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Tiny super efficient CO2 reactor

302K views 380 replies 156 participants last post by  jasonvthomas 
#1 · (Edited)
Go to any Petco and buy this tiny internal filter:
http://www.petco.com/product/13796/Hagen-Elite-Mini-Underwater-Filter.aspx

In the box you will find everything needed to make an extremely efficent in-tank Co2 reactor:

1. Discard the tubing that supplies air to the filter and is meant for aeration, you don't need it.
2. Open the filter - as if your intention is to clean the sponge.
3. Remove the sponge from the compartment.
4. Pull and remove the green flow control slider.This leaves a small opening on the side of the filter.
5. Close the filter without the sponge. When doing that put the CO2 tubing in the small opening mentioned above. Basically 1/2" of the CO2 tubing is now inside the filter, right under the intake, and it's held in place by the closed filter.
6. The filter comes with a flow nozzle. Put the sponge removed in step 3 over this nozzle.
7. Attach the flow nozzle to the filter.
8. Peel off the technical info sticker. It's white and attracts the eyes.
9. Done!

Basically you have done two things:
A. Put the CO2 tubing under the intake of the filter.
B. Attached the sponge on the outtake of the filter.

When the filter runs the CO2 bubbles hit the pump impeller and make a very gentle noise. This is your bubble counter. Count the bubbles with your eyes closed if you want. You will have to get about a foot from the reactor though - it's hard to hear if you are more than 2-3 ft. away.

When the bubles hit the impeller they get broken into tinier bubbles. These tiny bubbles then get trapped in the sponge with 60 gph of water flow disolving them almost 100%.

The few fine bubbles that escape the sponge look like a tiny cloud. It consists of bubbles so fine that they have a hard time floating up to the surface. Even the most gentle side flow carries them to the side and around the plant leaves.

Old design of mine but this $10 filter really makes it possible to make an ideal internal CO2 reactor in literally less than 1 minute. The filter is very small (easy to hide), black (doesn't attract the eyes), and has a strainer that makes the suction gentle enough so snails don't get stuck on the intake, die and block it. Virtually zero maintenance.

Maybe someone could post pictures showing how to do everything I described. I haven't picked up a camera in many months but it seems that life still goes on as usual.

--Nikolay
 
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#210 ·
nice, really helpful thread, just did this after work and works like a charm...just got a curious newbie question, should i place the reactor as far as possible from my filter where most of the surface agitation is or does it not make a difference? right now it's positioned right under my filter
 
#211 ·
I just got mine out of the mail today,on ebay for $10 shipped.Thanks everyone for all the info and feedback.
Same question as jjm619." Does it matter if the elite is right below hob filter? Thats where i put it for now,sideways with vents pointing up.I also am using a fine air stone through the bottom. ;-)
 
#212 ·
:yo:Very nice! Not sure I would call it a reactor. In the strictest sense of the word it's more of a great diffusion method. Maybe someone could correct the title of the thread from reactor to diffuser. Think of ways to maximize CO2 levels around the whole tank like a power head. If your adding CO2 and the bubbles are just gassing off to the surface they wont be of much help to your plants. Diffusers are great if the bubbles are circulating around the plants. If you want fewer bubbles and more CO2 in solution then thats a reactor. They both benefit from good water flow throughout the tank.
 
#214 · (Edited)
Do you have the Elite? Great, might be a nice reactor. How large is the reaction chamber? If you've attached the sponge. Could a 1/2" line go between the sponge and the pump? There are a few of these designs - lots of powerhead adaptations out there. Run a line, (1/2 inch) with all those bubbles, using a small spray bar, capping the end. It would be very cool. Does anyone know what size fitting the sponge is attached to?
 
#215 ·
WoW. i got a headache. just read 22 pages of this thread , word for word. wheres niko, he hasnt posted recently, but anyway , gonna buy this tomorrow, and set it up, i might post some pictures later for the people who might be confused. Thanks niko, you saved me. i was about to buy a wooden airstone and run it under a powerhead. but your idea is gold, wonder how you came up with it. Hope everything works out. GN all
 
#216 ·
Sukhkawal,

You don't need to buy the Elite filter. You can use any powerhead. But you must put a sponge over the outflow.

The sponge traps the CO2 bubbles and at the same time lets water run through. So the trapped bubbles stay put and have no choice but to disolve in the water.

Using the Elite is good because it's cheap, easy to turn into a CO2 reactor, small size, black in color (hide well), and the strainer on the intake is big so snails don't get sucked and stuck on it. Using any other powerhead will require more DIY to take care of the things the Elite happen to just have by design, out of the box.

