Vertex RX-U 1.5 reactor & ROX .8 carbon
 

Anyone have one of these reactors ? I find it a pain to refill - carbon floats , fits thru sponge & spits carbon all over my sump . Anyone have any tricks or suggestions .
Mark

Soak the carbon first for 30 minutes and make sure your flow is appropriate. It doesn't need to be dancing all the way to the top of the reactor.

Thanks , I tried just soaking in reactor. Seems better . The flow is minimal , just to see carbon barely moving.
As soon as I start flow some seems to start floating to top. Is that normal , that you'll get a few grains spitting out ?

It shouldn't float if it's properly waterlogged. You may lose a few grains here and there, but that's endemic to any reactor.

Stuffing the top with filter floss or the black foam cut to size helps.

Thanks . I found by soaking for 24hrs , seems fine.

I don't like ROX carbon for that reason. I prefer pelleted carbon. I have a box of ROX I'm trying to use up, and I've been using it passively in a coarse media bag in the sump.

I thought carbon shouldn't tumble in reactors. Or are we talking a gfo?