Vertex RX-U 1.5 reactor & ROX .8 carbon

[maron6977]

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

[albert_dao]

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.

[maron6977]

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 ?

[albert_dao]

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.

[syncro]

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

[maron6977]

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

[Myka]

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.

[reef-keeper]

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