ATLPBR150 GFO PhosBan Reactor 150

I just got this Two Little Fishies media reactor set up last week. For what I need, running De*Nitrate at less than 50gph. which is slower than either the canister or HOB could do, it seems to be doing a great job. Water in...water out. No leaks, noise or drama. I’m aware that it will be at least 30 or 45 days before I see a noticeable change in nitrates.I did a little reading prior to buying and decided to go with the Two Little Fishies unit because I could get the pump and hoses that I wanted. I had planned to put the reactor down in the cabinet so I wanted a pump that could make the lift back up. This 400gph unit seemed to be the best specs for the money. https://www.amazon.com/FREESEA-Submersible-Fountain-Hydroponics-aquaponic/dp/B078M6HNC2 . I found some ½” I.D black vinyl hose here on Amazon but any kind of ½” hose would work. When I got into it, I decided that a hang on back installation would work better/easier, so that was that. I have about 19 feet of black vinyl hose left over.I wish I had known that the ball valve and hose clamps came with the reactor. 🤦🏻‍♂️ I bought both the valve and a gillion piece set of the little squeeze clips that was suggested (that ended up not working correctly) so I ended up spending 26 bucks more than I had to. I don’t mind having a spare ball valve but the little squeeze clips are useless. However, I wouldn’t bother to put on a mask and go into Kohl’s to return it. I just wish the seller what come or does not come with the reactor. I found that small zip ties made much nicer and tighter hose clamps.I also recommend that anyone who is planning on hanging the reactor on the back to also buy the Two Little Fishies extension kit. https://www.amazon.com/Two-Little-Fishies-PhosBan-Extension/dp/B00176CM2A . This makes for a much cleaner installation. I’m going to order a second one for the output side.

Use it to run gfo in my reef tank. These have been around forever and work quite well. The biggest issue is that the rubber elbow pieces will eventually crack and leak water, but you can purchase new ones separately to replace them. I use a maxi-jet 400 to push water through it a d the flow is perfect for tumbling the gfo.

This media reactor is great. Im using it on my 50 gal. Ive paired it with a sicce syncra nano and its giving me a nice "light tumble" to half cup of GFO.

All in all solid design but the Elbows are just rubber and you have to hold them on with Zip Ties. I think they could have gone with something better. If the zip ties ever break you will have a massive flood. I put two on each elbow just in case one breaks.

Have two they work as they should

The reactor is great so far, very simple, don't think I'll have any issues with it.If you don't know (like I didn't until I gladly read it somewhere), there's a Phosban Extension kit that enables you too hang the reactor on your tank, just perfect for me since I have a 14 Gallon nano tank and no sump. You can find it here on amazon for 7 bucks.Also, what no one will tell you is which pump to use with it. I read somewhere to use the Cobalt MJ600, so I did, 33 bucks. Turns out the pump wants to explode (no wonder) when you reduce the flow from its rate of 160GPH to 20GPH, which is the recommended flow rate by the manufacturer for the reactor. Don't ask me why you need up to 250GPH to flow 20GPH...its obvious that you will put too much resistance on the motor and the pump will vibrate like crazy making a lot of noise and eventually braking in the long run. Maybe if you use the recommended minimum 100GPH it won't, I doubt it. Maybe thats the reason it doesn't come with a pump...Anyway, I have no idea how's everyone dealing with this, but it was either work around it or give up on the whole reactor idea.So here's the tip: Drill a couple of holes in the water outlet tube under the waterline, that will relief the pressure and there will be ZERO noise with the system working smoothly and beautifully. I even made a diagram, check it out.Get the reactor, the extension kit, a 100GPH minimum pump, the Phosban media and get rid of that nuisance algae for good and be happy forever (fish included)!

using mine as a carbon reactor, looks super cool and works

Big piece of garbage. The unit always leaks you have to spend hours trying to jig rig the unit. I've tried Teflon tape, Vaseline on the gaskets nothing works. Constant drip. Luckily it's behind a wall and drips on an unfinished concrete wall where I can mop the water up twice a day. Gasket sucks, elbows have to be manipulated constantly. ChWaste of money!!a