GFO Reactor Recommendation

Aconphoto

Non-member
Planning an upgrade to a Reefer 525XL and thinking of adding a GFO reactor. Considering the BRS Deluxe GFO & Carbon Reactor w/ Sicce pump (but only plan to run GFO). Just wondering if this is a good route to go, or if there are other reactors to consider. For now, thinking of an LPS-dominant tank with the only SPS being a large (fast-growing) montipora.
Thanks!
 
Things to consider are quality, price, capacity, and ease of maintenance. The BRS unit certainly is nice quality and inexpensive. I have tried other units that were easier to clean, but there design was poor and they didn't work long-term. I'm not sure if there is some other product out there that is easier to clean, but it would be worth thinking about if there was.

The best advice I can give you is to locate the unit where it is easy to access. Media should usually be changed every couple of weeks (varies based on amount used and water chemistry), and you will not want to change the media if it's a pain. And no matter how inconsequential a particular piece of maintenance seems like today, there will come a day when you despise doing it.
 
Hi Andy, thanks. Totally agree with you on aiming for ease of maintenance. With that said, any thoughts on having the reactor mounted to the cabinet wall vs sitting in the sump?
 
I am assuming you literally mean in the sump, i.e. in the water? If so, when you pull the thing out of the water, it will be dripping everywhere.
 
GFO reactors have the potential to be more an issue than a benefit. I will never use one. Beside that I will never consider it in a LPS tank. For a SPS tank the risks are so big that i will not consider it either. But for some people works well.

So, why you want it ?

The tank by itself will find a nutrient balance, if you do not bother it too much.

In that balance some corals will survive others not. With time you will find the corals that goes-on with your "natural balance" and not a balance kept with the help of a GFO that one day, in a blink of an eye, can unbalance your tank nutrients and ..... bingo RTN , coral dead, etc.

Soo many disasters can be read online due to GFO use........
 
Another option for spot use is a small canister filter. I have a hang on marine magnum that I use for GFO or Carbon that I can add or remove easily if needed.
 
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