Midgetwaiter I think you could use another kind of devise like a canister filter as long as the flow through it was the proper flow. The real PITA in doing that is that you have to pump the stones daily in order for the mulm to slough off to react with the other additives and to not allow the water that flow through to just make channels. I would think that it would be a real pain to shut off the canister - stir up the stones - and then start it back up again.
I know that you can also run it passively in a filter bag in a lower flow area of your sump and just knead the bag daily. I have done it this way but it does not get the same results as water constantly running over them the way it does in a reactor. The reactors are really pretty simple and if you are handy you could probably build your own.
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