GFO and Carbon Question
 

I plan on both running the carbon rox and the GFO high capacity. According to the BRS calculator for my needs it recommends I use .69 cup of carbon and .86 cup of gfo. Obviously this isnt very much. I would change the carbon every 2 - 3 weeks and the gfo when needed (probably every 8 weeks or so).

Now to the question. Can I run both medias in the same reactor? I would simply just put floss between the 2 medias so they wouldnt mix and I could change them at different times. Does this work, or must I run a reactor for each media?

Thanks in advance

they require different flow rates
Id run them seperate

no.......gfo and carbon have different optimal flow rates......gfo is 200-400 gph and carbon is 400-600 gph

so do I use different pumps then to achieve what flow I need? Or use a flow re-stricter and guess.

Also looking at ordering from cacoreef I notice their carbon is rox1.3. On the video for the reactor it states to run 3 cups of carbon and I think 2 cups of phosphate. Do I do this or follow BRS reccomendations? Id like to hear from people that run the media from cacoreef in regards to how much they use and how often they change it.

Same pump with a tee yes. But wouldn't advise to running in same reactor just as others stated. I run a 1/2 cup in each reactor and change out once a month. But what works for me may not for you

I know when it is time to change the gfo, but what is a good indicator to change the carbon?

As for amounts, if your running CaCo carbon use his recommended amount, if BFS use there's.

I change my carbon monthly. I believe there is a way to regen CaCo's GFO.

Caco states the reactor holds 3 cups carbon and 2 gfo. I cant find anywhere where it states how much to run. Im not sure just because it holds that much I should run that much.

like mad said if you can you can run it on the same line as your return pump with a t andsome ball valves or better yet a gatevalve(pricey though)

i change carbon monthly and gfo when ever i see a rise in phosphate:)

Are you running CaCo's reactors? If so maybe start with them half full.

Yes, his reactors.

One last question in regards to the flow. If I run a maxi jet 1200 and T it off to the separate reactors, will that be too much/ not enough flow? I will use valves to restrict flow if too much keep in mind.

Thanks again

i used to use Kent marine carbon
recently got some ROX carbon from caco3reef
water in tank is clearer than with Kent marine carbon
id reccomend it I will be ordering more
as for changing i usually do it monthly

I use the two little fish 1/2" valve to restrict / balance the flow in my NextReef MR1's so it's very doable. Just dial the reactors in until you get a nice soft tumble.

I have a maxi jet 1200 teed off to 2 reactors (TLF 150s). Lots of flow, but not too much. GFO valve just cracked open slightly but the carbon is about 1/4 turn open. A little overkill but its what i had kicking around.

Thanks for all the replies guys. The help is appreciated.

What Grizz said. Just adjust the flow so that though the top of the media looks like a really light boil. Like a slight rumble. If you have them turned up too high it breaks the media down. Also be sure to rinse both the carbon and the GFO before hooking the reactors back on line.

What I recommend for use of our carbon and HCGFO
0.75 of a cup of caco3reef activated-carbon for every 100glns of tank water.1st start with 1/2 a cup and work your way up to the specified amount.Replacing the carbon depending on the quality of your tank, usually every 3 weeks for 3 months and go up to 6-8 weeks per replacement.
For caco3reefHC-GFO use0.75 of a cup for every 100 glns of your tank water volume.1st start with 1/4 cup and work your way up to specified amount.replacing the media again depending on your tank water,usually every 4 weeks for 2 months and could go up to 10 weeks per change.
I don't recommend using both media in the same reactor as it will get messy for time of replacement and loose some of your media.
I will tell you how I use it on my system.
I run 2 modified reactors having them running parallel 1st the activated-carbon then the HC-GFO teeing off my main pumpwith a shot-off valve that I have it tuned down so my activated-carbon is risen for approximately 3/4" from original height and yes you will see a very faint bubbling motion on the surface.As the HC-GFO will rise for approximately 1/2" free flowing is what you are looking for both media.
Best follow my specifications with the modified reactors.
Hope that helps and facilitate the build of your reactors.

You can use them together, however it is not nearly optimal.
If you run them together you have to make sure they do not tumble at all, one will grind up the other.
The only people I hear of running them together is on small tanks where a second reactor is not an option due to space.

Thats the info I was looking for. Thanks Alot

My order is placed and I cant wait to get it running.

How do you put that much flow through GFO without having it move around a bunch? I've always used less than 100 gph for GFO, since it needs time to work. The more contact time the better.

Carbon doesn't need time, so faster is better so you get more water filtered. I run carbon passively.

You said in parallel, but don't you mean in series? IE, flow first to the carbon, then to the gfo before returning to the sump?

Yes that's what he is saying. I run mine the same.

I'm running a dedicated brs reactor per media and each is fed from a manifold off my return. Both use gate valves which are very reasonable to purchase here locally from concept aquatics. This was never an option until Dave was able to lock down some amazing prices on these. Having the benefit of all that pressure is nice and I can fine-tune it. No more clogging carbon like I sometimes experienced in my TLF.