umm.. whats a phosban reactor? or..chaeto??

i use high capacity gfo... depending on how dirty your water is will determine the length the media will last...i change mine out monthly, but my water is super clean... when i first started the reactor i was changing it out weekly..a pound should last u a good little while..especially each time u change, the new batch should last even longer..i wouldnt go over a month tho before changing it..

 

Is there a certain way it will look when it needs to be changed? Will the carbon reactor indicate that?

 

it wont like change colors, but when u test your water, when the media is out, your water should test a little dirtier than usual..

carbon and gfo reactors are the exact same thing, they are sold as carbon or gfo reactors..gfo reactors difference is gfo needs water pumped through pretty slow, where its just barely turning the media over...carbon reactors pump water at a little faster rate..and carbon media usually lasts longer than gfo too..but they are the exact same reactors...my reactor is a double reactor, one side for gfo and the other side for carbon..pump pumps water through carbon first at a faster rate and then water goes through gfo and is alot slower moving through

 

I'm pretty sure the one I bought does both also, and what do you mean when you refer to "dirty". do you mean their will be a spike in the nitrates or something?

 

How do you know if you need a phos. reactor. Is it needed in a 28g nano cube?