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Originally Posted by shalu
Tom, apart from "pearling", have you compared actual plant growth in terms of inches/week?
In my non-CO2 tanks, I have been supplying AIR into the HOB filter via an air pump. The filter spits out a mist of tiny air bubble(a small percent of that is CO2, of course) in the output flow. I would see a lot of "pearling" on my plants, and I never thought it could be real pearling and assumed that those were tiny air bubbles collected under the leaves and formed bigger bubbles.
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That could be the case too...hummm
As far as the co2 gas being better in bubble form vs. dissolved in water, that is a puzzling aspect. Wouldnt submerged plants benefit better from the gas exchange in the medium they are growing in?
One of the interesting things I've noticed about external reactor is the excess gas buildup inside that is part co2 part o2 that sucked in by the filter/pump via intake. I had this issue running my external reactor that was made from 1 1/2 inch tubing (15 inches long) attached to my 2224. Once I upgraded both reactor (to 2 inch diameter, same length) and attached it to my 2026, I never get a huge gas buildup inside the reactor.
Two modifications I've made: 1. a venturi valve at the top of the reactor with an airline that goes into the tank. I got tired of flipping the reactor upside down every time I cleaned my filter (the air gap in the hoses surges into the reactor); which was also built to purge excess air from the reactor in the evening. 2. put the input from the filter on the top-side of the reactor rather than top-down...this swirling action seems to dissolve co2 quicker.