Question about DIY reactor ?

[stagius]

Hi

I just finished buidling a DIY reactor.

I just though about drilling hole in the 2' pipe and injecting a tube that come from the air pump. That way I can increase the concentration of O2 at night. The question is that O2 can diffuse through that way ? Is it as effective as injecting directly into the tank ?

Thank you,

[Ukrainetz]

Yes, o2 will diffuse...however, so will nitrogen, co2, and anything else in your air. However, it wont work for long, as the air pump will add the air too quickly, and quickly airlock your setup.

IMO you don't need to worry about o2 at night. The plants produce pure o2 during the day (for which they need the co2) and most of it gets dissolved in the water column. So you should have plenty of o2 to last through the night.

If you're very concerned, buy an o2 and a co2 test kits, and get up extra early on the weekend. Test the levels carefully, and see if the levels are ok. Remember, co2 should stay under 30ppm, and o2 should be at least 50-60% I would say. But don't quote me, too tired to look it up

[stagius]

because i only light up my tank for 8h, and compared that to almost 16h unlight, i would think it doesnt produce enough O2 for plant and fish to use at night.

So i guess, i just have the air pump tube directly into the tank.

[Ukrainetz]

Actually that may be more harmful, because as soon as the air pump turns on, the co2 will be driven off quickly....which means pH will plummet up. Thats not very healthy for your fish.
The best way to determine if everything is ok, is like I said, test it yourself. Stay up until 2, taking readings every hour or two hours. If notice a radical drop, thats a problem. But you shouldn't.
I haven't made my reactor yet, so I have a ladder, and whatever doesn't dissolve there goes into a powerhead which breaks it up into small bubbles. The power head turns off at night for me, and I have never added any air (my levels are perfectly fine). Some people do what you're planning, but most people dont, and there isn't a problem.

[PRESTON4479]

I have my timer set to turn my co2 off a half before lights out and turn my air pump on. This has worked great for me now over a year.

[imeridian]

Originally Posted by Ukrainetz

Actually that may be more harmful, because as soon as the air pump turns on, the co2 will be driven off quickly....which means pH will plummet up. Thats not very healthy for your fish.

The fish won't even notice pH changes caused by CO2 or lack there of.

The whole pH fluctuation worry stemmed from ignorance of what really caused fish distress. This is because "typical" pH changes are due to carbonate fluctuations and associated TDS changes, which are horrible for the fish -- osmotic shock, etc. Natural water supplies usually have just about equal KH and GH, thus higher pH water (because of KH) usually has higher mineral hardness too (higher GH) -- ultimately meaning higher TDS. This all leads to the mistaken assumptions that promote the "pH fluctuations harm fish" myth.

CO2 doesn't change the KH or GH of the water, there is no need to be concerned in the slightest, provided you're not gassing your fish with high CO2 levels.

[Ukrainetz]

Good pont indiboj, but there are a lot of people who will disagree. I simply dont want to experiment, nor am I worried . I've had fish live at strange conditions as well, (pH 5) when most people would've freaked out that the pH is too low. However running an airstone in the tank is overkill IMO. Unless your tank is overstocked beyond belief, there should be plenty of O2 to go around. If you're still worried, test it.

[Rex Grigg]

Actually if you drive of the CO2 the pH will rise. Not plummet. It's impossible to plummet up.



Main Entry:
plummet
Function:
intransitive verb
Date:
1937

1 : to fall perpendicularly <birds plummeted down>
2 : to drop sharply and abruptly <prices plummeted>

[Ukrainetz]

Forgive my immigrant abilities in english language