Once again - the Elite filter is enough to provide CO2 for a heavily planted 75 gallon tank. So don't assume you need a bigger powerhead or something. The water flow in a planted tank must be very good to allow the CO2 from the Elite to go everywhere. Don't expect to have measly water flow and good plant growth.

--Nikolay
 
#217 ·
Sukhkawal,

You don't need to buy the Elite filter. You can use any powerhead. But you must put a sponge over the outflow.

The sponge traps the CO2 bubbles and at the same time lets water run through. So the trapped bubbles stay put and have no choice but to disolve in the water.

Using the Elite is good because it's cheap, easy to turn into a CO2 reactor, small size, black in color (hide well), and the strainer on the intake is big so snails don't get sucked and stuck on it. Using any other powerhead will require more DIY to take care of the things the Elite happen to just have by design, out of the box.

Once again - the Elite filter is enough to provide CO2 for a heavily planted 75 gallon tank. So don't assume you need a bigger powerhead or something. The water flow in a planted tank must be very good to allow the CO2 from the Elite to go everywhere. Don't expect to have measly water flow and good plant growth.

--Nikolay
well, i was going to buy an expensive powerhead, but this seems much more effective. i have a 36 gall. bowfront with emperor 280 hob filter, and for now will be doing DIY co2. so do you think i will have to buy another powerhead to increase water flow?
 
#221 ·
I just installed this on my 10G. It isn't bad looking. It is black and my background is black. It is also smaller and easier to hide than the bubble ladder!

Some questions:

1) Do I leave the venturi that comes with it off or should I hook it up?

2)I removed the green lever and inserted the tube but it is pinched. Is that OK or should I enlarge the hole?

3) I saw many people use an air stone but I had a ceramic diffuser and the DIY CO2 didn't have enough pressure to push the CO2 through. Should I just leave it the way it is?

4) I'm confused about the discussion of whether to turn it off or not. How do you turn off the CO2 Or do you mean I should turn off the filter and just let the CO2 dissipate?

Thanks for posting this and thanks for the help. This exactly what I've been looking for.
 
#222 ·
Hurriken,

Plug up the venturi. I usually just heat it up slightly and pinch it shut.

The CO2-tubing being pinched is fine. The bubble will find its way out and that's all that matters.

There is no need for an airstone. I don't understand why people believe that using an airstone increases the efficiency of the super-duper-cheap rector. It's ultra efficient as it is, no airstone. Using an airstone will reduce or eliminate the gentle sound that the bubble makes when hitting the impeller. That may be the only reason to use an airstone. But you loose the "audio bubble counter".

There is not a single proof that turning off the CO2 at night will make a considerably better planted tank. Amano shuts off his Co2 at night and adds O2 so everybody nowadays thinks that shutting off the CO2 at night is the best thing ever. There is no need to shut off the CO2 at night. You will save some CO2 but you will introduce variations of the CO2 and pH. Takes 30 min for all the CO2 to leave the tank at night. Takes 1-3 hours to build back up in the morning. Inconsitency is enemy #1 of any planted tank. Try it and see for yourself but what's simplest is the best.

--Nikolay
 
#223 ·
Thanks Nikolay, I can hear the bubbles "ticking" now. They are not steady but I just set it up tonight. I'm glad you said I don't have to shut it off. What I want is simple and easy. I think the current it put off is an added bonus to help with algae.

In the videos I see people mounting it down low in the tank, is that best?
 
#224 ·
With the sponge over the outtake (where the water comes out) you should not have a lot of flow. There is just minimal flow because the water has to make its way out of the sponge. But for a 10 gal. tank it will be a good addition the the water flow.

Putting the pump as low as possible in the tank helps to improve the efficiency. Tiny, duslike bubbles will make their way out of the sponge. There aren't many of them but if the pump is as deep as possible these tiny bubbles have to make it to the surface. While floating up they continue to disolve.

Also - it's easier to hide the pump near the bottom. If it's high up it will always be visible.

The first few hours after setting up the CO2 the gas flow is pretty erratic. You need to stay there and adjust it every so often until it gets constant. The sound coming from the pump really helps - it's actually an easier way to gauge bubble rate than counting bubbles.

Now have in mind that this cheap reactor will REALLY improve the CO2 solubilization. You will have to decrease the bubble rate about 50% from what you used to have. Otherwise your fish will suffocate in no time.

