Co² Reactor Questions

[JamesC]

What's number 10 for on that diagram?

It is a vent with a tap to release any build up of gas that may occur and also for releasing the air that is trapped after installing/cleaning. Any good reactor should have one and makes life a lot easier.

James

 

[Underwurlde]

@@ombomb:

Barr-Venturi Reactor design:
http/www.barrreport.com/articles/41-diy-...-co2-users.html
http/www.barrreport.com/articles/72-venturi-design.html

All 'bits' available from P@H....

Andy

 

[@ombomb]

Hmmm think I'm better of sticking with what I have, just increasing the power of the filter.

 

[@ombomb]

This is the reactor I have:

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/CO2-Aussenreaktor-50...oQQcmdZViewItem

I have a pump that I could put on which has a max flow of 1000lph (currently in my marine nano but could get an upgrade for that and swap it out). The only problem with that would be that the pump would have to go in the tank...

Do you think that the ehaim 2236 (600lph) would be strong enough to make it work efficiently?

 

[JamesC]

To give you and idea I had a Rena XP2 filter that was having problems providing enough flow so I upgraded to an Eheim 2028 Pro II which works fine. The Eheim 2028 is rated at 750 l/h and the Rena XP2 at 1050 l/h. Just goes to show you can't always trust the literature.

Can't be sure if the Eheim 2236 would be OK.

James

 

[Gandalf-LoJ]

Head is also an issue, try raising your filter up a foot or so. That should increase the flow, not sure how much though.

 

[@ombomb]

Hmmm...

I'll try raising the filter this evening (although it's only about a foot or so below the tank).

Failing that I think I'll probably go for a new pump.

I have no real problems with the filter and no plans to upgrade the tank so it seems a litle silly to spend money on it.

Thanks for the help!

 

[donkey]

to @ombomb . the link you put up for the reactor on ebay does it have a vent at the top for venting excess gas to as i cant tell by the picture its showing and is that a bubble counter that it comes with

 

[@ombomb]

No, there's no vent, yes it does come with a bubble counter.

I raised the filter to the same level as the tank. It helped slightly but did not solve the problem.

Have disconnected the gas until I get a pump I can use

 

[Aeropars]

what do you think of that reactor? I saw it and was tempted instead of a DIY jobbie. The others he does might be better but they are pricey!

 

[@ombomb]

Hard to say at this stage as I'm yet to get it work efficiently!

The construction is good though and it was only about £25 so it's hardly mind blowingly expensive.

I'll let you know once my new pump arrives!

 

[BINKSY]

Hello., this post is an interesting read, as in the near future would like an external reactor and considering a uv steralizer, whilst searching the web i came across this eheim pump which can be used external to the aquaruim out of the water, so you could pipe any other equipment using this pump without affecting the water flow of our externals, mind you the larger ones are a little more expensive


Eheim pump



Cheers Gordon

 

[stella!]

Hi
Just wondering what co2 systems you lot used?

Tnx stella

 

[bingy_bong]

Has anyone else tried making a the Barr modified version of a Venturi Reactor. You have to DIY - I did and attached it to my Nutrafin CO2 Yeast Kit in my 60L.

I did have it connected to the lighting timer, but the levels only rose marginally. After having it on all the time for the last 2 days the difference is staggering: From a lowly 11-13ppm CO2 using the bubble ladder supplied, to levels now that I am seeing at 25ppm CO2 (and rising).

IMHO, you can't get better or cheaper than making one of these things. Of course the draw back is that you've got to DIY.

Andy

I started out pumping co2 through the inlet of my eheim2028, but the more i read up the more i thought that it was a bad idea, mainly because i thought that co2 would perish the seals.
After accidently coming across Toms site, i decided to make a similar venturi reactor, but as my tank is 90 gal i thought id beef up the whole unit.
Insead of the 600 litre powerhead i used 1000, instead of the 6'' veiwtainer i used a full gravel cleaner.
One of the most important things in this diy setup imo is the offset /bend outlet into the viewtainer or gravel cleaner. The idea of this bend/offset is to force water spirralling down aroud the veiwtainer/cleaner mixing the co2 more effectiveley as opposed to straight down the middle not mixing it at all.
Tom states that within 30 mins of using this all the plants in the tank were pearling. I took qiute a bit longer in mine, but it is a fair bit bigger.
During the two weeks of using this venturi reactor all my plants had gone wild. Growth was severly dramatic as opposed to simply pumping the co2 directly into the external inlet pipe.
But my design does have its downside, it is far too unsightly to be in the tank. i took it out and got myself an aquamedic reactor fitting it this time to the outlet on the exernal filter. With this unit, the hardware is again out of sight, but growth is being sacrificed.
I am thinking of making a hybrid and combining the two units. If i manage to get it running sucessfully ill let you guys know, but at the mo my handiwork still goes on the Internal Venturii Reactor


John