Phosban

[eagleONE]

I was wondering how many people have a phosban reactor. What is your experience with them like? Are they all that necessary? Good or bad? Any input would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Jay

[Coralmkr1]

Absolutely love the phosban reactor. As long as you dont surge the water thru the reactor....you will do fine, less is more. so to speak. The problem with the phosban, is that its small! SO, if you have a large tank...you need two or three, thats a pain. They should design several sizes, I use one reactor, 2/3rds full of phosban, I flush the media first with RO water, before installing it. (Red iron dust will cloud your water if you dont flush it,) I use one reactor on my 230gallon reef. My phosphates are ZERO!! I change my media every 2.5 months, but this will vary depending on the tank. I use a Maxijet600 to run the reactor. Buy the phosban by the bucket! its 80 bucks, but you will go thru it over the course of a year.
-Dave

[bertoni]

The first generation of PhosBan reactor was annoying to use because of the multiple screws used to secure the top, and how easily the gasket area picked up debris and didn't seal. I tossed mine.

The new style with the twist-on top is better. I think the reverse-flow feature is probably a net negative, since it'd be easier to deal with refilling the canister if there wasn't that annoying tube down the middle. They are small, though.

[eagleONE]

I heard you can add carbon with it also.. Is that a good idea?

Do you think its an absolute must have kind of deal? Because I've been debating whether I should get one.

[bertoni]

I run carbon in mine along with the Phosphate Killer. There are other ways to run these media, though. Lots of people use canister filters. They're pretty handy, too.

[Coralmkr1]

The carbon, and phosban ran together, cause the iron granules (phosban) to crumble and fragment. This will just waste the phosban. I'd run either carbon or phosban, but not both. You could run one reactor with carbon, and a second with phosban. You can fit two reactors side by side, in a relatively small space.

[bertoni]

I run my reactor in normal flow, not the reverse flow for which it was designed. That way I don't get any crumbling at all.

[eagleONE]

but doesn't that create unequal distribution or like contact area?

[bertoni]

I don't think it really matters that much, and (in line with opinions on the chemistry forum), I want to avoid abrasion that results from the reverse flow.