phosban reactor stories

jon1985 · 08/11/2009, 10:41 AM

Ok so I read a few threads about how phosban reactors help. I actually have a friend using one and his coral seems to have improved colour since he started using it. Before I go get one I would like to hear both good and bad stories about them.
Thanks
Jon

RealReef7 · 08/11/2009, 10:59 AM

Honestly I dont see how phosban reactors can be any bad? IME its been a great product.

jon1985 · 08/11/2009, 11:06 AM

I couldnt think of any bad reasons either. I was talking to a guy at the LFS who said he hooked one up to his 3 year old tank and the tank crashed in 2 weeks. All he could figure was the reactor. But from what I have read is if he put to much media in right away the rapid drop may hve shocked the system to death. I was just wondering is there where many horror stories.

seapug · 08/11/2009, 12:39 PM

i've heard stories of people shocking their systems with the rapid removal of Phosphate, but it never happened to me when I used a full can of media from day 1. Quite possibly one of the best "bang for your buck" additions you can make on your tank. Every bit of bryopsis and hair algae in my tank was gone in about 6 weeks and the color improved dramatically on all my corals.

Ebisan · 08/11/2009, 01:15 PM

I used phosban. I think you can have problems if you have too much flow going into the reactor causing the granules to grind into fine particles and ending up in the water column. I never had a problem. Worked great.

macchicks · 08/11/2009, 02:36 PM

I have only had mine on a couple weeks it has already made an improvement in my tank. Last night it was time to change the media. OMG that is the grossest smell.

I would love to know if there is a neater way. I unplugged pump. took the 2 hoses off the top. Took it to sink and dumped water. I then took the lid off and over the trash pulled out the insides dumping media in trash. I rinsed everything and then replaced it.

WaterKeeper · 08/11/2009, 03:26 PM

One of the problems is like Amber mentions; if left in the reactor it gets a biofilm on the media and loses efficiency. Rinsing it every two weeks with plain tapwater usually solves the problem. It won't hurt the media.

1DeR9_3Hy · 08/11/2009, 04:00 PM

Bulk reef supply reactors are a little nicer, and are easy to maintain...just a FYI

Toddrtrex · 08/11/2009, 04:05 PM

Just make sure to keep an eye on your Alk when you first start using it. Whatever phosphate removing you decide to use, I would suggest starting off with a small amount and slowly working your way up to the normal amount.

milkit · 08/11/2009, 04:11 PM

i got one. drastically helped my phosphates.

jon1985 · 08/11/2009, 04:43 PM

well I picked up a used 2 little fishies reactor today, but no instructions or hosing. I plan on using a mj600. Any links to setup instructions.

tdp22 · 08/11/2009, 05:15 PM

You might ziptie the TLF hoses. Mine come off and start shooting water out. A pain, but nothing a towel can't fix. I have two and run carbon in one. nice little pieces!

jon1985 · 08/11/2009, 05:18 PM

you mean ziptie the rubber elbows on?

scuba guy ron · 08/11/2009, 05:42 PM

had an uncontrollable outbreak of hair algae in my tank when I first finished my cycle. after a year lon losing battle(and when I say losing I mean EVERYTHING covered in hair) I picked up one. It is now completely gone. took about 6 mos. now I'm afraid to remove it. Trust me. It works!

jon1985 · 08/11/2009, 06:51 PM

I had some GHA but added an emrald crab and he destroyed it in about a week. But now I have cyano. I assume because of the extra nutrients from no GHA.

scuba guy ron · 08/11/2009, 07:03 PM

Possibly, the cyano also likes low flow areas.

jon1985 · 08/11/2009, 07:38 PM

ok so I am in the process of setting up the phosban reactor. I am using ROWAphos and cant seem to find how much media I should be using for my 80 gallon tank. This is going to be the first time running it so I plan to run 1/4 dose.

jon1985 · 08/12/2009, 10:58 AM

no body??

milkit · 08/12/2009, 11:40 AM

is it not listed on the bottle/package? my BRS phosphate remover was like 1 tbsp for every 4 gallons or something but im guessing they are all different

scuba guy ron · 08/12/2009, 12:04 PM

make sure you run some plain ro water through it first as it will cloud the tank and create sediment in your sump/tank. If I were you I would fill the reactor a quarter of the way with the media.

old salty · 08/12/2009, 07:25 PM

I used to use GFO in a reactor. Nowadays, I am more diligent about water cleanliness. One less piece of equipment to fail and one less item to have to regularly replenish makes for a less complicated system.

