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[jay1st]

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[Hoppy]

Please do make a sketch to better show how you did this. It looks very good!

[turbowagon]

Welcome to the forums. Nice first post!

[turbosaurus]

Ah Ha- now I get it...
The top down sketch, the pipe that comes out of the pump and back into the large barrel of the reactor is the oine that is up against the side, right...
What type of fittings did you use to create that side output for your pump at the bottom of the reactor?

One more question- what drives the water from your filter into the top of the reactor? Do you have a canister? or a pump from a sump? and do you know the GPH of that?

[turbosaurus]

Thanks for the second drawing, its perfect! makes absolute sense.

Is it a L shaped pipe in the section that runs out of the bottom of the reactor and to the pump? or is it a curved elbow?

[Hoppy]

That is a really neat device. Don't be surprised if one of the aquarium products outfits makes up a version for sale. I don't see any flaws in it, nor can I see how it can ever waste any CO2.

[BlueRam]

Typically the Reactor and UV are run on the return from the canister as they push better than pull (not to get too technical ). This arrangement will also cut down on debris.

Originally Posted by jay1st

It's important to keep the pump running 24/7 to avoid any debris being trapped in the return circuit.

[Marc]

since your solenoid is on a pH meter- can you see how quickly does the pH drop?

[plantbrain]

If your tank is larger, the lag time between the respone time for the solnoid will always have higher CO2 for the return water than what is in the tank itself.

The plants use up the CO2 and then you have CO2 removed some from over flow.

Rather than having the pH probve on the return line, having in the tank where the CO2 would be the lowest would be a better loctation.

Where you have it now, the CO2 will be the highest.

Response time will higher if you move more water through the tank,have better circulation patterns/mixing in the tank.

The other thing you can do to improve the reactor, feed then CO2 into the lower intake side of the pump loop, rather than after the pump.
This will improve the dissolving power and capacity for larger tanks/systems.

You'd basically drill into the side of PCV near the bottom adjacent to the pump inlet. Add a piece of airline to feed the CO2 into the suction side of the pump inside the main PVC tube.

You have backpressure since the input form CO2 is on a pressurized pipe of smaller diameter. So if the gas CO2 tank runs out, it'll backflow easily.
Your solenoid will also not close using a pH controller because the controller will "think" you need more CO2 gas and will leave the solenoid "open".

On the lower pressure suction, the suction will pull the gas out of the tube and there's is less backpressure inside the larger diameter tube as well.
And it's more efficient location to start dissolving the CO2.

This is how my CO2 reactors are set up, I use a sump so it's not a closed loop, but it's the same design.

Making your own CO2 reactor is not rocket science, and yes, I've seen a number of CO2 reactor knock off designs of mind over the years.

The way to combat those companies from stealing your design: tell everyone on the web how to DIY build your own for peanuts, so if you can make one for 2-10$, why pay 50-80$?

Regards,
Tom Barr

[CHBGator]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

If your tank is larger, the lag time between the respone time for the solnoid will always have higher CO2 for the return water than what is in the tank itself.

The plants use up the CO2 and then you have CO2 removed some from over flow.

Rather than having the pH probve on the return line, having in the tank where the CO2 would be the lowest would be a better loctation.

Where you have it now, the CO2 will be the highest.

I'd have to agree with that 100% but I am still a noobie at the whole CO2 department

[plantbrain]

CO2 experience is learned over time.
It's 90% of the issues for folks in the hobby, alway check it prior to anything else. Then check it again and again.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[distrbd]

Originally Posted by jay1st

Does not really matter as long as it's roughly in the center.
The most important is obtaining a vortex in the center, and the centrifugal forces will brake down the biggest bubbles.

As a matter fo fact, the pump will only suck the lightest elements in the column, aka CO2 and water. No particles will be sucked-up, they are thrown on the side of the reactor leading to the exit port. Thus the impeller will stay clean.

Hi jay1st.I am planing on using your idea here but with a small difference,since I have a larger tank (100g) I am thinking of using a MAG2 water pump (~200 GPH) connected to the bottom of an external reactor but the co2 would be attached to the inlet of the pump (like tom's idea).that means :the reactor would have two inlets water goes in one of them from the top (connected to a canister filter outlet) then right under, there is another inlet for the water pump,and finally near the bottom of the reactor is the suction (outlet) for the water pump. the only problem I might have is that the pump might be too powerful and would cause some back pressure.what do you think? will it work? anybody else's ideas are also welcome

[czado]

That is cool. Thank you for making a new sketch, and for all the details.

[esarkipato]

Cool design. I'd be interested in building off this design as well. I just might try to simplify, and feel free to correct me (and please do) if I'm taking a wrong turn anywhere.

It seems that the most effective part of the design is creating the vortex, which keeps bubbles in the middle of the swirl and gives them high velocities and turbulence to help with dissolution.

This particular component could simply be created by drilling the reactor's inlet (the outlet from XP3) a bit off center and at an angle. The second pump/return line isn't REQUIRED to create the vortex.

So what's the point behind the second loop with the seperate pump. If it's for dealing with the dreaded air buildup in the top of the reactor, then I just don't understand why the pump is needed. If the second loop was simply closed, with no pump, wouldn't the pressure difference alone push water from the bottom of the reactor back up to the top....displacing the gas? Am I totally insane?

My goal here is to dissolve co2, but I'd rather not set up any more pumps I've been down that road and I'd rather work with the pump (xp3) that I already have!

Thanks for the info already! Keep it comin'

[Sterving]

Anyone knows appropriate diameter to length ratio in order to get nice vortex? I am in the process of obtaining clear pvc pipe and other materials to build this reactor. 3" ID pipe should be enough I think, about 10" long or so.

I'll post full list of materials and costs later.