Dual Venture co2 reactor

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fastlight81

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May 22, 2010
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http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/3444-Dual-venturi-DIY-External-CO2-reactor
No bio balls used
Made this. Running with a rio 600. It works great and the way it is supposed to. Plants really arent pearling as expected, then again I am sure they are still recovering from being trimmed then spending 3 days in the mail.
That being said, I hate seeing all the bubbles in my tank. :crazy: Looks ugly and unnatural IMO
What are possible solutions? I had the co2 running into my cannister filter where occasionally it would burb out bubbles, but I worry about drying out orings in the filter. But i would say 98% dissolution. (just throwing that out there)
I thought maybe placing a prefilter sponge in the reactor towards the bottom exit of the reactor. I figure the bubbles will collect longer contact time. My fear is saturation of the sponge then I just get big bubbles out in the tank anyways.
Or just connect the reactor to my cannister filter intake. but then I loose the dual venturi and still take the risk of drying out my orings.
Suggestions? Mr Barr? :bowing: Anyone?
 
slow the pump, lengthen the reactor, add bio balls, a second reactor in line...
 
it is a rio 600. like 130 gph with a 2ft head pressure...it doesnt get much slower. Hmm second reactor. I kinda like this thought.Longer contact time. I dont have bio balls extra. but i do have prefilter sponges and imo itll do the same thing as the bio balls.
time to draw something up.
 
:iagree: oops, with Dunda's post...

Why not put a piece of filter sponge cut in a round to fit, in the end? I thought the whole point if reactors was (aside from maximum dissolution) no bubbles in the tank? I saw many on YouTube that had sponges added to allow water flow but prevent bubbles escaping. What's your bps?
 
This is a dual venturi reactor. not your typical reactor. I think I am realizing this now, not when I built it that it is supposed to allow a lot of tiny bubbles. Unless my diy co2 reactor with about 1-2 bps (fishycat) is not building up enough co2 to allow what is supposed to go on in this reactor. And thats what I mean with the sponge thats why I want to add sponge.

What are your thoughts on this dual reactor I just drew up. I fear my rio 600 wont have enough pressure to push the water through second reactor.

co2 dual reactor.jpg
 
Oh btw the rio pump is in the tank. The reactors are outside of the tank. The one co2 airline with the black spray paint is a valve to release co2 buildup to prevent airlock....
 
You are right that the venturi loop system is designed to release a mist of bubbles into the tank every so often. As the bubbles dissolve, they get smaller and smaller until their mass is no longer adequate to fight the current (ie... flow up against the current in the reactor). At that stage, they just flow with the current out into the tank. I thnk the only way around this is to increase the time the bubbles contact the water.
 
i would assume that sponges cut ~the size of bio-balls would act similar to bio-balls once inserted into the reactor and would clog less than a single piece of sponge over the outtake. also... if you can i would do my best to keep any single sponge you use from contacting the end of your cylinder as that would limit your flow more since all the water would be forced through the holes you made for your hose barbs as opposed to using the entire circumference of the pvc pipe. in essence it would clog much faster if your sponge reaches the tiny hole in the end that your hose connects to.

if your pump and your return are both in the tank you have no head height therefore the only flow you'll be losing is in corners, bends and changes in diameter/connections/etc..

if you decide to go with 2 reactors i'd suggest the flow on both reactors go downwards if at all possible.
 
epiphany... your second reactor can be in-tank and diffuse directly into the substrate to keep the bubbles down.
 
jbrat...thanks for the input, I was correct in my thinking. And I agree contact time is essential.
dundadudun... I like the sponge cut into bio ball size, it makes sense, but dont I want the water to slow down? Longer contact time. Also I have panty hose wrapped over the entire rio pump ( ha theres a funny story. try asking your dads new wife for old pantyhose with a straight face!) so i wouldnt see it getting clogged to quickly. (the prefilter sponge is pretty coarse). But this brings up a good point. when I cut this reactor open I think I am going to use threaded fitting to put it back together or use a y coupling for a cleanout....
finally, yes I could use the second reactor into the substrate, but I hate in tank clutter! I already have a hard enough time just putting that rio pump in there...
 
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