CO2 reactor in line with eheim canister

S

sardesign

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Sep 28, 2005
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Phoenix, AZ
Can anyone give me any advice on where I should install the CO2 line relative to alignment of the CO2 reactor? I imagine I would want to install the line at the very top so that:

the CO2 can float to the top of the reactor
the turbulence will break the bubbles up
the CO2 will mix with water that returns to the canister
the CO2 gets further mixed in the canister before returning to the tank

are my assumptions incorrect?

aquarium diagram.JPG
 
Let me start by saying that I use an Eheim Pro II on my co2 added tank. I do not use a reactor, instead I push the gas through the Egeim and right into the tank. This has worked for me for over 5 years now.

If I did have a reactor I would have placed it after the filter on the return line. If the reactor is doing its job properly it should be causing the co2 to be disolved in the water which means running it through the filter should be redundant.
 
Here's how I did it

I set this up before I had a power reactor. Now I have a red sea 500 reactor, so i just plug and play.

The question is are you using the flow from the filter to dissolve the co2, or are you just looking for a way to bring the already dissolved co2 into the tank?

If you just want the already dissolved co2 moved in, then it doesn't matter.

If not, then put the co2 where it will be in contact with the turbulence for the longest period of time.

Co2.jpg
 
Yea I have something similar to that, but I'd say to flip the reactor over basically so the return line is on the bottom, and put the co2 injection into the canister either halfway up, or a little closer to the bottom. This way the bubbles rise and the turbulence of the flow dissolves them and brings the dissolved co2 right to the tank. This works for me, the only problems is there's a little trickling noise if there's too much co2 building up in the reactor, but it dissolves it just the same.
 
rrogan said:
Yea I have something similar to that, but I'd say to flip the reactor over basically so the return line is on the bottom, and put the co2 injection into the canister either halfway up, or a little closer to the bottom. This way the bubbles rise and the turbulence of the flow dissolves them and brings the dissolved co2 right to the tank. This works for me, the only problems is there's a little trickling noise if there's too much co2 building up in the reactor, but it dissolves it just the same.
Click to expand...

So you think if I basically swap the lines on the reactor and place the co2 injection line near the bottom it should work well? What I was imagining was that the co2 bubbles would rise up against the flow of water so there would be more time for the co2 to dissolve in the reactor and most of the co2 would not escape the line because the lines for the reactor are coming in from the side. If my logic is flawed then I will flip the reactor lines to achieve what you mention.
 
BrooklynAngel said:
I set this up before I had a power reactor. Now I have a red sea 500 reactor, so i just plug and play.

The question is are you using the flow from the filter to dissolve the co2, or are you just looking for a way to bring the already dissolved co2 into the tank?

If you just want the already dissolved co2 moved in, then it doesn't matter.

If not, then put the co2 where it will be in contact with the turbulence for the longest period of time.
Click to expand...

The latter, I don't want more equipment in the tank [already have two heaters + supply line + return line + powerhead]. I want a way to dissolve co2 so it is not seen but done effectively so I'm not just spinning my wheels. I thought that if I set up my reactor in this way, the co2 would rise in the reactor, through the bio balls, against the flow of water, and dissolve quickly. Is my logic flawed?
 
TwoTankAmin said:
Let me start by saying that I use an Eheim Pro II on my co2 added tank. I do not use a reactor, instead I push the gas through the Egeim and right into the tank. This has worked for me for over 5 years now.

If I did have a reactor I would have placed it after the filter on the return line. If the reactor is doing its job properly it should be causing the co2 to be disolved in the water which means running it through the filter should be redundant.
Click to expand...

I am trying to be redundant so I'm not just wasting a bunch of co2. reactors in the past have failed me because I didn't completely understand the concept. I understand the ideas and sort of the physics behind some of this, but instead of cutting up another one of my water lines and have it not work 100%, i'd rather ask everyone's opinion.
 
Ok, look at my schematic. the water comes in to the reactor from the top. the co2 from the bottom. They mix in the reactor and the co2 stays in there, bubbling up against the current. This maximizes the exposure of the co2 to the water. then the co2 rich water comes out the bottom and into the tank. this is the best way. If you just let the co2 go with the flow, you waste much of it. You need a good strong flow into the reactor of you will get a build up of gases in there that cut the amount of usable space in the reactor down. If I did not explain this well enough, send me a PM and ill try better.
 
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