Ok, heres an Idea I have on Dissolving CO2 fully. Now you do the responces...

M

Mantis_22

Blue Dreams Webmaster
Mar 24, 2003
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Ok We all have heard of the Hagen Nutrafin CO2 Kit System for sale online. Especially me with all the research I have been studying before I get the kit on monday which will be going in my first ever planted tank. I have heard left and right of people saying the reactor given in the Kit package by Hagen sometimes does not dissolve the Co2 bubbles 100%. Sometimes leaving the reactor and just floating to the surface being wasted. Which I also understand that could just be oxygen also and not Co2. My idea I have is to use both the Hagen reactor and also use a Bell Reactor. How it would be setup is by keeping the exit of the hagen reactor right under the reactor bell (About 2"). Which if CO2 did not fully dissolve into the water by the time it hit the reactors exit it still would not be wasted because it would fully dissolve sooner or later as a small bubble under the bell. Is this a good idea or am I just thinking a little too much :D. Also what could I use as a bell? A small plastic cup with a drillerd hole to have a pump hose run in to keep water flowing in contact with the CO2? or what?
 
i think it would be easier to put the "output" of the hagen reactor right below the intake of your filter instead. because i've tried bells before.

according to my own experience, it's hard to disolve co2 esspecially when it's clumped up in a big bubble in the bell. it's way better if it breaks up, gets pushed through all that filter media, and comes out as micro bubbles.

plus, i like to make my aquarium look natural. and having a bell and reactor + heaters + intake/output tubes + air line + suction cups etc. makes aquariums look like labs IMO.

so in the end, i recommend reactor under filter intake.

hth
 
but see its not for the bell to collect large amounts of bubbles like the reactor is supposed to take care of. It just gets the excess that wasent broekn down fully in the hagen reactor you know? Its just the be as a backup reserve...
 
yah i see. but it's very hard to allow co2 to dissolve without any movement of it. i saw one of those hagen setups in the stores, it seems that the bubble goes up the ramp and just stops at one point. i didnt see any bubble pop out of the reactor. there were only like 2 or 3 bubbles lined up together.

if i were you, i would try out the hagen reactor, if it doesnt dissolve, then add the bell. just try it out : )
 
Hmm thats odd, ive heard from people online that co2 bubbles exit by a ending ramp. I also udnerstand that CO2 does not dissolve without water movement. Thats Why I said in my first post I would drill a hole in the plastic cup (Bell) and run a pump to shoot water slowly into it so the CO2 can dissolve and not just sit there :)
 
A bell which collects little or no CO2 bubbles with a soft current running into it to me works better than a mechanical dissolving method. Also, I use the bell method as I said above in my aquatic plant greenhouse in my basement and I can see the results just by looking at the new stems coming off of my baby tears plant.. :)
 
Trust me, you aren't going to get complete CO2 absorption into your water using a passive reactor. For there to be a decent amount of CO2 in the water, the bubbles have to be coming out pretty steady. I have this system running on my 20 gallon. These things are meant for up to 20 gallon setups, but I personally use two separate systems and have gotten rid of the passive reactors altogether and used a powerhead/active reactor setup. If you plan to run a pump through some kind of bell reactor, why not just upgrade fully to an active reactor (Pump of some kind, gravel vac tube, sponge in bottom). I also add some plastic items to further dispurse water at the top of the gravel vac tube. It then is broken up very efficiently before exiting the bottom of the whole setup. My whole setup including the Powerhead is about 12" tall and 6" wide at the widest part (most is only about 2" wide though).

I use the powerhead in a sideways position, added a small prefilter and have the output facing straight down into the gravel vac tube. I use the AC 402 powerhead (you can go smaller if you like). I have two Nutrafin DIY canisters hanging on the back with a "T-valve" merging them into one tube. Then I have a check valve and the rest of the tube leads strait into the "venturi" intake that is used for air tubes. I use my own recipe for the yeist brew and alternate changing them every week (each canister lasts two weeks). I have excellent CO2 levels now that reach up to about 35ppm at night and stay about 25ppm during the day. Pearling is common. Plant growth has been very responsive since I changed to a canister filter (less surface agitation) and have been using the active reactor. Before I could not get over 16ppm with two systems running!!!:confused:
 
i still do not understand how to make a powerhead reactor. Ive seen diagram but I just dont get how they run. Thats maybe why im so mechanical protestive lol. Can someone help me out with links? At walmart they have those aquatech powerheads with the gravel tube already installed on it.
 
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