Cerges' Reactor - DIY Inline CO2 Reactor

inkslinger · 03-01-2013, 02:13 AM

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=165975&highlight=ext5000
I got the 1" ports and use the tee before the reactor it work out great with my eheim 2262 filter

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAcrimson

Newb here. I've read through every post in this thread and really appreciate all the info.

Would anyone with knowledge of the Cerges design, please confirm that I have the concept correct? Please see the attachment.

I will be using this on a 65 gal sump system. The return pump is an Eheim 1260 and I will be using the 20" housing. The CO2 will be coming from a Milwaukee MA957.

I just want to get some confirmation that I have the idea correct before I go ahead. Is there a more efficient way to get the CO2 into the inflow or will the 3/4"-to-airline barbed tee I have in the schematic work fine to keep it simple?

Thank you!!!

inkslinger · 03-01-2013, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAcrimson

Has anyone tried using the Bulk Reef Supply's 20" Reverse Osmosis Canister with 3⁄4” Ports?

They are black and grey and a pretty good deal (especially if using discounts)!

I am curious if the internal cap design is the same as the discountfilterstore.com versions previous members have used?

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/revers...canisters.html

paid $69. for the big blue 20"x4" with 1" port else where.
http://www.h2odistributors.com/ytb-20-cb1-pr.asp

CAcrimson · 03-08-2013, 05:39 PM

Update: I took a chance and bought the Bulk Reef Supply 20" housing with 3/4" ports. Worked out beautifully. It is nice and black to match all of my other plumbing. It is so strong, I can't imagine it breaking. It has the same tough-as-nails construction as their regular 10" housings. (I know some people mentioned others from different retailers are a little fragile...not this one.)

Here's what I bought:
Bulk Reef Supply: SKU: 200100 20" Reverse Osmosis Canister 3⁄4” Ports $39.99
Home Depot: SKU 811000012753 3/4INX2FT PVC PIPE $1.24 (Schedule 40)

I first tried the boiling water method to enlarge the PVC pipe to fit on the male portion in the RO housing cap. That didn't work too well. I ended up just holding the PVC over the gas stove flame and turning it for about 20-30 seconds to evenly heat it. It slid over the male part on the RO housing like butter. I used my PVC cutters to cut off about 6 inches of the end of the PVC pipe. The hardest and most time consuming part was reheating the PVC and straightening the pipe over the male part on the housing to get the pipe straight in the housing. All in all, about 10 minutes.

I plan to take a little Krylon Fusion gloss black and paint the white PVC pipe to match the housing.

Thanks to everyone for their help and tips. This is a great thread. I will update the performance once I flood my tank in about 3-4 weeks.

m00se · 03-08-2013, 05:51 PM

Lookin good yea! Hey, I know that you believe that housing is beefier than the whole house filters that we've been warning about but....it's not. All these filters have substantial mass where they give the appearance of sturdiness. Don't be deceived though. That filter you have looks like a standard housing just like the rest of them and whether it breaks or not is to be determined. I would still highly recommend you use the advice of greasing the threads up copiously and taking care not to overtighten the cap.

Good luck and best wishes on your new set up - I know how exciting it is!

cobra · 03-09-2013, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m00se

Lookin good yea! Hey, I know that you believe that housing is beefier than the whole house filters that we've been warning about but....it's not. All these filters have substantial mass where they give the appearance of sturdiness. Don't be deceived though. That filter you have looks like a standard housing just like the rest of them and whether it breaks or not is to be determined. I would still highly recommend you use the advice of greasing the threads up copiously and taking care not to overtighten the cap.

Good luck and best wishes on your new set up - I know how exciting it is!

What Moose said.

pianofish · 03-10-2013, 06:52 PM

I'm thinking about making one of these to use on my eheim 2217, I'm using it throttled down on a smaller tank and am hoping that until I'm ready to do co2, I could just throw some bio balls into it to add extra filtration? Thoughts? Will this in conjunction with a hydor inline be too much for a 2217 to handle along with steel lily pipes?

Silock · 03-13-2013, 10:41 AM

I made one myself and have had it running for a good two months now. It used to be silent, but now it sounds like there's running water inside it. That can't be good, but it's not leaking and pressure coming out of the spray bar is normal.

Should I be concerned?

Silock · 03-13-2013, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silock

I made one myself and have had it running for a good two months now. It used to be silent, but now it sounds like there's running water inside it. That can't be good, but it's not leaking and pressure coming out of the spray bar is normal.