Shaka Bra · 08/14/2009, 10:26 PM

Check out this link before you use the Rowaphos. I had the same thing happen recently. Will be switching to Phosban or BRS.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=rowaphos

Tadashi · 08/15/2009, 12:56 PM

I see alot of people with the Two Little Fishes Phosban Reactor 150s. What you guys generally run in them? Do you use one powerhead to run both or a seperate powerhead for each? How often do you change your media?

08/11/2009, 10:41 AM	#1
jon1985 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West of Ottawa Posts: 617	phosban reactor stories Ok so I read a few threads about how phosban reactors help. I actually have a friend using one and his coral seems to have improved colour since he started using it. Before I go get one I would like to hear both good and bad stories about them. Thanks Jon __________________ Jon Lester

08/11/2009, 11:06 AM	#3
jon1985 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West of Ottawa Posts: 617	I couldnt think of any bad reasons either. I was talking to a guy at the LFS who said he hooked one up to his 3 year old tank and the tank crashed in 2 weeks. All he could figure was the reactor. But from what I have read is if he put to much media in right away the rapid drop may hve shocked the system to death. I was just wondering is there where many horror stories. __________________ Jon Lester

08/11/2009, 12:39 PM	#4
seapug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 4980 ft. Posts: 7,954 Blog Entries: 1	i've heard stories of people shocking their systems with the rapid removal of Phosphate, but it never happened to me when I used a full can of media from day 1. Quite possibly one of the best "bang for your buck" additions you can make on your tank. Every bit of bryopsis and hair algae in my tank was gone in about 6 weeks and the color improved dramatically on all my corals. __________________ insert clever saying here. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.

08/11/2009, 02:36 PM	#6
macchicks CORA Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: North of Columbus Posts: 514	I have only had mine on a couple weeks it has already made an improvement in my tank. Last night it was time to change the media. OMG that is the grossest smell. I would love to know if there is a neater way. I unplugged pump. took the 2 hoses off the top. Took it to sink and dumped water. I then took the lid off and over the trash pulled out the insides dumping media in trash. I rinsed everything and then replaced it. __________________ Amber Current Tank Info: 75 gallon Bean's Overflow 30 gallon sump , 75 pounds live rock, 2 clowns,1 female Bangai, flametail blenny, and Yellow tang.

08/11/2009, 03:26 PM	#7
WaterKeeper Bogus Information Expert Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 16,147	One of the problems is like Amber mentions; if left in the reactor it gets a biofilm on the media and loses efficiency. Rinsing it every two weeks with plain tapwater usually solves the problem. It won't hurt the media. __________________ "Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom Current Tank Info: 130 Now out of service and a 29

08/11/2009, 10:59 AM	#2
RealReef7 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: bikini island Posts: 954	Honestly I dont see how phosban reactors can be any bad? IME its been a great product.

08/11/2009, 01:15 PM	#5
Ebisan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,141	I used phosban. I think you can have problems if you have too much flow going into the reactor causing the granules to grind into fine particles and ending up in the water column. I never had a problem. Worked great.

08/11/2009, 04:00 PM	#8
1DeR9_3Hy Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,575	Bulk reef supply reactors are a little nicer, and are easy to maintain...just a FYI __________________ I hope it never catches on, I like having the oldest tank on here and I don't have to worry about calcification, bio pellets, Vodka dosing, DSBs, Chaetomorpha (I don't even know what that is) Carbonite hardness and all of these other things many people worry about. If I had to think about all of that stuff I would get a stroke. My test kit came in a wooden box and the directions say to keep in a cool chariott. I throw some food in the tank, wave hello to the fish and go out with my wife and have a nice glass of merlot with dinner. Have a great day but most of all, have fun. -PaulB Current Tank Info: 27 Gallon DAS softy/fish reef

08/11/2009, 04:05 PM	#9
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	Just make sure to keep an eye on your Alk when you first start using it. Whatever phosphate removing you decide to use, I would suggest starting off with a small amount and slowly working your way up to the normal amount. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

08/11/2009, 04:11 PM	#10
milkit Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Dallas Posts: 325	i got one. drastically helped my phosphates.

