carbon and rowa in one reactor

[evan47]

I currently have green hair algae getting a hold on the rock of my new ( 3 month running ) 30 gallon tank.
So far I have been using a phosban reactor with a couple of inches of rowacarbon and initially 35 g of rowaphos ( increased to 75 g ) and have cut my feeding down to 2 light feeds per day.
My phosphates are still showing a shade lighter than .16 but not quite .08.
When using these two types of media together in the reactor should I simply put the rowaphos as a layer on the top of the carbon or mix them together?
Also. How do I know if I am putting enough flow through the media?
Should there just be a slight movement in the top layer or should there be actual bubbles fizzing from it?
I was reluctant to give too much flow as the larger carbon particles can grind down rowaphos, or so I have been told.
What would be the best plan of action to stop the GHA taking over?
How often should the media be replaced as carbon is supposed to last longer than rowaphos.
Can I simply add both, run for a week or two, add more rowaphos to the top layer and run for another week or two and then change both?

[yacn]

I think they sell a combo that's on the market.

I've never tried to make my own using both media in the same reactor.

GFO needs as low as possible yet keeping it moving to work best.

GAC I would think requires more flow ..... but not certain.

[Lsufan]

U would want to mix them together before u put it in the reactor. With a mix of gfo & carbon u don't want it to tumble like running gfo by itself because u will grind it up. The reason u are suppose to slightly tumble gfo is to keep it from clumping up. If u mix them together the carbon keeps the gfo from clumping. U will have to replace them both when the gfo is used up. Running both in the same reactor u usually go through more carbon because u end up replacing it before it is used up because the gfo doesn't last as long as carbon. As for the flow through the reactor it's hard to say but I usually just turn it up until there's a steady flow exiting the reactor, u just don't want the media to be moving around when u have them in the same reactor. If u are going to monitor phosphate I would check into the hanna phosphate checker or the phosphorus checker for testing. I'm not sure what test kit your using but .08 to .16 is a pretty big range. It should help if u can get your phosphate down but in a tank as new as yours it's normal to have algea blooms so it's not necessarily somthing your doing causing the algea as long as your using 0tds rodi water.

[evan47]

Is there a combo that is similar to a mix of activated carbon and rowaphos and what is it called?
It will be a little easier if I can get a combination of the two.

[sbeason]

You will need to control the flow of water through the rowaphos. Carbon you can just put in a media bag and throw it in your sump. I wouldn't put the rowa product on top of carbon.

[evan47]

The problem is the phosban reactor requires a minimum of 2 inches of media to work properly.
This is why I have put 2inches of carbon in it.
If I put 2 inches of rowa in there it may/may not lower the phosphates too quickly and shock the inhabitants as well as lowering the PH.
The tank is 30 gallons, phosphate is betweem .08 and .16 on the chart and I have putting 35 grammes in there until recently upping it to 75 grammes.
Just how much rowaphos would be safe to put in a tank this size with my current levels?

[Potatohead]

There are two ways to do this properly. One, is to simply mix the carbon and GFO/Rowa in a 2:1 ratio. If you would use normally one cup of each, instead mix 2/3 cup GFO with 1 1/3 cup carbon and do not tumble it. Because you are running less GFO than normal it doesn't last as long and will expire about the same time as the carbon, so you're not wasting any.

The other way to do it is to run GFO on the bottom, and use foam or sponges to hold the carbon right up at the top. This way you can tumble your GFO and the carbon is held tightly at the top, and when you want to change the carbon you can do so pretty easily without touching the GFO.

It sounds to me easiest for you would be option one, since you don't want to overdo your Rowa dose, later you can always up the dose to get a longer service interval out of your reactor once your phosphate levels have come down.

You can use a product like a ChemiPure Elite which contains both but it will probably also pull out phosphate too fast at the beginning.

[ADVRESOURCE]

Brs sells a dual chamber carbon , phosban system. Not moving. Just place media in netting for easy replacement.