phosban reactor

[sharkboy]

Can someone provide a little info on a phosban reactor (2little fishies150)? It is my understanding that some people run carbon through it instead of phosban???

[Ross]

Yeah you can run either through it, it works for both.

[mathias]

can you mix it runa 1/2and1/2

[BIGBIRD123]

Yes but I would advise to put some kind of filter between the two medias.

Steve

[aquadoc]

The phos ban reactor comes with two filter pads to prevent material to come out. I run HYDRO carbon through mine.

[BIGBIRD123]

It's not a bad idea to put a filter between the two medias so that if one needs changing before the other.

Steve

[LoneStar]

Usually the carbon will need to be changed out more often than the phosban. A filter is a good idea to use between the two media. Or you can just get two reactors and link them together. One carbon and one phosban.

[milomlo]

ok I am new to the whole reactor thing. I just bought one and I asked that same question on another board and was told NO. So what brand of phosband remover and carbon are you guys using? Again forgive me I am a total newbie. I have had a 29 set up since October. I am currently preparing my 100 gallon to be set up. I did buy a TLF phosban reactor. What kind of "filter" would you put between the two medias - another little disk? Also another stupid question - what is a HYDRO carbon as mentioned above?

[GaryP]

I have a carbon filter that is basically just an acrylic tube. It would be easy to make something similar from PVC. I fill it with 75% carbon and 25% phosphate remover. That way both are exhausted at about the same time. Its not really a reactor like the 2 little fisshies but it works. I change it out ever 1-2 weeks. It has a fitting for a powerhead on one end. It came with a filter sponge on end and I use a swatch of filter floss on the other end to hold the filter media. You could use floss on both ends. I just fill it, drop it in the sump and plug in the pump.

[milomlo]

ok I am new to the whole reactor thing. I just bought one and I asked that same question on another board and was told NO. So what brand of phosband remover and carbon are you guys using? Again forgive me I am a total newbie. I have had a 29 set up since October. I am currently preparing my 100 gallon to be set up. I did buy a TLF phosban reactor. What kind of "filter" would you put between the two medias - another little disk? Also another stupid question - what is a HYDRO carbon as mentioned above?

Anyone?

What kind of carbon and phosban stuff are you using? I thought the phosban stuff was liquified while using? Apparently that is wrong? :unsure

[GaryP]

A phosban reactor is what is called a liquefied bed reactor. The flow keeps the phosban in motion. The advantage is that there is no channeling through the filter media like may occur in a filter like I described above.

A lot of people have stopped using phosban reactors after they got a meta phosphate test kit anbd found out that it was dropping their phosphates too low. Corals do require some phosphates. There are som previous posts about that. Do a search for them.

[milomlo]

Thank you GaryP, but that isn't really answering my question. Is there a specific kind of activated carbon and phosban that is being used in a phosban reactor? How much of each do you put for a 100 gallon tank? How often do you guys change it?
Anyone who does this please respond or PM me. Sorry for the dumb questions - I am new.

[GaryP]

Phosban is a distint product. Chemically its Iron Oxide Hydroxide and the same as Rowaphos, although Rowaphos is sold in a wet form. The other alternative is a silicate based product such as Phosguard. There are a couple of differences. The main one being cost. The Iron products are much more expensive. They also seem to be more effective so there may be a cost/performance factor to consider. The Phosban reactor is sold to support the use of Two Little Fishies product, Phosban. The other disadvantage to the silicate products is that they will leack silicates into the water. My tanks are a very good demoinstration of this. Silicates will cause a diatom bloom. That is not to say that you can't use other products besides Phosban in their reactor.

Someone mentioned using some sort of filter to seperate carbon and Phosban. I'm not sure how that would work. I assume the phosban would go in the bottom and still work as a fluidized bed, but the carbon would go above it and would serve as a static bed as the water trickles up through it.

