Review on OCTO OCT-MF300B 2.5 Inch Media Reactor - Superior Water Filtration Solution by Elizabeth Morales

I hesitated for a long time based on all the reviews but I bought it anyway and I have no regrets. I have a Reef Octopus Skimmer so I came up with the name and reputation for a great product. This unit is probably the same as the AQUATOP MR-20 (not Prime) but as I said it's based on one brand... **When I bought it it was sold by Revain (was Prime) it's now out of stock **I'm having an issue with phosphate in my local water supply (Midwest hard water), it was high (+5ppm) within a week of using a phosbane medium...now it's 0ppm in my 90's gallons, and there it is a noticeable change in algae growth in my tank. It works better with my cleaner crabs and snails. I made a few modifications to fit my sump setup, but it works the same as the factory recommended setup. I fitted ½" (12/16mm) Eheim hose to the outlet so it would flow from the sump into the return rather than right next to the inlet pump in the skimmer chamber. If you're hanging from a tank it's as is ready to swing I also replaced the standard pump (95 gph at 8 watts) with a Cobalt Aquatics MJ-900 (230 gph at 8.5 watts) The pump supplied is weak but works I just had the MJ900 lying around and thought ,why not!The reaction chamber seems to have the same amount of "digging" movement on the backing.That's when I tried a regular pump first.Some reviews said the reservoir pump broke...I've been using it since about a month in my live rock tumbling cure hopper... it still works, no clicks or glitches Some pros and cons: Pros: + It works (+5ppm to zero in less than 1 week) + Customizable .The pump, the hose, the Foam and the media can be changed for your installation if you wish. + Easy. Entrance, media reactor chamber, exit. Cons: - Weak (but working) pump. I just decided to change mine to get more benefits from GPH. But for a smaller tank it is enough. - About $20 more than the equivalent version. You are paying for the Reef Octopus logo printed on the reactor and Reef Octo OTP300 pump. The instructions are very vague and don't really matter, they're really just pictures. Made me laugh a little... Green hands! But in this case, if you've been to aquariums for some time, it's pretty easy to figure it out from the pictures. Just make sure the foam pads are touching the reactor fluid, then the plastic guards to keep things out and the hose connections are tight. No regrets here either, it works and looks good alongside my other reef octo skimmer. If you don't want to pay for the main benefit, buy the Aquatop version (no easy return via Prime/Amazon). So if you're sending back, shipping to a third party will cost almost the difference. Hope this helps... any comments add them before saying they are useless. I will try to answer