Phosphate reactors? And media?

[George771177]

Looking to purchase a phosphate reactor. Are they worth the money?

What is the best media to use for the reactors?



I tested my water and found I had high phosphates and currently running fluval phos guard in a media sock.

Any tips or experience on this matter would be appreciated.

 

[George771177]

I have been researching.

Bio pellets or gfo media?

 

[mikecc]

I run GFO, but biopellets look cool.

 

[DaveK]

Items like phosphate reactors are only going to do some good if you have a phosphate problem. Also, its got to be phosphate in the water. The unit will not do much for phosphate absorbed in to your live rock or live sand. You need to determine the type of phosphate problem and the source first.

As for bio pellets verses GFO, they work differently. I wouldn't say one is better or worse than the other, but different.

Before you rush in to a purchase, test your newly mixed SW. If that water is high in phosphates, you need to resolve that first, before you worry about the tank.

When you look at phosphate problems, you often need to consider the whole picture. Sometimes what you are feeding can be a big contribution to the problem. Dry foods, and too much food can be major factors. Also consider other means of phosphate control. Algae scrubbing is one way, so is adding a refugium. In other cases, you might do better upgrading the filtration system or skimmer before you add a phosphate reactor.

The bottom line is that phosphat reactors work, but they may or may not be what you need. Eacy tank is different, and there is no "one size fits all" here.

 

[Ratpack]

I have ran a reactor before and personally found them to be more work than they are worth. I prefer the macro algae in my sump. If I get phosphates or nitrates, it starts growing like a weed and I can react by feeding less or doing water changes. Only maintenance to it is once it gets too large, pull most of it out and start again. It is a natural solution and does it's job without any input from me other than make sure the light is on and that is done with a timer.

 

[George771177]

All great input.
Currently running a refugium. The algae and phosphate started when I left for a business trip and the timer failed in my refugium leaving the bad lowes bought power compact bulb on for 5 days straight. Huge algae outbreak. I also believe the phosphates is due to me trying to raise alakalonity with an alakalonity part a and b buffer. Not dosing evenly and just raising it with alkalinity buffer. I am now going back to kalkawasser.
I also will test the r/o I am using. I have an r/o unit and it may be time to change the filters... I could do water changes a little more regularly
If I had time.

 

[DaveK]

Considering you last post, I think your problem will more or less go away on it's own with some large water changes, and better maintenance, which you are planning to do. However a phosphate reactor may speed up the process considerably. Since a bio pellet reactor takes some time to get going, because it's a form of biological filtration, I'd opt for a GFO reactor, which will start doing it's job once it's hooked up. Once the problem is solved, you may not even need the GFO reactor.

 

[StirCrayzy]

Use caution if you choose GFO or BP and start with half the standard amount. There are quite a few horror stories about stripping nutrients too quick and starving corals.

 

[PSU4ME]

I do not think Bio pellet reactors are applicable to 99.9% of people. They serve a purpose but I am just about certain they are more problematic than they are beneficial.

For instance, i've tried twice.....each for 4 months at a time......no different except for a lighter wallet. I tried everything I read, could never get them to take. I think you need to have a setup that constantly "feeds" them......and if you don't, they don't work.

GFO in a reactor is much better but you do need to continue to monitor. The 1/2 dose suggestion is a good one......."too clean" exists so don't starve your corals!

 

[George771177]

Thanks everyone for the advice.
I have been running a media bag with gfo and did some water changes.
Phosphate levels look to be as close to zero as a drop test will show and the corals are responding well.

Thinking about stepping up the reefing with a controller and a calcium reactor. Reactor looks complicated but I like the idea of it. Also like the idea of having a controller that will text me of problems with the tank. It's a big investment but it might be where I am headed.

Anyone with experience in this I would love some advice and feed back.

 

[DaveK]

A calcium reactor is something you add when you can not easily maintain calcium levels any other way. Typically this only occurs in systems with large amounts of SPS corals and/or clams. For most other systems water changes, and calcium additives will do the job, and at a far lower cost.

With a calcium reactor, you'll also need to invest in a CO2 bottle, and a regulator with a solenoid valve. This makes the total package rather expensive, so it's only worth doing on large systems, usually about 100 gal tanks and up.

All that being said, they can be a very good addition to your system.

A controller is another nice thing to have, but they do have a high initial investment. If your going to consider one, first figure out what your going to control. You can use it to control just about everything, but also keep in mind that you create a single point of failure. If you loose the controller, you can have a lot of gear not working.

If all you want to control is your lighting your often better off with a few good timers. On the other hand, if your going to control a calcium reactor and similar gear, a controller can do wonders. One of the really nice things you can do with a controller, if you monitor pH and ORP is catch things happening in the system before it gets into real trouble. Also many controllers come with software so your computer can log the readings. This allows you to spot long term trends.

One last point to people considering a controller. If other areas such as lighting or filtration need improvements, you are usually better off spending the money on those, rather than on a controller. If all your other gear is where you want it, then a controller can help a lot. As usual, put your money where your going to be the most cost effective.