If you leave the reactor on 24/7 make sure that floating debries don't accumulate on the intake strainer. They will reduce the water flow and your CO2 will fluctuate. Just make sure that the pump strainer is always clean.

--Nikolay
 
#227 ·
The CO2 comes from a pressurized bottle. The bottle has a regulator installed that reduces the very high pressure to a usable low pressure. A small "needle valve" is used to regulate the CO2 flow going into the super-duper-ultra-imperial-panda-Chinese reactor.

--Nikolay
 
#229 ·
Zoo,

I'm not sure how the suction of the small pump can create a vacuum that will suck the air out of your plastic soda bottle. Maybe you made the yeast mixture and it was hot and while cooling off it created the vacuum?

--Nikolay
 
#233 ·
Ok!

I've checked how many people have read this thread as of today December 04, 2009. It's about 60,000.

That doesn't make me happy. The count needs to be at least 100 0000. So here's my rant:

No doubt this thread is the ultra-greatest thread of all times. Everybody should get a whiff of what this thread is about. Between the lines it shows the state of the planted aquarium hobby as it has been since at least 2002. Namely how stingy, tight, and unwilling to spend money we all are on things that make our hobby grow. I made fun of that all over this thread. If this was an $50 project very few of us would even read the thread. Most of us would go with ridiculous external reactors made of PVC pipe because they cost next to nothing. Or choose an elegant, inefficient, and hard to maintain Chinese glass diffuser because it costs $10 on ebay.

Of course there are hobyists that simply can't afford much. I'm not critizing them. I'm ridiculing the rest of us that would blow $50 on unhealthy food, video games and what not, but act stupid when buying something for their planted tank. Me included.

So! Why am posting the above? Because a 60K reader's count makes this thread a soap box on which you can stand and shout things. My reason to shout is simple to understand - look at the reef tank community. It's full of people that know little, talk too much, and spend a lot. That has assured the immense progress of their hobby. In the planted tank hobby we don't need to spend a lot. Nor do we need to talk to much and neglect our tanks. But we need to understand how our attitude can change things. Oh this sounds so wise!

In 2005 you could not buy a rimless tank. ADG bravely changed that. Before 2009 (Orlando from GLA) you could only buy a rimless ADA tank and everybody considered cheaper and ugly alternatives to ADG. Today we have a choice. We have it because we have gotten wiser about the cheap alternatives and are willing to spend more for the right product.

Let that trend continue. Make and use my $10 super-duper-panda-buffet internal reactor. But don't let that stop you from considering quality products IF they are available.

I urge you to look at your planted tank expenses considering the wellbeing of the hobby.

And as usual to keep this confusing - I'm trying the $10 reactor on a 180 gallon tank. I'll post if it actually works well.

--Nikolay
 
#237 ·
okay, i have set this up, now for 2 weeks. have changed diy bottle twice(once per week). and still co2 is only 12ppm(ph7.4,kh-10). while out of tap it is 8ppm(ph7.6-kh-10). i have no surface agiation, and can hear whoosh whoosh sound about every 2 sec. my mixture is 1cup sugar,tank water,1/2 tsp yeast (feischmann's rapidrise). WHYYY?
 
#238 ·
Sukhkawal,

Surface agitation REALLY makes things move. I have the exact same issue in the 180 gal. tank where I just put this same reactor. Surface agitation allows for gas exchange (all sorts of gasses) and in the past I've seen big changes after providing good surface agitation. So fix that issue first.

1 bubble every 2 seconds maybe too little for your size tank. Also the DIY yeast method shouild be able to produce more CO2 than that. Unless your room temperature is below 65 I don't see a reason for the slow CO2 production.

Do you have light over the tank? What about plants? :)

Lastly - forget the stupid water tests. They are always wrong. Sometimes WAY wrong. You can calibrate them (search APC for that), but testing the water is a way to just get a general idea what's what. Never a precise number. You can see trends but that's about it.

--Nikolay
 
#239 ·
I had 4 bottles on my 75 gallon with that reactor and I had great CO2 production. I Also used almost 2 cups of sugar to 1/2 tsp yeast in warm declorinated tap water. I changed one bottle each week and rotated them out, but even the 4 week old bottles were still producing yeast. When I switched my big tank to pressurized, I moved the DIY to a 39 gallon, only the 3 newer bottles, and I still had some CO2 a month later coming out. You may need to look at how many bottles you have, the recipe you're using, and I agree with Niko, forget the tests. You should be able to watch your CO2 with this reactor entering your water as tiny bubbles and follow them circling around your tank, depending on the placement of the mini-filter.
 
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