BRS dual reactor

[Ripped Tide]

Buy cheap, buy twice.

IMO, this should be a poster phrase for this product.

If you compare not having a reactor to having this reactor, having a reactor is better than not... BUT...

It constantly clogs;
It's a mess to change;
It doesn't hold a lot of media;
Carbon and gfo should have different flow rates;
It seems to always have an uneven tumble;
The "quick" disconnects do not come apart quickly or easily


My recommendation is to save up and buy a better reactor. Or two better reactors.

I know that there are people who love these reactors. I loved my tunze before I tried a vortech. For you die-hard BRS reactor fans, ask yourself: is ignorance bliss? Or have you tried a high end reactor and decided that the BRS dual was better?

[cr500_af]

Let me preface by saying I haven't tried high end reactors... but the only issue you describe that I have experienced is the fact that GFO and carbon need different flow rates. I put my GFO in a media bag (inside the reactor) so it doesn't tumble at the correct rate for carbon. I've never experienced any clogging issues. The capacity may be an issue when I get the big system up, but if it is I plan on running the same media in both chambers and getting a second one to run the other media in, solving the flow rate issue.

[Ripped Tide]

Originally Posted by cr500_af

Let me preface by saying I haven't tried high end reactors... but the only issue you describe that I have experienced is the fact that GFO and carbon need different flow rates. I put my GFO in a media bag (inside the reactor) so it doesn't tumble at the correct rate for carbon. I've never experienced any clogging issues. The capacity may be an issue when I get the big system up, but if it is I plan on running the same media in both chambers and getting a second one to run the other media in, solving the flow rate issue.

Wanna trade Reactors??? Does your quick disconnect come apart easily? Mine are super difficult to get apart. Any word of wisdom? I don't put the media in a bag, maybe that is the trick. As far as messy when you change it... You don't get water everywhere? I usually keep my cleaning process very tidy, so maybe my veiw is jaded of how clean a media change should be, but I'd take an eheim cansiter filter with "real" quick disconnect and valves any day over this reactor.

[cr500_af]

The disconnects aren't super easy, but I don't disconnect them that often. I just take the reactor, hoses and all, to the sink and tip it to remove some of the water. Then when I take the canisters off it's not an issue. I do have to admit that I'm wondering how much I'll like it once it is permanently mounted on the new build. Right now it is parked in the floor beside my tank, so it isn't a problem. That may be very different than your situation, but I have never had a clogging issue. Maybe the media bag is responsible... is it GFO that is giving you the trouble?

[Ripped Tide]

Yes, gfo is the culprit in my situation. I had removed the gfo, and was running the reactor with carbon and a polyfilter that I had cut into small cubes and reversed The flow in the second chamber so that it trickled over the polyfilter. That didn't clog, but I did notice my po4 start to raise, so I switched the carbon for gfo. Within a day of the switch, the gfo stopped turnig properly.

[McPhock]

I just setup the single stage one last night. The only way I found to quickly disconnect the hoses was by turning them and applying moderate pressure. It felt like they were in there permenately until I started turning!

[Ripped Tide]

Once my biopellets have been going for a full month, I'm gonna sell the dual reactor and go buy either and MRC or sea systems reactor for my carbon

[DawgFace]

For the money you really can't beat them. Having said that, I recently sold both of mine and purchased MRC. There not set up yet but I'm sure I'll never look back!

[Thanh386]

I have used Tlf, brs, octopus, and MRC. The brs and tlf works well for small tanks, due to their size and capacity. Around 30 gallons. After that the recommended amount of media will clog it very frequently. It's design is poor to say the least. If u have a larger, an inverted 2 liter bottle will work better.