[Solid]

I'm trying to finish buying all the stuff for my presurized co2 system. So far I have a victor regulator (sgt 500), the sumo regulators post regulator kit (jbj bubble counter, ideal needle valve, and solenoid), and a used 20 lb tank (it's too big for my likes but I got for free). So I need a good way to diffuse the co2 in my tank. It's 29 gallon with corallife 2x65 watt pc (I only use 1bulb ATM but will use both with co2) I fertalize with pfertz nitrogen and micros, and use flourish root tabs. I was thinking of buying a reactor like this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3747+15524&pcatid=15524
but wasn't sure how to hook it up with my fluval 305 filter. Will it be hard to hook up with the ribbed hosing? Or should I just go with the in tank Glass diffuser? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[SamH]

I use neither on my 54L planted aquarium. In saying that, I do have terrible algae at the moment and am currently doing a whole tank blackout. Back to the CO2, I just have mine hooked up to the outlet of my internal filter and it bubbles away constantly. For the first time ever (under 4x18w T8's) I saw my plants producing visible O2 bubbles. IME, no fancy diffusers are needed. HTH

 

[speedie408]

If you like crystal clear water all the time in your tank and don't mind loosing a bit of flow off your canister filter, get a pvc reactor. If you don't mind a tank full of tiny micro co2 bubbles 'misting' is the way to go with a powerhead. Ceramic diffusers do the job well too but they waste a lot of co2, for people who actually care. It's comes down to personal preference.

 

[qwiksilvertrav]

I'm trying to finish buying all the stuff for my presurized co2 system. So far I have a victor regulator (sgt 500), the sumo regulators post regulator kit (jbj bubble counter, ideal needle valve, and solenoid), and a used 20 lb tank (it's too big for my likes but I got for free). So I need a good way to diffuse the co2 in my tank. It's 29 gallon with corallife 2x65 watt pc (I only use 1bulb ATM but will use both with co2) I fertalize with pfertz nitrogen and micros, and use flourish root tabs. I was thinking of buying a reactor like this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3747+15524&pcatid=15524
but wasn't sure how to hook it up with my fluval 305 filter. Will it be hard to hook up with the ribbed hosing? Or should I just go with the in tank Glass diffuser? Any advice would be much appreciated.

I have the same reactor and love it so far. Just hook it up, pop it in the water and you're good to go! No need to hook into a filter or anything. Does a excellent job of diffusion and I never see any Co2 bubbles escape from it. Plants pearl like crazy! All the leaves are absolutely coated in bubbles and at times it seems I almost have airstones going from all of the O2 bubbles floating to the surface. Great product!!!

 

[Solid]

How is the build quality on that reactor? Does it seem like cheap plastic? and how does it look in the tank?

Does anyone have a recommendation for an inline diffuser that i can use with the fluval ribbed hoses?

 

[radwaste]

I just converted a Hagen Mini-Elite internal filter into a CO2 reactor. It works
great, micro bubbles everywhere. You can even set it up to totally dissolve the
the bubbles. The best part is it cost only 10$ at Petco. There is a thread online
on how to do it. It took me only 5 minutes, very easy.

 

[cah925]

I think you will need to get new hoses if you want to use an inline diffuser. I can't see those ribbed hoses holding on to anything other than the Fluval filter pieces. I personally love the inline diffuser, no extra equipment in the tank and as many micro bubbles as you want to pump in.

 

[FSM]

Replace the fluval ribbed hose with vinyl tubing, but don't get the flimsy un-reinforced stuff. I bought some of that, it kinks way too easily and the flow goes down to nothing unless the tube is going in a completely straight line. I replaced that with reinforced high-pressure vinyl tubing, it works much better. You'll probably need about 5 feet, depending on the height of the tank.

http://www.rexgrigg.com/diy-reactor.htm

the ribbed tubing is fine to leave on the intake side, the reactor should be run on the output hose though.

 

[Solid]

I personally love the inline diffuser, no extra equipment in the tank and as many micro bubbles as you want to pump in.

yea that's basically why i wanted an inline diffuser so that there is nothing extra in my tank, but I'm not sure how to attach the vinyl tubing to the filter without the nice rubber pieces it comes with.

Do you have a picture of how you have the vinyl attached? Sorry I'm very new to all this and don't want a big puddle in my living room. :icon_conf

 

[qwiksilvertrav]

How is the build quality on that reactor? Does it seem like cheap plastic? and how does it look in the tank?

Does anyone have a recommendation for an inline diffuser that i can use with the fluval ribbed hoses?

Build quality seems pretty solid to me and doesn't feel cheap to me really. It doesn't look the greatest but it's not bad. If you click my sig link you can see it in the updated pics. Like I said I love it. Very very easy to hook up and is very very efficient at getting co2 into your water.

 

[Solid]

So I went to home depot and picked out all the stuff to assemble the Rex grigg style reactor, then went to find the vinyl tubing with no luck. The tubing with 3/4 or 5/8 inside diameter was way to thick (outside diameter) to be able to fit on my fluval filter. What size tubing did you use FSM?

 

[Jeff5614]

So I went to home depot and picked out all the stuff to assemble the Rex grigg style reactor, then went to find the vinyl tubing with no luck. The tubing with 3/4 or 5/8 inside diameter was way to thick (outside diameter) to be able to fit on my fluval filter. What size tubing did you use FSM?

That's interesting. I have a 404 with a DIY reactor connected and a 304 connected to a UVS. I used braided 5/8 on the 404 and 3/4 on the 304 both tubing were the thicker walled of what was available when I bought them. Admittedly, I did have to hold them down firmly as I tightened the lock nut ( or whatever it's called ) around them and they were a tight fit but they did work.