phosban reactor & powerhead

[advanwoerden]

Hi, I'm running a TLF phosban reactor off a 160gph rated powerhead (petco brand, i know i know) but can't get the media to "dance" even with the vale open completely. Theres about 8 inches of tubing to and from the reactor, and its at the same level as my tank. The GFO is only a few millimeters thick. Any idea what's wrong? The powerheads people recommend are less than 160gph... Thanks for your help

 

[knugenx]

1) Did you connect the pump to the right tube causing it to flow the wrong way?
2) Maybe the pump needs a cleaning is it's an old one.

 

[advanwoerden]

its brand new and its connected the right way. the water's flowing through, just not moving the media

 

[greenycrew]

Even though you have a 160gph the actual gph depends on the head of the pump, or simply how high it is pushing water. I guess the pump you have has a much lower output at the head you are running it at. Sounds like you need a more powerful pump that you can adjust with the valve to perfectly "dance" the media

How much under the reactor is the pump

 

[emmanuel]

you need a bigger powerhead I ran 2 off a maxi jet 1200 but 1 of those reactors had carbon in it and could handle alot more flow than the one with rowaphos so a ph with half the rating as a maxijet 1200 should be adequate

 

[Imbarrie]

You need more than a few millimeters thick of gfo media. The minimum amount is measured in inches.
You can tell what kind of flow you have just take the output and time how long it takes to fill a measured gallon container. Should take less than 30 seconds. If it does then you are doing something wrong with the reactor.


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[Josh]

A few millimeters of media? I use 6 inches. It shouldn't flow around the reactor, the top should basically be bubbling a tiny bit.

A Maxijet 1200 will do the job perfectly, you will have to dial it back down a lot though.

 

[Imbarrie]

I use a mini jet 400 that has a max output less than half of the maxi jet. I still have to throttle mine back.

Take the powerhead out and meassure the output. You probably have enough flow as long as there isn't too much vertical distance between powerhead and reactor.

Then fill the reactor to greater than the minimum level and try again. Make sure you rinse the media first and avoid breathing any dust.



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