ehiem on my reef tank changing the media every 21 days because I couldn't fit a reactor in the sump. I think it stripped the water of nutrients. . The reef tank water was crystal clear but corals started looking bad. Reef has never looked better now with out carbon.

The reactor on my FOWLR tank holds 10 cups of carbon! Several people have suggested I run it 12 hours on and 12 hours off. I may try that soon.

 

[MONTANTK]

I appreciate all the responses! Definitely think I’ll be passing on the reactor. I’ll put that money towards corals or a Trident

 

[BoxKing]

Get the BRS Mini Reactor, and run Carbon, maybe a spoon full of GFO mixed in…. If you’re looking at the trident, then I’d assume 50$ wont break your bank!