Is dust from GFO a concern in a reef tank?

[graveyardworm]

Like the title states. I refreshed my GFO tonight, captured the first 1/2 gallon from the reactor but there was still enough fine red dust coming from the reactor to tint the display tank water. Would this be like an iron dose and possibly result in unwanted algae? Any concern for corals in the tank?

[MrPike]

I have done the same thing a few times and have not noticed any subsequent algae blooms.

For future note, I find that if I take a bucket of water and install the reactor on it and let it run for 15 minutes, I dont have the red tank issue.

HTH

[pjf]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14536536#post14536536 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrPike
I find that if I take a bucket of water and install the reactor on it and let it run for 15 minutes, I dont have the red tank issue.
I pump RO/DI or filtered water from a 5 gallon bucket through my reactor until the effluent becomes clear. Normally, 2 gallons is enough to rinse the dust away. The effluent does straight down the sink drain.

Since you recycle the same bucket of water through the reactor, how do you keep the dust from reentering the reactor?

[mflamb]

On melev's reef site, or in his build thread, he discussed what he calls "fines" from GFO, causing problems with his corals.

[Percula9]

If you run the reactors effluent into a filter sock there will be no problem of putting iron dust in the water.

[LunarDDS]

I dusted the heck out of my tank the first time I ran my reactor. Tank has never been the same since. Everything just looks pale.

[MrPike]

Since you recycle the same bucket of water through the reactor, how do you keep the dust from reentering the reactor?

It seems to settle fairly well in the bottom of the bucket. There is a chance its slowly released back in the aquarium but I have never had an issue with it.

[jerome736]

How do you remove the RO water without taking apart the reactor? Sorry if this is a stupid question. Do you just feed it into the tank? :P

[Mike O'Brien]

How about just rinsing it in the sink before you put it in the reactor ??

[pjf]

I'm sure that there are many good ways to rinse the dust from GFO. I don't like rinsing GFO prior to placing it into the reactor because I find wet GFO to be harder to pour into the reactor.

I place both dry GAC and dry GFO in the same reactor separated by a sponge pad. RO/DI water from a bucket is pumped through the reactor to wash away the dust or "fines." With ROX 0.8 GAC and high-capacity GFO, only two gallons of water are enough to rinse away the dust.

There is no need to remove the RO/DI water from the reactor prior to placing the reactor in the sump. I don't think that the amount of RO/DI water in the reactor is going to dilute your salt water by much.

Some people use chlorinated tap water for rinsing and then place the wet media into service. I would think twice about doing that if the tap water contains chloramine.

[pjf]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14541361#post14541361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrPike
It seems to settle fairly well in the bottom of the bucket. There is a chance its slowly released back in the aquarium but I have never had an issue with it.
Good observation. I've also found that if any GFO escapes my reactor, it tends to settle on the bottom of the sump compartment near the reactor. Since my sump has a bare bottom, the GFO is easily removed during a water change.