HCGFO BRS dual reactor

[lenver]

So first thing, I don't have a PO4 test kit, will get one today.

I got a BRS dual reactor, set it up according to instructions and was working fine, but after looking at it for a couple of days I had to increase the flow to the get media to tumble, now is not doing it at all, this took about 3 days.

Question, does the media stops tumbling because it's exhausted?, I'm assuming my levels were high to begin with, wondering if I should just get more media and just replace it.

Also looking to replace the GFO with phosban or Phosguard, I know there have been a lot of talk about it but without really good conclusions, mostly discussions on preference, would like to hear from someone that has tried the products and see what his/her results are.

[victoly]

The media stops tumbling if the flow is too low, or there can be a chemical reaction where you have very high alk that can precipitate onto it and fuse it together (unlikely).

I prefer HC BRS to regular BRS and phosban/phosgard because it is a much harder media. You can tumble it without worrying about it dissolving (which happened to me when I used phosban).

My suggestion would be to clean the pump, and then clean the canister before you replace the media, whicj could be totally fine.

[jestep]

Most likely the screens at the top of the cartridges are clogged. Sometimes turning off the flow and shaking or tapping the cartridges can dislodge it. Other times I've needed to take out the cartridge and clean off the top screen. The media will tumble regardless of exhaustion. Use a good PO4 test kit like a hanna to track the exhaustion rate. I run GFO in both chambers on alternating 2 week replacement schedules to prevent PO4 spikes.

I use generic GFO that I get in bulk on ebay or BRS. No point in paying a premium unless there's some measurable benefit of using one media over another.

[madsalt]

I use a dedicated mj1200 pump on my reactor with no problem. If you had to much tumble in the beginning and a lot of your GFO was pushed out then you can clog the reactor. I use the BRS GFO, it works and sure you might pay a little more, but you get what you pay for. I tried using phosguard once and I just wasn't happy with it. It was cheaper but it doesn't I didn't get the same results

[dsquared]

A few months back I noticed the flow on my dual BRS reactor had totally stopped. I figured the screens were clogged so I removed all the old media and added new media cleaned the screens but still no flow. I then began removing the top housing to see if something was obstructed. And there it was a tiny little air hole inside the housing clogged with GFO. Has anyone else had the problem? And since the hole is so small does it make sense to drill it out to about an 1/8"?

[Robb in Austin]

The media doesn't stop tumbling when exhausted. As others have mentioned, probably just too low a flow.

[Bpb]

i used the mj1200 for about a year to run my dual reactor and frequently had this same problem. It has completely stopped since setting my reactor up to run off my return pump manifold. Reason being the flow can be increased so much more this way. In EITHER case, every couple days when glancing at my sump, I'll open the ball valve and let the media tumble violently for about 20 seconds, then I'll dial it back to a simmer again. This will help prevent it from clogging or fusing together into a brick. With a return pump manifold it's even more effective because opening up that valve really puts alot more flow through the reactor than a mj1200 can hope to. Hope that helps