Adding Co2 To Your Filter Intake.

[littleimp]

I know a lot of you people add the CO2 to the intake of your filter system but how do you do it?

I have 2 x fluval 404's which I am going to attatch to my six footer & am interested in doing the same.

On another note what do you think about this?
The fluval are not supplied with a spray bay so I was thinking of adding 1 long spray bar the length of the tank at the top front (wouldn't be able to see it as I have a framed tank & top 3" is covered from front view)
I'll connect the output of the 2 tubes either end, drill holes in the bar & direct the flow downwards. Do you think this would work OK?? What size holes do you reckon I'm gonna need in the pipe?

 

[jimbooo]

not sure about the spray bar versus co2 loss. anyone else help on that point??

as to the co2 just fun a fine airstone from your diy or pressurised kit directly beneath your filter intake. the water flow will suck the bubbles into your filter and the impellor will chop it up so finely that you shouldn't see many (if any) bubbles coming out the other end. works a treat

 

[George Farmer]

Submerging the spray bar will prevent CO2 loss.

 

[zig]

What jimbooo says will work fine, what some people also do is just drill a hole in the intake and stick the co2 tube up it, so the bubbles get sucked straight up the intake.

The mystery of Fluval filters why they dont supply a spraybar..........never understood it

The spraybar goes under the waterline in planted tanks to minimise surface agitation, mine is about 1 inch under the waterline and the spraybar is pointed into the middle of the tank at a 45 degree angle to give the plants a little bit of movement (i just like it that way) others will point the spraybar downwards again probably at a 45 degree angle directly at the back wall where the spraybar is attached and this provides probably the least surface agitation, hardly any movement at all.

So there are lots of ways of doing it, but a spraybar is a very good idea, it provides more even circulation of the water in the tank, which is a good thing as it helps to eliminate dead spots in planted tanks that can become prone to algae particularily bga, which likes poor water circulation.

I dont know how you plan to use both filters on the same spraybar, i dont know if this is possible or a wise idea? (i dont know if this is what you have planned?)

You could also use a spraybar at each end of the tank pointing at each other and this would provide a cross current in the tank, this is a popular method in bigger tanks.

The holes in a spraybar are not that big maybe a couple of milimeters wide, in my own eheim spraybar the holes are spaced about 2 inches apart, if you want the flow or current in the tank to be less, you make the holes in the spraybar bigger.

 

[jimbooo]

damn it zig, i now want a spraybar for my cube!! stop leading me astray.