I am considering to make a DIY Cerges Reactor and place it after my co2 art / qanvee atomizer to avoid the mist effect in my tank. If it turns out that the bubbles are too fine and it doens't work well. I can always remove the membrane from the atomizer.


What do you guys think about this build. It's for a 60p tank

• Amazon water housing filter unit 10”
  https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00JVZ0XMK/

• 2x hose clamps
• 2x PVC 90 degree 3/4 - 19mm hose tail
• 1 Inch Transparant PVC (drilling 2 inch from the bottom holes in there 3-4mm)

Plan is to use PTFE tape on the pvc connectors to make it water sealed.


To connect the 1 inch pvc bar in the middle of the water housing filter unit. I am planning to search for a filter hose that fits in the 1 inch pvc bar or cover it with a sock and filter sponge at the top to create a seal so the co2 doesn't escape? What do you think any other easy suggestions?


The 60p with reactor will be used with a filter with 264 gph. Does that sound ok?



For my 100gallon tank I would like to make a similar reactor. I assume it's better to use a 20"water housing filter for this setup? On this tank I have 2 filters. 1) has 330 gph and 2) 528 gph. Should I run this 20" water housing filter setup on the 330 gph so the co2 is easier do dissolve with less force?

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Naive question... is having too fine of a CO2 mist going into the reactor a real problem? I would have expected that the finer the mist is entering the reactor, the easier it would be to dissolve the CO2.

No, it shouldn't be any problem

I'm about to build my first one also. Be sure to check out the discussion at https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/2...much-flow.html about bypass and back pressure valves. A bypass valve, at a minimum, seems necessary. I plan to put both in because I enjoy working with PVC!

In my opinion, having a bypass valve for tuning purposes is fairly important. This is a 10" cerges reactor I built back in 2015. It is still in operation today and currently connected to a Fluval FX4 filter on my 75g tank. Not overly convinced a back pressure valve is necessary. Once the bypass valve is properly set (tuned?), I have had no trouble dropping 1.2 to 1.4ph in my tank is less than 2 hours with no bubbles entering the tank. Just an FYI.

That's interesting. The Culligan WH-S200-C and Culligan WH-HD200-C, although pricey, come with a bypass knob. Presumably to make it easier for the homeowner to change the filter. But that could be used as a bypass. One of the amazon review did say the knob was really hard to turn though.

The back pressure valve was needed in my situation because my return pump was overpowered relative to the flow I wanted in the tank. With just a bypass I couldn't dial it back to where I needed it. So, it was really a way to get a handle on overall flow, and improved efficiency was just a happy byproduct.

Since then I've installed a sterilizer after the reactor and the BP valve just stays open because the sterilizer is reducing the flow enough. Though there are situations where big gas pockets get into the reactor, and I do appreciate being able to burp it out in a few seconds rather than waiting for it to disolve into the water.

So I agree, the bypass is pretty essential when you want one pump to rule them all, and the BP is more or less optional. Helpful for burping though and essential if your flow is too high.

Your situation makes more sense for wanting a BP valve. Depending on how DIY your discharge into the tank is, that is another option for creating variable BP on the out flow. Think DIY spray bar with holes that are undersized a bit.



For canister filters, restricting the intake just a little bit also slows flow down. If you have a sump, then that does not work so well
Generally what I have found, al little more flow thru the reactor helps with bubble formation. A little less flow helps with bubbles exiting the reactor.