Phosban Reactor

[Aquaman777]

Hey guys,

So I just installed a phosban reactor on my tank today and want to clear a few things up.

I read to not fill it all the way up with media, only enough to make it tumble lightly and then return to the tank.

Also, if any of the media were to get out of the reactor and into my sump is that really bad???

One last question, how often should I replace the media??

Thanks,

Golden

[OneDummHikk]

Not a member of LARK so hopefully I can avoid the firing squad. I keep posting here but you guys/gals keep posting interesting things

No, you don't fill it all the way up. You want it to tumble the media but not rolling like a boiling pot. If its too fast, then it simply grinds the media down too fast. If its too slow, the media will clump and can't do its job.

If it gets out of the reactor, it won't hurt anything other than maybe giving a rust colored tint to the water that Carbon will clear up.

How often you replace it depends on how much phosphate you have in your tank and how much its pulling out of the system. Sorry, there is no solid answer to that question. Its something that you kind of have to figure out for your particular tank. A tank without a sandbed will use up phosban quicker than the same tank with a sandbed. Feeding habits will also affect how long it lasts. A lot of other things that have an impact on how long it lasts so thats why you can't say "replace it every X months".

HTH and please don't shoot me TOO many times

[Aquaman777]

Awesome, thanks for the info!

I realize that there is no pinpoint answer on how often to replace it, but can I leave it in there longer than 2 days without it leaching phosphates back into my system?

Note: I have carbon and kent phosphate sponge in the same reaction chamber.

[OneDummHikk]

Yes, you can leave it longer than 2 days. Probably in the range of a month or so unless you see some reason to remove it sooner.

[hansmatt]

agreed...I usually let mine stay in there for 4-6 weeks. The GFO will not release back into the tank from what I understand. You will need to rinse it very well, and still will likely get the orange dust in the tank. I rinsed with 10-15g water last time, but still had an orange tinge. If it's in your sump, you can use a fine filter bag (1-200microns) for the effluent which will reduce the sediment. Only use 1/3-1/2 cup or so, any more and it will not tumble, which will make it cake and solidify...hard to get out.

[firsthesitation]

Suppose it partially depends on what media you're running in your reactor too. I use the seagel and have always been happy with it. I dont fill mine though, only about 3/4 of the way to make sure that none of the media is being pushed out the top. I assume you got the adjuster valve with yours too, I close mine when I clean out the media and open it slowly until you get that "boil" on the top of the media again. Change mine about ever 4 weeks. One of the things I like about the seagel is the phosphate remover is white when you add it, and turns yellowish when its time to be changed.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4200