Should I be concerned?

Never mind. Figured it out. My housing has a pressure relief valve, so I just pushed it with the filter on. Lots of trapped air came out, so I just kept holding until it was just water. I guess the air got in from the surface skimmer.

marcnc · 03-14-2013, 03:21 AM

So now that I have my reactor built. I am thinking I want to setup with 2nd canister or external pump, is that an option? I want to do what going to be the least amount of money.

I was thinking if I got external pump, I could also run my UV, and inline heater on it as well, but I have no idea what size pump to get for the reactor and how do I go about getting the fittings for it to drain and return to the tank? Would I just be better to buy small Filstar XP S? Maybe that would not be enough.

Thanks so much.

m00se · 03-14-2013, 03:53 AM

I use a Mag Supreme 5 pump on a closed loop system and I like it a lot. I gave it it's own spraybar independent of the main spraybar for the canister. So yea, that's a good idea. I think the Mag 5 would be more than enough for $65. Just put a prefilter on the intake and you should be good. I have to throttle mine back or it'll blow bubbles into the tank. With the additional resistance of the UV and the heater you should be about ideal.

marcnc · 03-14-2013, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m00se

I use a Mag Supreme 5 pump on a closed loop system and I like it a lot. I gave it it's own spraybar independent of the main spraybar for the canister. So yea, that's a good idea. I think the Mag 5 would be more than enough for $65. Just put a prefilter on the intake and you should be good. I have to throttle mine back or it'll blow bubbles into the tank. With the additional resistance of the UV and the heater you should be about ideal.

Thanks for the reply, I think I will go with the Mag 5. Any suggestions how I would plumb it? Assume I could just chain all 3 devices in a row?

Spray bar, I have read online how to make them, so that should not be much to deal with, what I am not sure of is the intake and prefilter you talk about?

Thanks

shrimpNewbie · 03-16-2013, 04:47 AM

Make sure you put the pump before the reactor to avoid any bubbles messin with the impeller otherwise you're gold, run uv and heater after reactor or before pump btw

leros · 03-20-2013, 05:21 AM

I posted a while back about having trouble with my 20" Cerges reactor. I was having trouble with bubbles coming out even with a very low amount of flow. I tried putting in a sponge at the bottom, but that did not help.

People told me it was a bad idea, but I filled the canister with bioballs. Now I'm able to pump as much CO2 in the reactor as I want and I can run the flow at ridiculous speeds. It's quite a wonderful thing

AlanLe · 03-29-2013, 11:51 PM

Anyone has One of these for sale? Shoot me a pm.

RedDelPaPa · 04-08-2013, 04:24 AM

Hey guys. I've been following this thread for a while now. Seems to me people are having the same problems with the 20" units that they're having with the smaller more manageable 10" units. And that is noise and micro bubbles escaping the filter housing. So here is my solution, and a very simple one in that. It requires no filter sponge at the bottom of the reactor which WILL clog and WILL eventually require maintenance. Control your flow rate through the reactor with a built in bypass line using a simple two little fishes ball valve that connects from your pump outlet, to the outflow line of the co2 reactor. Fire up the system and let come up to operating equilibrium. If you have micro bubbles exiting the reactor, simply crack your bypass valve until the micro bubble discharge stops. Problem solved. No need for a huge bulky 20" unit with internal sponges and other BS, less noise, and your pump is allowed to run at full capacity. Good luck.

03-08-2013, 05:39 PM	#573
CAcrimson Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 15	Update: I took a chance and bought the Bulk Reef Supply 20" housing with 3/4" ports. Worked out beautifully. It is nice and black to match all of my other plumbing. It is so strong, I can't imagine it breaking. It has the same tough-as-nails construction as their regular 10" housings. (I know some people mentioned others from different retailers are a little fragile...not this one.) Here's what I bought: Bulk Reef Supply: SKU: 200100 20" Reverse Osmosis Canister 3⁄4” Ports $39.99 Home Depot: SKU 811000012753 3/4INX2FT PVC PIPE $1.24 (Schedule 40) I first tried the boiling water method to enlarge the PVC pipe to fit on the male portion in the RO housing cap. That didn't work too well. I ended up just holding the PVC over the gas stove flame and turning it for about 20-30 seconds to evenly heat it. It slid over the male part on the RO housing like butter. I used my PVC cutters to cut off about 6 inches of the end of the PVC pipe. The hardest and most time consuming part was reheating the PVC and straightening the pipe over the male part on the housing to get the pipe straight in the housing. All in all, about 10 minutes. I plan to take a little Krylon Fusion gloss black and paint the white PVC pipe to match the housing. Thanks to everyone for their help and tips. This is a great thread. I will update the performance once I flood my tank in about 3-4 weeks. Attached Thumbnails

