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DIY Reactor Ques..

4K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  JamesHoftiezer 
#1 ·
I built a reactor lastnight and set it to work...when i got i noticed that there were very very tiny bubbles comming out of he reactor only noticable if you look from really close.They float up to the top and just sit there.they covermy entire water line.Is that a good thing?
Sorry for the bad pics...i just took them and i was in a hurry.U cant see the bubbles from the pics though just the reactor.
How in the world do you take good aquarium pics? I guess u close all windows so u dont get glare...but what about the flash..on or off hummmm.
 
#4 ·
I just built one of these reactors too. I had three powerheads and an old gravel vac kicking around. Anyways.. my question is I am using a AC Powerhead 201, 1. Is it powerful enough? 2. Soon as I turn it on there are all sorts of bubbles coming out (just air not co2), is this supposed to happen or is something with the way the powerhead is mounted?

Thanks
 
#6 ·
Yeah, it's completely submerged. I thought it was the way the pump was oriented so I sqitch it to horizontal and ran a tube from the powerhead to the gravel vac. Same deal. Doesn't make much sense to me. Seems to be working though. No bubbles go to the surface of the tank. I dunno, maybe I should just buy a RIO and see where that gets me?
 
#7 ·
Vinlo said:
Yeah, it's completely submerged. I thought it was the way the pump was oriented so I sqitch it to horizontal and ran a tube from the powerhead to the gravel vac. Same deal. Doesn't make much sense to me. Seems to be working though. No bubbles go to the surface of the tank. I dunno, maybe I should just buy a RIO and see where that gets me?
Bad idea. If I could do mine again I would NOT get a RIO. They have to be the worst powerheads/pumps ever in my opinion. I have used pretty much everyother brand, and never again RIO. They are totally unreliable and I have heard horror stories about them. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to this loud noise, and it is my powerhead stalled making all sorts of noises. I have to get up and turn the darn thing off just to get some sleep.

Kyle
 
#11 ·
I like my Rio. It's simple and for this application, that's a plus. They're pretty darn cheap too, so if you want to replace it, it isn't that big of a deal.
 
#13 ·
You know I have some of these home made systems and they aren't bad. What I used to do is run it right into the intake to my canister filter. It works so nice cause all of the co2 is being put in your tank. Now I have found only one problem with this system. I can't keep the seal tight from the bottle to the air hose. I'm useing aquarium sealant and I do let it sit for a day. Anyone have any ideas????
 
#14 ·
I believe the cap of the soda bottles is made with polyethylene which I don't think any glue will stick to. I've used aquarium selant before and it eventually leaks. My current DIY co2 at my office uses epoxy to hold the cap to a brass barb, it seems to work pretty well.
 
#16 ·
I have had good success with soda bottle caps.

I use a (black) dripline connector (used in drip irrigation) and cut it in half.

Then I drill a hole into the cap, which is just a little smaller than the diameter of the connector.

Then I put a little ring of glue (Stix-All or any adhesive glue) on the connector, then push it into the hole. The glue is being pushed out between the connector (edited: and the bottle cap surface). The barbed end is then connected to the CO2/airline tubing.

So there is the tight fit, in connection with the glue, that gives me a really nice seal.

Still trying to find a smaller clear bottle for a bubble counter/CO2 cleaner that is clear and can be sealed well.

Hope that makes any sense... I wish I knew how to post some pix to explain myself a little better.
 
#17 ·
Thomas said:
I
Still trying to find a smaller clear bottle for a bubble counter/CO2 cleaner that is clear and can be sealed well.

I use a small glass Soda Water bottle (as in Scotch and Soda). Built to contain carbonated water, so it has a good seal.
 
#18 ·
Thanks, I will give that a try. I have been using a big honey bottle, but apparently it was not long-term-sealable.

I am still pondering if the CO2 injection (via inline generator) should be on the inlet and outlet side of the canister filter. I don't think the flow reduction is going to be a big problem for me.

If I put it before the filter (inlet), the plus is that there will be no bubbles in the water (CO2 "mist" not completely dissolved), so that would be 100% efficiency. The disadvantage that I imagine is that if the pump is turned off for some reason, the inlet side fills up with CO2 which could cause the impeller to airlock... Don't know why I would turn off the filter though...

Well, it's easy enough to try it out.
 
#20 ·
Thomas said:
The disadvantage that I imagine is that if the pump is turned off for some reason, the inlet side fills up with CO2 which could cause the impeller to airlock... Don't know why I would turn off the filter though...

Well, it's easy enough to try it out.

My DIY internal reactor (vortex style) airlocks everytime I change water, I have to tip the thing over to release the air, no big deal.

But don't you turn the filter off while you are changing water?

I guess we need a voice of experience here on possible air locks of the inlet side inline reactor...
 
#21 ·
I run my CO2 directly into the intake side of my cannister and it never airlocks. The hose is literally strapped to the side of the intake tube in the tank.
I always shut down all filters during water change and never shut off CO2, with the filter off,there is no suction and the bubble just floats to the tank surface.

Getting sufficient amounts of CO2 into the water column is not rocket science until you get into the big boy tanks... 90 gallon +
 
#22 ·
Thanks Buck, I will try that. I want to use some simple external "reaction chamber" (gravel cleaning tube) where the CO2 bubble go up against the filter current, which should dissolve most of them before they even enter the filter. Hopefully they can be sealed well against leaks.

No... I would probably not turn off the (canister) filter during water changes... unless the inlet or outlet are close to the surface... which they are not... Or out of fear of electrocution? Maybe I am missing something important here :shock:
 
#23 ·
Missing something, probably not, my water return is near the surface so I shut it off. Really, I switch everything off at the power strip. Less chance of forgetting to plug something back in. All off, or all on.
 
#25 ·
Somehow messed up my username. Got inactivated... I guess too many times trying the password. :?

Anyway... this is how I want to do it. Sounds a little risky re leaking? Me starting to worry now :roll:

Planning on assembling it next week, got the tube already, just waiting for the filter to come in.

Still need to figure out how to post images.
 
#26 ·
digger said:
You're using a gravel vac as an *external* reactor? As in outside the tank? I'd like to see pictures.
I did this the way I had it imagined, since there is not much to see, I will describe it for ya...

I used a 10" Gravel vac (by TopFin, whatever) with two endcaps, and connected it inline with the inlet side of the canister filter.

Why inlet side?? Two good reasons: 1) since the canister is below the tank, the waterflow goes down on the inlet side, and up on the outlet. Bubbles have a tendency to go up, so using the inlet side I don't have to loop the whole thing, it just goes straight in line with the hose. 2) The purpose of the reactor is to extend the exposure to water so the CO2 dissolves. If I put it on the outlet side, I am getting very little bubbles of CO2 coming out of the outlet, which I found somewhat distracting. Not sure what the fishes thought about the constant bubble bath. On the inlet side, 100% of it is dissolving.

The CO2 just bubbles into the inlet strainer.

There is nothing in the "reactor" that would clog or have to be cleaned. It simply provides an area of currents and slower flow so the bubbles get smaller and smaller until they get sucked into the filter, where they completely dissolve.

I am a little nervous about that gravel vac leaking, but so far so good, since the whole connection is rather straigth, there is no force bending or pulling it, so I think it should be okay. Maybe I will add a little silicone to it later to secure the caps even more.
 
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