co2 w/pump & reactor or co2 straght in filter? - Aquarium Advice

jubei · 09-04-2003, 01:24 AM

hello again,

I was wondering what was better/more effective way of diffusing co2 into my tank? Right now I'm using a small rio pump and a reactor, thats been working for the past year but I 've been reading about putting the co2 hose right into my filters intake. Now my main questions are if I am to put co2 into my filter how is this going to effect my bacterial colonies? and will the filter do a better jod @ diffusing the co2 into the water then what I'm doing now? The filter I'm using is an Eheim 2217 cannister.

afFISHionado · 09-04-2003, 09:01 AM

I can say from my experience that running the [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] tube from the generator to the intake tube of my [acronym:585432c858="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:585432c858] filter works extremely well. My water at the time had a poor buffering capacity but usually maintained a pH between 7.0 -8.0. As soon as I hooked up [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] to my aquarium, I used the aforementioned method (I actually drilled a hole on the bottom of the intake tube and inserted it). I monitored my pH carefully, and the next morning, for the first time, my pH was down to 5.5! I slowly brought it up using sodium bicarbonate which also had the effect of increasing the buffering capacity. Fortunately, my fish made it through this ordeal with no problems. Bottom line - this [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] reactor method undoubtably worked for me as the dissolved [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] formed carbonic acid, thus lowering my pH the way it did. As for your question about the effect on bacteria colonies - my nitrogen cycle remains unimpeded even after the addition of this reactor method.

09-04-2003, 09:28 AM

If you think about it the water already contains the [acronym:8f6bcf4a8d="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:8f6bcf4a8d] and the bacteria colony is doing fine. What you might want to do instead is build an external reactor and plumb it in-line with the out flow hose of your filter. This will prevent air locking the filter in case the power goes out for a time while you are not home.

09-04-2003, 01:24 AM	#1
jubei Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Seattle Posts: 25	co2 w/pump & reactor or co2 straght in filter? hello again, I was wondering what was better/more effective way of diffusing co2 into my tank? Right now I'm using a small rio pump and a reactor, thats been working for the past year but I 've been reading about putting the co2 hose right into my filters intake. Now my main questions are if I am to put co2 into my filter how is this going to effect my bacterial colonies? and will the filter do a better jod @ diffusing the co2 into the water then what I'm doing now? The filter I'm using is an Eheim 2217 cannister.

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09-04-2003, 09:01 AM	#2
afFISHionado Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cherry Hill, USA Posts: 79 Images: 2	I can say from my experience that running the [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] tube from the generator to the intake tube of my [acronym:585432c858="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:585432c858] filter works extremely well. My water at the time had a poor buffering capacity but usually maintained a pH between 7.0 -8.0. As soon as I hooked up [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] to my aquarium, I used the aforementioned method (I actually drilled a hole on the bottom of the intake tube and inserted it). I monitored my pH carefully, and the next morning, for the first time, my pH was down to 5.5! I slowly brought it up using sodium bicarbonate which also had the effect of increasing the buffering capacity. Fortunately, my fish made it through this ordeal with no problems. Bottom line - this [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] reactor method undoubtably worked for me as the dissolved [acronym:585432c858="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:585432c858] formed carbonic acid, thus lowering my pH the way it did. As for your question about the effect on bacteria colonies - my nitrogen cycle remains unimpeded even after the addition of this reactor method.

09-04-2003, 09:28 AM	#3
Guest Posts: n/a	If you think about it the water already contains the [acronym:8f6bcf4a8d="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:8f6bcf4a8d] and the bacteria colony is doing fine. What you might want to do instead is build an external reactor and plumb it in-line with the out flow hose of your filter. This will prevent air locking the filter in case the power goes out for a time while you are not home.