Hoping someone has the answer TLF

If you have a 35 gallon tank then you need to run 3.5 tablespoons of GFO full dose for the display plus a level tablespoonfull per 10 gallons of actual sump volume since your sump is probably not clear full with 25 gallons, which is not much media, with probably about the same amount of carbon so the reactor will appear pretty empty. The flow should be about 60 gallons per hour maximum so the media is only slightly fluidized. use the valve on the reactor to slow the flow and a MJ400 or MiniJet 606 are good choices for pumps.
At that flow you should not be picking up much detritus and the filter pads should stay clean for a long time. I run my reactor pumps in my return pump chambers so they get the cleanest possible water with the least amount or detritus or particulates. I like the MJ400 as a feed pump since they come with a foam prefilter which also helps keep stuf out of the reactor. I run GFO and carbon in seperate reactors since the yhave very different useful lives meaning you either waste the GFO or run the carbon past its prime if you run them mixed together.

 

Your still running carbon right? Many types of food can theoretically raise PO4 very, very fast. However, carbon is more effective than skimming, and does mostly the same thing. Without a skimmer, the GAC should take over, so, Po4 shouldn't rise as a result, however, the GAC will be exhausted quicker. ALso, GFO if used correctly will obviously remove phosphate quickly. So, you may just need to run water through the GFO slower and maybe change it out more often. I actually use a smaller amount of GFO and change it weekly, rather than use more and change it less often. I just find it's more consistent if I change it out more often; although you don't need to do this.

 

GFO, when used correctly, ie low flows and no more than 10 grams or 1 level tablespoonfull per 10 gallons, does not work quickly so it does not shock a system.
High flows and/or large amount can and do cause problems.

Remember, only bad things happen quickly in this hobby, all good things take time.

Cut the dosage and slow the flow for best results. If you are just starting out with GFO cut the 10 grams per gal to 5 grams/1/2 spoonfull and slowly work up to 10 grams over a couple months or several media changes so its a stable change.

 

now thats a easy way to figure out how much gfo needed. never thought of it as tablespoons to gallons. but its about what I'm running now and i do have the pump that feeds the reactor in the return section. i recently cleaned the bottom of the section the water flows into of gunk that was laying there. i really need to do the return section.

yes i have been wasting gfo, and really wasting it with the filters getting clogged in a week.