Question Regarding Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO).

[JaysLittleOcean]

Well my wife and I have finally decided that we will be looking for a new home in about 2 years time. She also has said that once we close on the new house that I can build the aquarium of my dreams! With that being said my current setup still requires a few pieces of equipment and I'm looking to purchase them once so I want to be able to size them accordingly to handle my new system. So my question is this. I'm going to purchase a GFO Reactor that will be able to handle a 1,000 gallon system. I was curious to know can I fill it with more GFO than is needed to decrease the amount of time required before changing when the media is exhausted?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I wouldn't for several reasons.

Overfilling the cannister makes it hard to keep it moving correctly without getting compressed against the top.

GFO also will get coated with bacteria and organics, so if left too long, you'll waste capacity that you cannot use.

It will also lead to bigger rises and subsequent falls in phosphate when you find it has become depleted and is replaced.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Thanks for the advice it is much appreciated. What about a big media reactor for a fluidized sand bed filter? I would love to setup one on my system.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

A bigger reactor may work OK to alleviate some of the issues. Maybe just a larger size DI canister instead of the small size for something like the BRS reactor (which I use and like).