phosban reactor

[sassyfrassy]

What is a phosban reactor and what does it do, and who has used one - comments please. Thanks.

[landers96]

They hold phosphate removal media and or carbon. Very common in the hobby, use the search function and you will get more info.

[atvdave]

What is a phosban reactor and what does it do, and who has used one - comments please. Thanks.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11586

I have 2. One for phosphate control, and the other I use for my carbon media.

[sassyfrassy]

I read some of the other threads re: search -if I have fuge w/chaeto then I don't need reactor? Is reactor w/ charcoal or whatever preferable to/just as good as running a canister - or do I need a canister at all? Have a HOT Magnum.

[jdallred]

A Phosban reactors or media reactors are containers that are designed to hold some type of media and run a slow flow through the media so it can react with the tank water to remove pollutants (ie, phosphates, nitrates, coral toxins, etc). I typically use one and run either carbon, phosphate, or nitrate media, depending on what my test results and corals are telling me.

If you do water changes religiously and you have a fuge, then a reactor is really not needed. They are good to have just in case you do need to run media for emergencies or other issues arise. The reactors are designed to give the best contact between the media and the tank water so you get the most out of the media. For carbon I don’t see why a canister filter wouldn’t work. Maybe someone who has more experience with canisters will chime in.

[SATAN FISH]

I read some of the other threads re: search -if I have fuge w/chaeto then I don't need reactor? Is reactor w/ charcoal or whatever preferable to/just as good as running a canister - or do I need a canister at all? Have a HOT Magnum.

I have chaeto in my refugium. I started with a hand full and now have about 5 handfulls. My phosphates are still at or above .1ppm constantly. I just got a phosphate reactor from bulk reef supply two days ago. Cost me like $50 shipped. Then the GFO (granular ferric oxide) is another $60 for one gallon of it. But one gallon I think would go a long way.


Long story short, I tried a baddass skimmer, chaeto, cutting back on feeding, cutting back on light duration, and many different algae eating critters AND I do 15% water changes WEEKLY. Nothing has worked to get rid of my hair algae. And I am not upping my waterchanges to more than 15% a week. I cannot afford that. The problem is phosphates and I need them to be gone. The only way it seems I can do this, is to keep using the phosphate reactor. I think GFO will be cheaper than salt for huge water changes, and less work, AND GFO is used specifically to get rid of phosphates.

You can youtube some phosphate reactors. Pretty easy to hook up, but you do need a 200 gallon/hr (or less) pump to run it. Pet solutions has the ViaAqua pumps on sale right now. Their model 360 (152gph) is only $10+ shipping.

[sassyfrassy]

Thanks - was going to have a reef tank about 5 years ago - put in DSB, LR, etc. etc. etc.$$$ Started having algae problems, struggled with them about 18 mo., gave up - sold everything but the tank & equip. ALGAE is what caused me to finally throw in the towel. Now here I am starting up again!!! Are we crazy in this hobby or what!!! My family said just do a fresh water tank, but after SW, FW just doesn't get it. This time I'm not doing DSB in DT (although I'll have it in fuge) and using 1/2" to 1" CC because I can vacuum it ea. week when I do water change, and I'm trying to learn all I can and do things right this time (don't know what I did wrong last time???) - so I'll get a reactor for sure even thou I hope to have my fuge up within a month or so. I have an 8g trickle filter that I'm going to fill up and use as a sump, but will a 125gph move the water thru a reactor and up 3' into tank - is it powerful enough to do that?

[SATAN FISH]

Thanks - was going to have a reef tank about 5 years ago - put in DSB, LR, etc. etc. etc.$$$ Started having algae problems, struggled with them about 18 mo., gave up - sold everything but the tank & equip. ALGAE is what caused me to finally throw in the towel. Now here I am starting up again!!! Are we crazy in this hobby or what!!! My family said just do a fresh water tank, but after SW, FW just doesn't get it. This time I'm not doing DSB in DT (although I'll have it in fuge) and using 1/2" to 1" CC because I can vacuum it ea. week when I do water change, and I'm trying to learn all I can and do things right this time (don't know what I did wrong last time???) - so I'll get a reactor for sure even thou I hope to have my fuge up within a month or so. I have an 8g trickle filter that I'm going to fill up and use as a sump, but will a 125gph move the water thru a reactor and up 3' into tank - is it powerful enough to do that?

