GFO & Carbon Reactor - Jumbo

Overall these are very good reactors. I used to have those cylinder type with screws on top but they were a hassle. These can be hard plumbed if you want and when media needs changing., it is easier. They are huge. My biggest problem with them is the cartridges are not clear making adjustments to GFO flow difficult. Other than that maybe a hard plumbing option from BRS would be nice

I've installed at least 5 of these on larger aquariums for a variety of uses,...Gfo, Carbon etc... I tear out sponges and silicone a screen at the top and bottom of media chamber and then use it for bio pellets... And it rocks! Aquariums I use this for are usually 400-1000gal.

I'm running a 360 gallon reef/fish tank, have a couple of large 7-8" plus tangs, and an 8" queen angel, plus some smaller fish
been having elevated phosphate levels, tried other reactors with no real effect,

bought this BRS Jumbo reactor, filled it with the recommended 6 cups of GFO hi capacity and VIOLLA within a WEEK, my phosphate levels dropped from a .90 average, down to a .20 average.... a nice decline about .10 each day.

This reactor was easy to set up, easy to deploy, and it is doing a marvelous job

HIGHLY recommended by

bruce in Chicago

I took the advice of another review and got the extra cartridge. You should have seen the mess I was dealing with on my last carbon/gfo solution. Every-time I did maintenance I tried to justify removing it from my system entirely... No more. I am ignoring the recommendation to not run carbon and gfo at the same time on this unit. I have the cartridge filled all the way up with my mix of gfo/carbon and have the flow just trickling out of it. Some might scoff at this, but I don't rinse the media at all either. My outlet returns to a filter sock where most (if any) fines are collected. This is the greatest piece of equipment added to my reef MUSTS list since the skimmer was invented. Thanks you guys for such an awesome product... but please consider pairing this with a pump when you sell it for lazy shoppers like me that want a 1 button add-to-cart for complete solution ;)

This reactor performs as advertised with one small exception. While it holds 6 cups, you would not run 6 cups with it. Very few would want to and even less need to, but the capacity statement is misleading. I run GFO, around half filled. It is amazing how little flow is needed to dance the GFO.

This unit is larger than I expected, but has been working great on my 150 reef. Instructions are helpful on how much media to use (currently using a mix of GFO and carbon, and my phosphate levels have never looked better). Hooked it up to a Diablo DC pump so I can alter the flow going in, which is incredibly helpful for any reactor. My only criticisms are: wish it came with bolts for mounting the large metal bracket, and wish it had more universal PVC mounting. Had to rig quite a few reducers to make the pump fit the tubing.

I was using this for GFO but I was having nitrate issues and decided to keep both phosphates and nitrate in check with bio pellets. My reef tank is 150 gallons.

This is what I did:

Replace the sponges with a plastic mesh (hot glue gun needed). Sponges will collect detritus. A plastic mesh will increase the flow through the jumbo. The mesh just needs to contain the larger size bio pellets compared to GFO or carbon, which the sponges are sized for. I found a circular plastic mesh online that I cut to fit.

The best way to plumb a bio pellet reactor with the jumbo:

The reactor pump output through the reactor should attach to the pump inlet with a valve for control. Install a tee to the pump input, so it can suck controllable tank water. A tee installed prior to pump input should be directed to the skimmer input with an inline valve to control how much tank water is sucked in and directed to skimmer.

The whole point of this is having the ability to control how much water is fed back into the tank through the bio pellet reactor and into the skimmer without restricting the water flow (tumbling action) in the reactor. This is important because the bio pellets can strip P and N quickly from a tank and starve corals. It takes 3 to 4 weeks for bio pellets to colonize the P and N eating bacteria, so that's the critical time to monitor. Increased feeding with bio pellets is normal and the tank/sand will be cleaner.

The jumbo reactor is better built than those expensive bio pellet reactors. The inlet/outlet is 1", so keep your piping diameter as big as you can to increase pump flow through it.

I purchased this reactor because it would be easier to exchange media. I have the unit tied into a manifold powered by my hammerhead gold. I also have a vertex reactor and a biopellet reactor on the manifold, which have to be dialed back. The BRS reactor stifles flow and I’m only getting a trickle coming out. I tried completely closing off the other reactors and no change to the BRS flow. I had filled the reactor with less than half its capacity. Getting rid of some of the elbows may help. Unless you have a powerful dedicated pump, find another reactor. I tried to immediately return the reactor, with no luck. This experience was the first time BRS disappointed me with their customer service.

I used this to run GFO in my system. The first set up was really easy, but when the time came to clean it and replace the GFO material I can into issues.

The sponge that's supposed to stay glued to the threaded inner container cap came unglued when I tried to take it apart. I ended up super-gluing it back together, but now the GFO falls through the threaded side when I add the material and flip it in the direction it's supposed to sit in the outer container. I'm assuming this is because the sponge needs to be glued all the way around and I just glued it in the middle.

This is all after the first cleaning mind you... I would score it better if this sponge issue didn't start so soon. It renders the entire thing almost useless.

I purchased two of these jumbo reactors several months ago.One for GFO and one for Carbon. They were very easy to install. IMO very good quailty parts.

Easy to adjust flow through the reactors. Make sure you do not tumble the carbon though as I did or you will get lots of fines in your system.

Only suggestion I have is to have clear filter canisters.

these units are not only cost effective, the ease of maintance is the strong point... have an extra cartrige ready and changing your media is a 2 minute job...

I am a fan of BRS and their product lines. This is a high quality and easty to put to use product. All required parts supplied and many are pre assembled. Great Product