03-10-2013, 06:52 PM	#576
pianofish Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (18/100%) Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Lafayette, Louisiana Posts: 671	I'm thinking about making one of these to use on my eheim 2217, I'm using it throttled down on a smaller tank and am hoping that until I'm ready to do co2, I could just throw some bio balls into it to add extra filtration? Thoughts? Will this in conjunction with a hydor inline be too much for a 2217 to handle along with steel lily pipes? __________________ Piano My 20 gallon H High Tech Cryptocorynes

03-16-2013, 04:47 AM	#582
shrimpNewbie Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: May 2011 Location: california, orange county Posts: 1,838	Cerges' Reactor - DIY Inline CO2 Reactor Make sure you put the pump before the reactor to avoid any bubbles messin with the impeller otherwise you're gold, run uv and heater after reactor or before pump btw __________________ 25 Gallon Brazillian jungle cube

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03-08-2013, 05:51 PM	#574
m00se Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 1,282	Lookin good yea! Hey, I know that you believe that housing is beefier than the whole house filters that we've been warning about but....it's not. All these filters have substantial mass where they give the appearance of sturdiness. Don't be deceived though. That filter you have looks like a standard housing just like the rest of them and whether it breaks or not is to be determined. I would still highly recommend you use the advice of greasing the threads up copiously and taking care not to overtighten the cap. Good luck and best wishes on your new set up - I know how exciting it is!

03-13-2013, 10:41 AM	#577
Silock Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Overland Park, KS Posts: 59	I made one myself and have had it running for a good two months now. It used to be silent, but now it sounds like there's running water inside it. That can't be good, but it's not leaking and pressure coming out of the spray bar is normal. Should I be concerned?

03-14-2013, 03:21 AM	#579
marcnc Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 225	So now that I have my reactor built. I am thinking I want to setup with 2nd canister or external pump, is that an option? I want to do what going to be the least amount of money. I was thinking if I got external pump, I could also run my UV, and inline heater on it as well, but I have no idea what size pump to get for the reactor and how do I go about getting the fittings for it to drain and return to the tank? Would I just be better to buy small Filstar XP S? Maybe that would not be enough. Thanks so much.

03-14-2013, 03:53 AM	#580
m00se Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 1,282	I use a Mag Supreme 5 pump on a closed loop system and I like it a lot. I gave it it's own spraybar independent of the main spraybar for the canister. So yea, that's a good idea. I think the Mag 5 would be more than enough for $65. Just put a prefilter on the intake and you should be good. I have to throttle mine back or it'll blow bubbles into the tank. With the additional resistance of the UV and the heater you should be about ideal.

03-20-2013, 05:21 AM	#583
leros Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 49	I posted a while back about having trouble with my 20" Cerges reactor. I was having trouble with bubbles coming out even with a very low amount of flow. I tried putting in a sponge at the bottom, but that did not help. People told me it was a bad idea, but I filled the canister with bioballs. Now I'm able to pump as much CO2 in the reactor as I want and I can run the flow at ridiculous speeds. It's quite a wonderful thing

03-29-2013, 11:51 PM	#584
AlanLe Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 300	Anyone has One of these for sale? Shoot me a pm.

04-08-2013, 04:24 AM	#585
RedDelPaPa Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Tooele, UT, 84074 Posts: 10	Hey guys. I've been following this thread for a while now. Seems to me people are having the same problems with the 20" units that they're having with the smaller more manageable 10" units. And that is noise and micro bubbles escaping the filter housing. So here is my solution, and a very simple one in that. It requires no filter sponge at the bottom of the reactor which WILL clog and WILL eventually require maintenance. Control your flow rate through the reactor with a built in bypass line using a simple two little fishes ball valve that connects from your pump outlet, to the outflow line of the co2 reactor. Fire up the system and let come up to operating equilibrium. If you have micro bubbles exiting the reactor, simply crack your bypass valve until the micro bubble discharge stops. Problem solved. No need for a huge bulky 20" unit with internal sponges and other BS, less noise, and your pump is allowed to run at full capacity. Good luck.