I know I am at my wits end with the hair algae, and I have only been in it for a little over 5 months now. I know what causes the algae, now I just have to find what actually works to get rid of the phosphates. I can't cut back on lighting, cause I don't want my corals to suffer. I can't cut back on feeding anymore as I feed minimal already. I got a ETTS skimmer rated for 400 gallons, 15% water changes weekly should be more than enough. I tried dosing vodka, and my algae eating critters keep dying. All of the above have failed me for my HA problem.

The phosphate reactor is all I have left that I can think of to try. If that doesn't work... I dunno. Crazy? Yeah, I do believe so!

[sassyfrassy]

I found out when I started up this time that my previous problems w/algae were due a lot to my DSB. Chad told me to test my sand to see if it was calcium based or silicate based by putting some sand into a cup and pouring vinegar over it. If it foams it is calcium sand (that's what you want) - if it doesn't foam it is silicate and contributes to algae problems. Mine didn't foam, so I took it all out. I can't imagine anyone even attempting to have a reef or even a FOWLR without the great counsel and info that's available here on RC. PaulB inspired me too with the sheer longevity of his tank and he uses only a thin layer of CC I think. You can't argue w/success! Still I do believe there are benefits to DSB (using calcium sand), but I'm a little scared by some of the crashes I've heard of. So I'm having it in my fuge - a lot easier to change that out if I have problems than an established tank. I'm not suggesting you change to CC - just telling you what I am doing. There are a lot of people who swear by DSB and have beautiful, successful reefs. But I would test my sand and make sure it's not silicate based. Good luck!

[DC_40gallon]

This has been fascinating. Just a few days ago I was looking at those on Drsfostersmith.com and wondered who would need them, why and benefits that a phos reactor would create.

Sounds like a great thing to invest in to run phosguard or a similar phosphate eliminator.

The more filteration the better!

[SATAN FISH]

I found out when I started up this time that my previous problems w/algae were due a lot to my DSB. Chad told me to test my sand to see if it was calcium based or silicate based by putting some sand into a cup and pouring vinegar over it. If it foams it is calcium sand (that's what you want) - if it doesn't foam it is silicate and contributes to algae problems. Mine didn't foam, so I took it all out. I can't imagine anyone even attempting to have a reef or even a FOWLR without the great counsel and info that's available here on RC. PaulB inspired me too with the sheer longevity of his tank and he uses only a thin layer of CC I think. You can't argue w/success! Still I do believe there are benefits to DSB (using calcium sand), but I'm a little scared by some of the crashes I've heard of. So I'm having it in my fuge - a lot easier to change that out if I have problems than an established tank. I'm not suggesting you change to CC - just telling you what I am doing. There are a lot of people who swear by DSB and have beautiful, successful reefs. But I would test my sand and make sure it's not silicate based. Good luck!

So if it is silicate based... What is it releasing into the water then? Just silicates? I assumed my HA problem is from my phosphates constantly being high at .1 - .15. My nitrates are undetectable so I never really thought it could be my sand.

Any kind of vinegar?

[lordofthereef]

I read some of the other threads re: search -if I have fuge w/chaeto then I don't need reactor? Is reactor w/ charcoal or whatever preferable to/just as good as running a canister - or do I need a canister at all? Have a HOT Magnum.

IMO this can be true to some extent. The trend I TEND to see with people "needing" phosban is one where the tank has been running for some time WITH problems. The issue here is that the rock tends to leech out phosphates that it has absorbed over the years due to them not being in control. IMO/IME if you keep control of your phosphates from the beginning you can go without a phosban reactor.

[WestTxReefer]

well i have a two little fishes reactor on my tank. It wasnt necessarily because i was having algea problems, but more so, to keep a constant control on my phosphates over all. GHA usually doesnt last that long in any of my tanks though. If you monotor your water peramiters on a regular basis, then you should be able to tackel it and move on. I think you can order the TLF reactor from F&S or MD for about 40 bucks, and another 10-20 for the pump. You want to make sure though that you arent pushing too much flow through the reactor, as it will pass to rapidly over the granules and cause them to either not pick up any phosphate, or crush the media as it swirls around in the chamber. My reactor came with instructions, and i just ordered the TLF reactor media along with it, just follow instructions on it, and youll be fine

[sassyfrassy]

Thanks everyone!