There have been several tests ran to determine which is the "best" carbon. The results depend on how the test was run and what organic chemical was being tested for. I think the answer is that different carbons work best on different types of organic compounds. There are basically three sources of carbon and it comes in two forms. The sources are coconut shell and lignite and bituminous coals. The are available in either a pelletized form or an "amorphous (chunks) form." Tests suggest that the amorphous form works best, but it is less popular with some folks because it tends to be a lot more dusty and require more washing before use. The pellets are a lot less dusty. Black Diamond and Hydrocarbon are examples of the more common amorphous, coal based carbons.

Personally, I use the tri carbon brand of pelletized carbon that CB Pets sells. It's a blend of the three types of carbon I mentioned above in the pelletized form. Rather then use a large amount of carbon, I prefer to use a smaller amount (2 cups) that I change every 1-2 weeks.

I apologize if I didn't completely answer your question earlier. I hope that helps.

[milomlo]

So are you stating that we should not mix them in the phosban reactor or not to seperate it? Sorry I am a little confused. Please forgive I have not even hooked up my Phosban reactor. I bought it because I over feed big time and I have high phosphates, so I figured when my 100 gallon is hooked up it would come in handy. Let me just tell you what I have now
29 gallon with a Penguin 350 biowheel that I used phosX in and also a product called Renew as well as the standard carbon cartridges for the filter. When I set up my 100 - I will no longer be using a power filter and I still want to use carbon. So I am just trying to determine the BEST way to use carbon in my set up. I will have a 45 gallon sump/refugium. I thought my phosban reactor would be a perfect way if it can be done.

You say you created your own and mix it, could I do the same exact thing except use my reactor?

[matt]

I've used rowaphos a while back, and what I remember is that A) they suggest you use it before your phosphates get too high, and B) they suggest you use it constantly to prevent phosphate build up. The stuff's pretty expensive.

As far as the "reactor" goes, all it is is a tube with a fitting on each end; the term "fluidized reactor" is kind of like the new "fusion" disposable razors or maybe the "cylindrical ceramic thermo controlled beverage delivery device" that I'm sipping coffee from. The idea behind the tube is that you introduce flow at the bottom so that it does not compact the media. The rowaphos gets compacted really easily and it's tough to get water to flow through it. Unless the phosban is a lot drier, I would hesitate to put a pile of carbon on top of it unless you had a way to keep the weight of the carbon from compacting it. Maybe you could put the carbon on the bottom, then a little filter pad, then the phosban, running flow bottom up.

[GaryP]

What I was try9ing to say is that you run them together, but like Matt said it may be hard to keep it as a fluidized bed when they are mixed. I know that guys that have used them in much larger systems found that their phosphates got so low that it had a negative impact on their corals. For a system your size I would suggest considering running it on a timer. You can adjust the length of time it runs to whatever you need to get optimum phosphate removal.

[GaryP]

What I was try9ing to say is that you run them together, but like Matt said it may be hard to keep it as a fluidized bed when they are mixed. I know that guys that have used them in much larger systems found that their phosphates got so low that it had a negative impact on their corals. For a system your size I would suggest considering running it on a timer. You can adjust the length of time it runs to whatever you need to get optimum phosphate removal. The only way they figured this out though was to use the high dollar meta phosphate test kits.

[milomlo]

Thank you Matt! I think when I get to that point I will try it! I am wondering about using the PhosX I have and cut the bag open and put it in the reactor. Do you think that would work?

[Bug_Power]

Is anyone using one of these or even a carbon in thier sump fed by thier overflow? It seems everyone's happy to throw a pump on them, but in the interest of Electrical Savings and Heat problems this would be a good alternative. I have a UV sterilizer that I did something similar with and simply added a ball valve to the input of the UV to slow flow down a bit. My overflows handle WAY more flow then I'm pushing through the tank...any comments?

[milomlo]

I plan on doing what others have suggested and putting carbon and the phosban stuff in my reactor and then seeing how it works.

[Z4]

what abt mixing the two carbon and phosban together?