[wonder woman]

This weekend, I'm planning on trying to hook my AquaMedic 1000 co2 reactor to the outlet tubing of my Eheim 2028. Does anyone have any helpful tips in how I should go about this? I've got 2 Eheim 12/16mm to 16/22mm connectors, and I bought some 12/16mm tubing and extra 16/22mm tubing. Is there anything else I'll need? I'm not sure how I'm going to get the water out of the outlet tube so I can cut it in half to add the reactor. Should the reactor be mounted on the back of the tank? Will I need any teflon tape?
I've noticed that there are lots of little openings in the reactor- are any of these places I should worry about/ watch for leaks?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Steve Pituch]

wonder woman,

I see no one has replied. I am wondering how you did. Is the Aquamedic an inline tubular reactor? If so I have a reactor made from 3 inch PVC shown at the bottom of this page:
http://users.ev1.net/~spituch/Steve's Page/Aquarium/hardware/DIY CO2/DIYco2.html
I do have it installed on the outlet side of an Eheim 2217. You will need to take the inlet tube of the Eheim out of the water and then drain the outlet tube in order to get the level of the water down a bit in the filter so you can install the reactor. To restart I think you can just suck on the outlet tube to start the water siphoning in on the inlet side. I have my reactor so that the co2 is injected at the bottom but the water enters from the top. That way the co2 must fight the current as it rises to the top for a greater exposure time in the water. I also have a vent at the top to vent out the accumulated gas once in a while.

I duct taped the reactor to a post at the rear of my tank stand.

Regards,
Steve Pituch

 

[MiamiAG]

Hi,

Sorry I missed this.

I have an AB 1000 reactor and it is A PAIN!!! to connect to the Eheim or any canister for that matter. The water inlet barb on the reactor is sticking straight up so you have to figure out how to make a U turn with the Eheim 16/22 tube that has a tendency to kinck.

The outlet barb is sticking straight down so you need to figure out another U turn up to the liop of the aquarium and then down into the aquarium to the spray bar.

As you can tell, I'm not happy with the way the reactor is designed. Not user friendly at all. The only thing I can think of is buying the half U tubes from Eheim and trying to make that U turn. Not ideal but it should work.

Let us know how it went.

 

[wonder woman]

I really wish I'd heard all this before I bought the AquaMedic. I just assumed that because so many poeple seem to have one that it must be a great product. And installation (theoretically) seemed easy enough.
But it was as far from easy as you can possibly imagine. The 2 u-turns the tubing has to make at either end of the reactor, as well as the required tubing reducers (for 12/16 to 16/22mm) are cumbersome and take up a lot of space in the cabinet. I had a devil of a time trying to get the 12/16mm tubing onto the AquaMedic outlet and inlet barbs (my palms are still raw). The mounting plate has to be hand-modified to screw onto anything flat (I ended up using bungee cord instead). And the worst part is that I'm just finding out that my DIY co2 doesn't have strong enough pressure to get through the tube into the reactor, so it's basically useless. So now, I'm back to the old method (a powered reactor on one side, and a diffusion bell on the other) until i can afford pressurized co2.
Oh, well, maybe others will read this and be better prepared...
Thanks anyways, guys.

 

[Steve Pituch]

wonder woman,

The inlet of the Eheim must be at suction. You should be able to inject the DIY CO2 into the reactor if it is in the inlet side of the filter. Actually Tom Barr just injects the CO2 into the inlet side of the filter without a reactor and it works fine. :wink:

These barbs on the aquamedic. Are they threaded into the reactor? If so, you should be able to remove the barbs and put in a fitting to permit PVC fittings. You can then plumb the U or "L" out of rigid PVC pipe.

Steve Pituch

 

[wonder woman]

Hi Steve-
I actually attached the AquaMedic halfway along the outlet tube of the Eheim. I did this instead of on the inlet tube because I've heard some horror stories of gas buildup in the impeller, causing breakage, and I didn't want to risk that with a filter that cost me $250.
The barbs on the reactor are actually an integral part of the top and bottom (screw-off) lids, so I can't remove them without destroying the reactor. But I can still try what you and others are suggesting: either bend (using hot water/sand) the tubing to create a permanent u-turn, or use rigid tubing to create it.
Thanks!

 

[jake]

After a diy reactor sprang a leak, I bought one of these on a whim. I was a bit perplexed as to how it was set up. . like it was built upside down or something. I screwed it to the wall near the tank far enough away to make for gradual turnings of semi-rigid tubing. That and hose clamps. Why they built it so the top of reactor goes to filter outflow and bottom goes to tank outflow, I wish I knew. :roll:

 

[www.glass-gardens.com]

CO2 rises, you want the water to flow against the natural tendency of the CO2 bubbles to rise