can a carbon/gfo reactor (brs one) be used with a skimmer?

[ChrisfromBrick]

Is this encouraged and supported? Back when i was in the hobby gfo and carbon reactors didn’t exist. Sorry in advance if this is a silly question.

Skimmer is working well but my water is slightly foggy and NO3 and P03 is 50 and.59, respectively. Tank is new but cycled. Not a huge bioload by any means. 69g.

No algae of any alarming type yet, just the normal slight ugly phase. I want to get in front of this before it gets worse.

 

[tzabor10]

Yes, a lot of reefers run carbon and GFO. Be careful about stripping out nutrients. Definitely test for phosphate often. Run ICP tests when possible. Don’t forget that you can run them intermittently on a timer. That way you don’t bottom out your nutrients.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Yes, a lot of reefers run carbon and GFO. Be careful about stripping out nutrients. Definitely test for phosphate often. Run ICP tests when possible. Don’t forget that you can run them intermittently on a timer. That way you don’t bottom out your nutrients.

thanks! great idea with timer.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

but they run them with skimmers on too, right?

 

[tzabor10]

thanks! great idea with timer.

I got the idea from Jen Neis of New Wave Aquaria. I use a Kasa smart strip with one “ON” time and several OFF times. So when GFO is new it runs only one hour per night. But as PO4 starts to creep higher then change the off time.
Good luck
And yes, there is a skimmer running as well

 

[TokenReefer]

What do you mean by "run them with skimmers"?

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

i mean, have a protein skimmer running while you have this reactor running. Isn’t overkill in that sense?

 

[DED65]

but they run them with skimmers on too, right?

Yes, you can run a skimmer and reactor at the same time. I run both of mine 24/7.

 

[Reefering1]

i mean, have a protein skimmer running while you have this reactor running. Isn’t overkill in that sense?

They do different things...

 

[TokenReefer]

Exactly what @Reefering1 said. They are tools for different purposes; maybe overlap on the edges but not the same imo

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

yea so my understanding is the reactor removes No3 and PO4 rapidly in the water column while the skimmer removes waste before it has a chance to build up those values.

 

[TokenReefer]

Here's a good read - https://web.archive.org/web/2001021...om/fish2/aqfm/1998/may/features/1/default.asp - and better than I can explain and this is how/why I use it

Edit: Oh and melevsreef has a good explanation - https://melevsreef.com/articles/carbon-reef-tank-part-1-repost

Edit Edit: note - no3 and po4 are not mentioned in these articles