phosban reactor issues?

[jonnye46]

hi guys,
i just recently bought a phosban reactor 150 for my 46 ocianic bowfront a few days ago and all of a sudden my skimmer stopped collecting skimate and some of my poly closed up and all of a sudden my foxface is dying? i put the recommended amount needed for a 46gal, but so far it seems to be doing more harm...i turned it off for now to see if there will be any changes. if anyone has any idea of whats going on please help me out.
i'll post pictures tonight along with specs. on my paramaters tonight when i get home from work. fingers crossed everything is ok ....

Jonny

 

[AZDesertRat]

When using GFO media yous hould always start with 1/2 or less the recommended dosage and work up to full dose over time. And I hope like heck you are not using the BRS recommended dosage which is already twice what every other vendor suggests!

For 46 gallons you should start with a maximum of 2.3 teaspoons of GFO and change it after a week or two adding about the same the second time for anoter two weeks then work up to the full 4.6 spoons full or 46 grams if you feel the need. Personally I run a half dose or 5 spoons (50 grams) in my 100G reef at all times. I never raise it to the full dose and it seems to work well. I do about the same with GAC carbon in a second phosban reactor. Also keep the flow low in the reactor so you don't grind the media to dust, a MiniJet or Maxijet 400 is about right and even then you need to close the ball valve quite a bit to keep the GFO sy=urface just barely boiling or rippling.

 

[jonnye46]

@az yrs i think thats where i went wrong, i was going.off the directions on the bottle bot from brs, but added less cus the recommended amount was for 50gals+
So its a good thing i turned it off then, gonna go home tonight and fix the prob. Thanks a lot for the help :bigsmile:

 

[AZDesertRat]

Only bad things happen quickly in this hobby, all good things take time. Start out slowly with a reduced dosage and slowly work up to what you feel comfortable with and what your tank tells you it is comfortable with by looking at it.

 

[jonnye46]

@AZ yea ive been really patient with this build, i did a phos. test and it was high, thats why i went out and bought the phos. reactor. i also do frequent W/C also so yea lets hope this helps