Red Sea Reactor 500 question

[Yoemen]

I have seen these on a number of sites, saying they are good for aquariums up to 125 gallons, but I am getting confused the more I read, are these for pressurized systems only, or are they a fancied up all in one DIY system, or are they just a fancy diffuser?

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, but I have been trying to figure out how this thing and the AquaMedic 1000 work.

thanks.

[phanmc]

You can say it's a fancy diffuser. A reactor (not to be confused with a reaction chamber in the DIY yeast method) is basically a container with a line for incoming CO2 and a pump attached. The CO2 bubbles gets pumped into the container and is mixed with water via the pump so the water will absorb the CO2 better without it being able to escape to the surface. Reactors can be used with both DIY and pressurized and are generally more effective than most passive diffusers.

[Yoemen]

thats funny, I haven't seen one, but have been told you don't need an external reactor chamber with one of these?????

[BowMaster]

If you are using yeast, then yes you DO need an external reactor. This just takes straight CO2 and dissolves it into the water. Works great, I use it with my pressurized CO2 system on my 72g. I highly recommend it.

Lyle