DIY External Inline CO2 Reactor - DIY Aquarium Projects

diablocanine · 04-10-2006, 11:13 AM

Check it out:

http://www.cichliddomain.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25

John N. · 04-11-2006, 02:21 PM

Wow, that's a super reactor! Well constructed with great photos to go along with the setup. Did you install an easy way to clean out the bioballs, if need be? Any problems with gas build up in the reactor yet. I've never tried build myself a reactor, but I hear that's the common problem (gas build up) and then you have to shake it or something...

Looks fantastic!

-John N.

diablocanine · 04-11-2006, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John N.

Wow, that's a super reactor! Well constructed with great photos to go along with the setup. Did you install an easy way to clean out the bioballs, if need be? Any problems with gas build up in the reactor yet. I've never tried build myself a reactor, but I hear that's the common problem (gas build up) and then you have to shake it or something...

Looks fantastic!

-John N.

This section un screws to allow access to the bio balls:

I have had no problems with this reactor yet. I am working on plans to install the PH probe into the reactor, more to follow.....DC

Scoutmaster Steve · 04-12-2006, 04:17 AM

Hold the phone here. I don't think you want the probe in the reactor. I would think you would get low low readings there while your tank may show no CO2 at all. Much like putting your house thermostat in the pilot light on your furnace...It would be hot and not your house.

John N. · 04-13-2006, 10:33 AM

I was thinking the same thing as Steve. My gut reaction is you'll get false readings if you position the probe in that fashion.

-John N.

niko · 04-13-2006, 11:24 AM

Diablo,

How do you secure the CO2 line to the small barb?

Some friends of mine have huge flows through their reactors and if the CO2 line gets unhooked water under pressure sprays about 10 ft away.

--Nikolay

diablocanine · 04-13-2006, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoutmaster Steve

Hold the phone here. I don't think you want the probe in the reactor. I would think you would get low low readings there while your tank may show no CO2 at all. Much like putting your house thermostat in the pilot light on your furnace...It would be hot and not your house.

You think?, this works just fine, same concept, probe is out of the tank. I know for a fact the probe does not need to be in the main tank to maintain consistent CO2 saturation. http://www.cichliddomain.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3
Do you know of any attempts to put the probe in a reactor that failed? I do not understand what the problem would be. If it takes setting the thermostat in the pilot light at 100 degrees (and I think you are wrong with this analogy, you have not even seen a schematic or the setup of what I plan to do) to keep the house at 72, so be it. I will be drilling the tank next weekend and installing 4 bulkheads with 2 cannister filters. One will have this reactor and one will have an external heater. I do not want anything in the tank like my 110 gallon including the PH probe. If it works, and I see no reason why it won't, I will be installing bulkheads on all my show tanks to get the unsightly equipment out of them. I will post pics of the setup......DC

diablocanine · 04-13-2006, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko

Diablo,

How do you secure the CO2 line to the small barb?

Some friends of mine have huge flows through their reactors and if the CO2 line gets unhooked water under pressure sprays about 10 ft away.

--Nikolay

Did I buy some plants from you on TPT? I use a 3/16" barb with 4mm ID tubing, pretty tight fit, need to heat the tubing to get it on, do not think it is coming off. I would think if your friends tubing was loose enough to ever come off the barb, it would be leaking CO2. Additionally, I would double check the efficiency of a reactor that has "huge flows" going through it. How much is huge? One of the reasons I put a fitting that can be removed on my reactor is to tune the reactor to the tank/filter.....DC

bleaklow · 04-13-2006, 01:11 PM

No it should work great that way. Any control circuit works better if the sensor is as close to the heater/cooler/CO2 input etc as possible. Depending on respective time constants it reduces the oscillations about the set point. Better control if you put in differential feedback and critically damp the response, but in a CO2 system as it's only a solenoid that switches on or off that isn’t possible.

Just have a look in any low temperature physics lab and see how the control circuits work

Great looking reactor.

I've always run my reactor on the intake side of my eheim 2126 aswell. But I swapped it to the out flow last weekend. Seems to be running a lot more efficiently now. Down to 1 bps for a pH drop of 1 in my 55 gal rather than 1.5 - 2 bps before.

Scoutmaster Steve · 04-13-2006, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diablocanine

You think?, this works just fine, same concept, probe is out of the tank. I know for a fact the probe does not need to be in the main tank to maintain consistent CO2 saturation. http://www.cichliddomain.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3
Do you know of any attempts to put the probe in a reactor that failed? I do not understand what the problem would be. If it takes setting the thermostat in the pilot light at 100 degrees (and I think you are wrong with this analogy, you have not even seen a schematic or the setup of what I plan to do) to keep the house at 72, so be it. I will be drilling the tank next weekend and installing 4 bulkheads with 2 cannister filters. One will have this reactor and one will have an external heater. I do not want anything in the tank like my 110 gallon including the PH probe. If it works, and I see no reason why it won't, I will be installing bulkheads on all my show tanks to get the unsightly equipment out of them. I will post pics of the setup......DC

I totally feel your pain with wanting no equipment in the tank. My 125 is drilled for this reason also. I have visions of the CO2 solenoid turning on and off in rapid succesion as I would expect the Ph in the reactor to be so low due to all the pure CO2 right there that the controller wouldn't handle it. I know watching my reactor, (clear), when it calls for CO2 I get quite a build up of gas that does dissapate quick as soon as my set Ph is attained. No the probe wouldn't have to be in the tank to be accurate, such as in a sump after a reactor.

I think my analogy of the furnace is accurate! Probe equal thermostat and flame equal acid (CO2)

PS Your reactor looks very clean and good wish I had the time to have built rather then buy!