08/11/2009, 04:43 PM	#11
jon1985 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West of Ottawa Posts: 617	well I picked up a used 2 little fishies reactor today, but no instructions or hosing. I plan on using a mj600. Any links to setup instructions. __________________ Jon Lester

08/11/2009, 05:15 PM	#12
tdp22 Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 524	You might ziptie the TLF hoses. Mine come off and start shooting water out. A pain, but nothing a towel can't fix. I have two and run carbon in one. nice little pieces!

08/11/2009, 05:18 PM	#13
jon1985 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West of Ottawa Posts: 617	you mean ziptie the rubber elbows on? __________________ Jon Lester

08/11/2009, 05:42 PM	#14
scuba guy ron Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 1,455	had an uncontrollable outbreak of hair algae in my tank when I first finished my cycle. after a year lon losing battle(and when I say losing I mean EVERYTHING covered in hair) I picked up one. It is now completely gone. took about 6 mos. now I'm afraid to remove it. Trust me. It works! __________________ Ron Current Tank Info: 6yr old 37 Gallon Column mixed reef

08/11/2009, 06:51 PM	#15
jon1985 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West of Ottawa Posts: 617	I had some GHA but added an emrald crab and he destroyed it in about a week. But now I have cyano. I assume because of the extra nutrients from no GHA. __________________ Jon Lester

08/11/2009, 07:03 PM	#16
scuba guy ron Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 1,455	Possibly, the cyano also likes low flow areas. __________________ Ron Current Tank Info: 6yr old 37 Gallon Column mixed reef

08/11/2009, 07:38 PM	#17
jon1985 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West of Ottawa Posts: 617	ok so I am in the process of setting up the phosban reactor. I am using ROWAphos and cant seem to find how much media I should be using for my 80 gallon tank. This is going to be the first time running it so I plan to run 1/4 dose. __________________ Jon Lester

08/12/2009, 10:58 AM	#18
jon1985 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West of Ottawa Posts: 617	no body?? __________________ Jon Lester

08/12/2009, 11:40 AM	#19
milkit Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Dallas Posts: 325	is it not listed on the bottle/package? my BRS phosphate remover was like 1 tbsp for every 4 gallons or something but im guessing they are all different

08/12/2009, 12:04 PM	#20
scuba guy ron Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 1,455	make sure you run some plain ro water through it first as it will cloud the tank and create sediment in your sump/tank. If I were you I would fill the reactor a quarter of the way with the media. __________________ Ron Current Tank Info: 6yr old 37 Gallon Column mixed reef

08/12/2009, 07:25 PM	#21
old salty Genius Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Island of Misfit Toys Posts: 3,131	I used to use GFO in a reactor. Nowadays, I am more diligent about water cleanliness. One less piece of equipment to fail and one less item to have to regularly replenish makes for a less complicated system. __________________ "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: Out of the marine aquarium hobby

08/14/2009, 10:26 PM	#22
Shaka Bra Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 9	Check out this link before you use the Rowaphos. I had the same thing happen recently. Will be switching to Phosban or BRS. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=rowaphos

08/15/2009, 12:56 PM	#23
Tadashi Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Ft. Hood, TX, USA Posts: 2,252	I see alot of people with the Two Little Fishes Phosban Reactor 150s. What you guys generally run in them? Do you use one powerhead to run both or a seperate powerhead for each? How often do you change your media? __________________ Honey, put down the bleach and step away from the tank. I promise we will spend more quality time together. Current Tank Info: 14-gal Oceanic BioCube (see homepage link for current status)