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Simple DIY CO2 Reactor, no drilling!

3335 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Adam, 
S
bad picture, and old picture (i use compressed co2 now), but here's my c02 reactor.

I've read articles about making a c02 reactor, but I didn't want to bother with drilling holes cause i was afraid of leaks. I just use pvc tubing and reducers from home depot. THere are of course bio balls inside. And i can unscrew the the top section so that i can take out the balls and clean it once every couple of months.

parts top down in layman are:
-1/2 inch threaded hose connector
-pvc reducer
-threaded pvc tubing that u can twist open
-y connector pvc tubing
-reducer and brass hose connector for co2 tube
-regular pvc tubing
-pvc reducer
--1/2 inch threaded L-shaped hose connector

Secured all screwed in connections with teflon tape and Glued all other connections with pvc glue.

I don't know why more people don't do it this way. No drilling, no leaks, and easy maintenance (cause u can open it). Maybe it costs a bit more though. But still cheaper than the name brands.

Byron

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G
I'm not sure what the difference is here to the other external reactors I've seen around but in general you can even simplify it further. All you need is for the tube to get bigger so that the boyancy of the CO2 bubbles are able to fight against the downward flow of the water until they are very small or completely dissolved. You can do this in a number of ways and the CO2 can even be fed directly into the intake strainer in your tank, once it reaches the enlargement and slower water flow it will work just the same as if when fed into the reactor itself.

I like the idea of using threaded fittings on one side so you can access the inside of the reactor.

Giancarlo Podio
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S
>can do this in a number of ways and the CO2 can even be fed directly >into the intake strainer in your tank,

I don't like having the co2 tube in my tank... i try to minimize having equipment in my tank.. I only have the intake and outlet pipes, that's all, and they annoy me to no end.

But ur probably right that having thicker tubes would result in better co2 dispersion, and would do away with the need of a reactor. I know that right now with my 1/2 inch tubes for my 2213 eheim, just feeding c02 in the intake would not result in 100% absoprtion, but thinker tubes would do the trick if one wanted to pursue that avenue.
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confused

im trying to build a co2 system, and im thinking of modeling it after yours, do you have a pump pushing water DOWN through the reactor and into the sump? or do you have the reactor on the outake and pushing it through the reactor then back into the tank? Forgive my ignorance mayb you dont even have sump but do you understand my question? I need some help.
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How do you do the barb for the CO2 without drilling? Is there a 1/2-3/4" threaded fitting that reduces to 1/8" barb fitting?

Also I dont know if you have fixed this prior to the pic, but dont you notice a huge reduction in flow having your feed line kinked like that? Did you do it on purpose to reduce flow?
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