phosban reactor question

So I recently installed my sump and have a new phosban reactor 150 hooked up. The first time i filled it with small carbon pieces and phosgaurd i noticed when i turned my pump on (maxi 1200) all of it kinda went to the top of the reactor and didnt move. Well since then i replace my carbon with some bigger pieces and added some fresh phosgaurd this time i noticed the little white ball of my phosgaurd floating around up and down i guess more movement inside the reactor.. Is this what i want or not?? I have an option to turn down the flow on my plumbing to the reactor if i need too.. or should i just leave it?? not sure what the media inside should be doing. thanks

 

The MJ1200 puts out close to 300 GPH, the reactor should run at around 60-80 GPH so install the ball valve on the outlet of the reactor and choke it down so the media just rises and boils slightly on the surface.
I use a MJ400 and have to adjust it down slightly so a 1200 is probably too big.

Phosguard is probably not a good choice as its an aluminum based media and releases its trapped phosphates when it gets exhausted. GFO like Phosban on the other hand binds the phosphates and will never release them. Also aluminum based medias work very fast so can cause bleaching quickly if over dosed while GFO can cause bleaching if too much is used it is more forgiving. I threw a whole big container of Phosguard someone gave me away after I studied both medias.

What size display do you have and how much media are you using? You should start out with 5 grams or 1/2 tablespoon of GFO media per 10 gallons of tank volume andslowly work up to the full dose of 10 grams or 1 level tablespoon full over time.

I am not a fan of mixing the GFO and carbon in one reactor. GFO and Carbon have diffferent useful lives so you either end up wasting GFO or stretching carbon past its limits if you change them together. Plus they require slightly different flows so I use two reactors plumbed with a tee to one powerhead and both has their own ball valve for adjusting flows individually.

 

I have a 55g. I use about a cup of carbon and 3/4 cup of phosgaurd. It has been running for about 2 months I change it out every 3 weeks