best way to diffuse co2 in a 125 gallon?

[875mill]

Title says it all. I had planned on build my own inline reactor but not quite sure if one would be enough.

 

[Purrbox]

I would build a standard 2" DIY Inline CO2 Reactor, possibly make it a little longer than normal. Should work just fine.

 

[evercl92]

I have the end of the tubing from my CO2 tank just under a powerhead on the side of my tank. The bubbles get sucked into the powerhead, broken up, and launched across the tank. Seems to be working pretty well, I get pearling daily.

 

[wobbles]

PVC inline reactor. The best thing you will ever add to a planted tank. 100% diffusion, and costs around $20.

 

[875mill]

So just 1 reactor should be plenty for a 125 gallon?

 

[mr funktastic]

yep just make sure it is a decent length. if u make it to short then it wont diffuse totally. it doesnt matter how large the tank is, the co2 will still get dissolved the same.

 

[src]

Another point to consider is the output end of the equation. I have an inline diffuser on my 120, and I don't believe that the CO2 is staying in the water as long as I would like. I have a real hard time getting the CO2 to stay over 30 ppm, no matter what my bubble rate. Right now, I have the spraybar output under the water, aimed slightly down. This gives me some surface agitation, but not a whole lot.

I'm going to be tearing down the tank to deal with some serious BBA issues that have been plaguing me. I am trying to figure out the best way to handle the output. I'm thinking of running the spraybar vertically in the tank, instead of horizontally. Worst case, I will play with several configurations and see what the results are.

BTW, the plants are going absolutely nuts - growing and pearling like crazy. The tank looks absolutely gorgeous (to me), except for the BBA. I stopped fertilizing a couple weeks ago - every time I added ferts, the algae took off - no matter what I did. Most of the algae is under control right now, except for BBA. It's not growing "big", but it is sprouting up all over the place.

I know I'm going to end up cutting out a lot of plants, but with the algae issues I don't think I'll be offering this batch to the group. I don't think I would be doing anyone any favors by giving this stuff away.

EDIT: Sorry, went off on a tangent there. Use an inline diffuser, but make sure that the output has enough time to transfer the CO2 to the rest of the tank, instead of outgassing immediately as mine seems to do.

 

[maxwell1295]

Stuffing some potscrubbers inside the PVC will help create smaller bubbles and probably increase dispersion. I think that's a lot better than just having the CO2 bubbling directly into the reactor with nothing to break the bubbles down. A spraybar alone won't do it as effectively. The only problem with that is the reactor has to be placed in the filter output line so the reactor doesn't get clogged. Placing the reactor in the suction side of the canister supposedly works well too. The impeller does an even better job of chopping the bubbles up into a fine mist.

 

[mr funktastic]

most people fill the reactor with bioballs. this is what breaks it up and shootst it into the tank. placing it in the input works alot better since any missed bubbles get chewed up by the impeller. i put my co2 intake directly into my PH for my diffusion method. works really well for me. use as many bioballs as u can possibly fit into the reactore so the bubbles really get chopped up before entering the tank.

 

[supermazz9]

wouldn't sending the bubbles through the impeller cause cavitation? I may be wrong about that, but if so, that would cause some pretty dramatic shortage to the lifespan of the impeller. If anyone know more about this I would be very interested.

 

[mr funktastic]

feeding the bubble directly into the impellar does do minimal damage to it. but it is only air and the impellar is able to break it up very easily. the only major damage that can occur is if u casue airlock in it. this would burn the motor. i have fed my co2 directly into my filter and my PH for over a year with no signs of damage once so ever. i even fed co2 into an impellar that i had previously dropped and broke off a fin and the filter still runs fine. the fins chop the bubble up extreamly well and disperse the co2 into the tank in thousands of tiny bubbles which then stick to the plants. this method always promotes pearling for me.

 

[Purrbox]

CO2 is hard on plastics and will cause you to need to replace your impeller sooner when the filter is used to diffuse the CO2. If it's being diffused by a CO2 reactor and then fed into a filter to break up any extra bubbles that escape, the damage to the filter will be significantly minimized. Some brands/models of filter are prone to airlock as should not be used for CO2 diffusion.