should i always use phosphate media?

[Cheeser]

i just got a reactor. set it up last night. a dual reactor from brs. one chamber has carbon. and in the other chamber im using "kent phosphate sponge". i got the kent stuff cus its all my lfs store had, i havnt heard anything about the product or anything, i have no idea how good it is or anything. but anyway...on the jar it says i need to replace the media like every 2 days or it will start to leak back phosphates into the system.
so my question is do i needa replace it every 2 days forever? or is it like carbon where i dont really have to run carbon all the time. i definitely wanna keep my phosphates down.
and also i only assume i have a phospate problem cuz i dont have a phosphate test kit cus EVERYONE says there is not an accurate test kit and no one can every tell me which one is actually reliable. my nitrates are usually between 15-25 ppm
ammonia around 0 usually
ph stable around 8.0
my tanks only 3 months old. ive had alot of algea issues...now undercontrol but still pretty good amount of algea.
i have a coralife super skimmer. just ordered a reef octo rated twice as many gallons as my coralife skimmer.
i just started running my dual reactor.
everything in my tank started to look like crap a few weeks ago and i lost some corals and some snails died. also my flame scallop.
3 heads died on a 6 head frogspawn.
i began doing 1 gallon water changes everyday on top of my 5gallon a week.
how long will it be for me to notice the difference my reactor and my new skimmer will make?
should i run gfo constantly? or just every once in a while?
if i dont needa always run carbon or gfo, what else can i put in my reactor? bio pellets?

 

[Nonfamous]

Okay, the Kent's is a short term quick removal tool. Run for two days, remove. If you want, you can bake it per the directions and use it one more time for a day.Then you have to toss it and it is expensive.

If you want to run phosphate removal media long term, then you need to run GFO. Leave it in for about 10 days and replace. Its cheaper and you can buy it in bulk. I run mine in the Phosban reactor 24/7. HOWEVER, I have not noticed any changes with my sand issue. I still get positive phosphate test results about 50% of the time. Yeah, the tests suck.

As for carbon, it is for polishing the water or removal of chemical contaminates that you KNOW are in the tank. I don't think it will do much of anything for an algae problem.

As for your nitrate issues. I gotta ask so don't get mad......what kind of water are you using? Tap water and store bought RO water can contain lots of nitrates. Are you over feeding or feeding flake food? I can't tell you how much is too much, but I can tell you that flake food will foul your water in a day. Not good stuff.

I wouldn't do daily water changes. Try every third day for two weeks about 5 gallons each time. Then do 8 gallon water changes every week after that. (you could get away with doing 10 gallons if its easier to figure out/measure)

As for pellets, well I'm researching these now. A few people have had issues when they first started but it seems they do a real good job. A light modification to my unit would be needed to run them, not sure about yours. I have also read that you need a minimum of 100 gph running through them for them to be effective.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Cheeser]

the water i use is ro/di water from a watermill express.
i feed frozens like every other day.
its only been a couple days since ive had my reactor going so ill give it another week or so to see if i notice anything. so far so good.

 

[Cheeser]

can i use kent nitrate sponge in my reactor?

 

[Bifferwine]

You can use Kent nitrate sponge, but it tends to take a long time (as in weeks to months) to start working, if it works at all. Some people report no change when using it. I wouldn't run phosphate media all the time. Just periodically.

 

[Cheeser]

can i run bio pellets in the gfo reactor?

 

[Nonfamous]

Yes you can, but it may take a small modification. The instructions that came with it should tell you what needs to be done. In the case of my Two Little Fishes reactor I need to remove the foam and put in plastic mesh. You also need to figure out how much you need to have AND how much you need to start. From my reading, it says that you start with 1/2 the amount and gradually increase to the max needed for your bio load.