Aquatic Plant Central - View Single Post

hoppycalif · 02-28-2008, 09:34 PM

You need to leave air at the top of the water, otherwise the CO2 would tend to lift water out just as a trail of air bubbles lifts water. The venturi on the outlet of a powerhead is not a good place to add CO2, and it is a very bad place to add DIY CO2. That venturi generates suction which would try to suck the DIY bottle contents into the tank. And, the CO2 bubbles would be too big, using that, to get much dissolving of CO2 before the bubbles float to the top of the tank.

The best way to use the powerhead as a CO2 reactor is to inject the CO2 in the powerhead inlet, so the pump rotor chops it up into small bubbles. If you remove the pump rotor and drill a few holes in each blade, the bubbles will be much smaller after going through the powerhead.

02-28-2008, 09:34 PM	#101 (permalink)
hoppycalif Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA, USA Posts: 5,208 iTrader Ratings: 20 iTrader Positive Rating: 100% Plant Points: 227345	Re: DIY CO2 Guide with Pictures & Recipes You need to leave air at the top of the water, otherwise the CO2 would tend to lift water out just as a trail of air bubbles lifts water. The venturi on the outlet of a powerhead is not a good place to add CO2, and it is a very bad place to add DIY CO2. That venturi generates suction which would try to suck the DIY bottle contents into the tank. And, the CO2 bubbles would be too big, using that, to get much dissolving of CO2 before the bubbles float to the top of the tank. The best way to use the powerhead as a CO2 reactor is to inject the CO2 in the powerhead inlet, so the pump rotor chops it up into small bubbles. If you remove the pump rotor and drill a few holes in each blade, the bubbles will be much smaller after going through the powerhead.