GFO reactor
 

Hello all

I’m at a point where i need to add a GFO reactor. I’ve been reading lots of posts and i was thinking of making my own? a couple of questions, what should be the correct size for the input & outlet of the reactors? The reason i ask is, I’m thinking of using a Reverse osmosis chamber with the resin holder which has 1/4" push fit, is this sufficient enough?
For pressure, instead of using a separate pump, i was going to T off my return pump pipe (1"), install a valve to control flow and have the water return back into the sump from the reactor. I’ll only use the gfo reactor when required.
Is this normal practise?

cheers :thumbsup:

Hey.. look what these guys sell ;)
(I am absolutely saying you can make your own and do not need to buy one just to be clear)
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/filte...-reactors.html
Note they use 1/2" tube/fittings.. 1/4" is too small...

And yes you can certainly run it off the return pump if you want but many choose to run it off its own pump..

What is your phosphate level BTW?
Are you aware of the "cons" of GFO? negatives of stripping the water of needed phosphate? Phosphate after all is a beneficial/needed nutrient for all marine life and GFO can be quite powerful..
Most phosphate problems can be related to overfeeding or rocks leaching it..

Hi Mcgyver.. i love BRS, constantly watching all the youtube videos, they are my go to guys lol... unfornantly they don't deliver to UK. The dual carbon and gfo is what i am going to buy,, not make.
My phosphate is at 0.5, my goal is 0.2 then let the refugium take over. so i'll only run the reactor if it gets out of control. i quickly figured out that 1/4" was too small..
thanks for your suggestions

Shamoo

The threaded hole on the RO might accomidate a larger John Guest fitting. I have changed them out before for a larger size.

Chris

Hey Shamoo, I built a slick little manifold out of 3/4' pvc to hold my two reactors up above my sump. It has ball valves so I can control the follow, and shut off reactors if I need to service one or no longer need one. I quickly discovered that tapping into the return line is a big mistake. What happens is the reactors require more or less flow as time goes on depending on what you are running on them (which resets every time your replace your media). The end result is that you will need to constantly adjust your aquarium overflows to get the correct drainage rate. This very quickly becomes super annoying. Do yourself a favor and get a separate pump to run your reactors, you will easily make up for the $100 value in frustration if you don't.
Cheers
Ron

I agree with Poopapotanus, less pumps in the sump seems like a good idea until the extra space of the manifold and valves are weighted.
One thing though about running the GFO when only "needed":
I believe they recommend keeping the GFO tumbling so that it will not solidify. So I do no think it is a good idea to trap water in there and let it sit until you want to run it again- unless you drain it. I have been running a GFO for ~4 years, and I never had it solidify with a ~120L/hr pump until I added a Kalk reactor. Different GFO's work different, I found BRS' to clump and actually seize the whole reactor frequently when the Kalk was added. I just started using KOLAR LABS GFO HIGH CAPACITY, so far it has not clumped, does not float or have the super small grains that can float around and clog sponges and settle in the sump like BRS's.

I bought my reactors from Georeef 15 years ago. I changed my GFO tonight in 10min. One of the best (of like 1,000) purchases in the hobby. GFO is expensive: if you build one that allows the GFO to clump, you will be net negative for $$$