1 Reactor with 2 Medias ?

[emmanuel]

Is anyone running 1 reactor with 2 medias example rowaphos and carbon
I was thinking of using one reactor with rowaphos on the bottom an extra foam disc and carbon on top to save space in my little sump for my redsea max 130.
I figure I'll change the carbon every 2 weeks by lifting the tube in reactor till the carbon is all out and and change everything every 4 weeks .
I know its best to run 2 reactors but I dont want to take up too much space.

 

[skene]

I did it before.. it's more of a pita than it's worth.
If you wanted to run 2 reactors, probably best to go with something like BRS' dual reactor setup, that way you can hang it on the inside of your stand or to your back wall.

 

[emmanuel]

from what I understand you cant run different flow through both of those reactors and the carbon needs more flow than the gfo But keep in mind I'm working with limited space.

 

[Imbarrie]

The carbon doesn't need more flow. It will work well at the flow rate of GFO. It can handle more flow and will be more efficient at that level.
The biggest difference is that equal quantities of the two media have different expirations at the same flow.
By the time the use of the carbon is depleted the GFO is only partly depleted.
You can extend this by increasing the amount of carbon.

 

[emmanuel]

Thats why I figure if I ran the gfo on the bottom and the carbon on top by simply opening the 2 little fishy reactor and pulling up the middle tube only enough for the carbon to come out the gfo will stay in there . The only problem I see is the bits of carbon that would be left on the threads of the unit will be messy but not a big deal to clean.

 

[Imbarrie]

That won't work because you won't be able to judge the rate of flow unless the GFO won't be able to tumble.
Just use a small amount of GFO compared to a larger amount of carbon. They will deplete at the same time.

 

[Awibrandy]

That won't work because you won't be able to judge the rate of flow unless the GFO won't be able to tumble.
Just use a small amount of GFO compared to a larger amount of carbon. They will deplete at the same time.

That's what I did in the past for a few years. Now I run it through 2 individual ones. For a smaller system I don't see why not. For my 155 the individual reactors work better. Meaning the p04 is going down much faster now. I figure it is because I am able to use more gfo.

 

[emmanuel]

That won't work because you won't be able to judge the rate of flow unless the GFO won't be able to tumble.
Just use a small amount of GFO compared to a larger amount of carbon. They will deplete at the same time.

I should have mentioned I would make a spacer to leave a small gap between the media so I can tell if the gfo's top layer is gently moving .
Remember this is going on a 34 gallon tank with 15 gallon sump

 

[Imbarrie]

Try it.
I would stay away from making any permanent mods to the reactor in case it didn't work.