DIY inline reactor finally built

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NigelK8485

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So I finally built my inline reactor to run on my fx5. I went with a kind of unorthodox design so I didn't have to worry about fixing it to my stand in a vertical position and would be able to stand it up on the end cap. I'm aware I'll lose a little flow but I have quite a bit of filtration on the tank and hope that the extra turbulence from going down the main pvc tube and out of the wye tube will help dissolve the co2 even more. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1427067697.049436.jpg

I was thinking about adding something inside to create more turbulence, I know people use bioballs or plastic pot scrubbers. I was at Home Depot though and they had one of those propane fire pits on display with lava rocks...so I started filling my pockets with them thinking that maybe I could get by with throwing them into the reactor rather than having to find a dollar store for the pot scrubbers. Any thoughts?


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"...so I started filling my pockets with them..." lol
I suppose you could try that and remove them if it does not work out. #1. I was wondering with your design...is there a connector that can unscrew so you can open it up for maintenance? It looks like everything will be cemented.
#2. Where will the CO2 be injected?


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I know someone who used lava rock from a pit and their ph shot way up, past 8 if I remember right. Some non aquatic types leach.
 
"...so I started filling my pockets with them..." lol
I suppose you could try that and remove them if it does not work out. #1. I was wondering with your design...is there a connector that can unscrew so you can open it up for maintenance? It looks like everything will be cemented.
#2. Where will the CO2 be injected?


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I wasn't going to cement the bottom end cap, it's a tight fit on the pipe and with having the whole thing standing up on the end cap I think I should be good as far as any risk of leaks. The barbs at the top and end of the wye pipe both unscrew, but that only gives me a 1" diameter to work through whereas removing the end cap would give me 3" direct access. I may look into a piece that I could unscrew and attach to the end.

Water will flow into the top and out at the curved piece, CO2 will be injected towards the top, right after the 2" to 3" adapter. Drilled a hole and put a brass barb in the 3" pvc that is curing right now.





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I know someone who used lava rock from a pit and their ph shot way up, past 8 if I remember right. Some non aquatic types leach.


Ah great to know. Everything I have read is that lava rock is completely inert, I'll throw some in a spare tank and see if there is any effect.


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I wasn't going to cement the bottom end cap, it's a tight fit on the pipe and with having the whole thing standing up on the end cap I think I should be good as far as any risk of leaks. The barbs at the top and end of the wye pipe both unscrew, but that only gives me a 1" diameter to work through whereas removing the end cap would give me 3" direct access. I may look into a piece that I could unscrew and attach to the end.

Water will flow into the top and out at the curved piece, CO2 will be injected towards the top, right after the 2" to 3" adapter. Drilled a hole and put a brass barb in the 3" pvc that is curing right now.

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I don't trust the pressure fitting.
You could get a male and female adapters as seen here:
zk4Oe4m.png
I would remove the existing cap, cement the slip side of the female adaptor where the cap was, and cement the cap to a short section of pvc tubing which will be cemented to the slip side of the male adaptor.
Thanks for describing the injection port.


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Okay...I was feeling confident when I was answering your questions. I even thought to myself "****, I sound good and like I know what I'm talking about." Then you had to respond and ruin that. So here's a sketch, how would you do it?

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1427087767.540521.jpg


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Your design looks good.
I would simply attach the slip (non threaded) side of the female adaptor to the 3" PVC pipe at the bottom of your sketch. Take another small piece of 3" PVC pipe and attach that to the slip side of the male adaptor and add the end cap to the other end of the PVC pipe. Then screw the two adapters together.
*** OR ***
Attach the female adaptor as described above. Instead of the male adaptor + PVC tube + end cap, you could get a PVC cleanup plug (I think that is what it's called) which is the small piece on the right:
17O3CSR.png
Just screw the plug into the threaded end of the female adaptor. The end has flat sides in case you want to tighten it further with a wrench, although that might not be necessary.



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Wow that's brilliant. Just checked and Plumber's Supply near me has both the female adapter and the threaded plug. I'll be running by there tomorrow, thanks a ton man.


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Wow that's brilliant. Just checked and Plumber's Supply near me has both the female adapter and the threaded plug. I'll be running by there tomorrow, thanks a ton man.


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I'll stick around past the testing phase because I want to see how this design works for you. One thing I would do, if possible, is to use clear PVC tubing. Anything to see the bubbles dance in the counter flow. But it's not necessary. Clear PVC is quite costly.


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I'll stick around past the testing phase because I want to see how this design works for you. One thing I would do, if possible, is to use clear PVC tubing. Anything to see the bubbles dance in the counter flow. But it's not necessary. Clear PVC is quite costly.


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Right, I looked for clear pvc but the only thing I could find for this size was over $100 plus shipping. I got the design from someone else who uses it with his Filstar canister, apparently it works well for him. I've made mine longer to account for the increased flow rate. Hopefully I'll have it hooked up by tomorrow night or Wednesday.


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Are you using pressurized co2 or diy? Want to my own online reactor to dissolve more co2.

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I don't see why it would not work with DIY. Reactors are very efficient and do not require a high bubble count.


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On those 90* bends are they barbed or how do you hold the filter tube on?

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Here it is, new and improved. Bought the threaded adapter and threaded plug this morning.

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1427206504.303514.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1427206515.733085.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1427206526.853902.jpg


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Finally installed it. Word of advice, don't be lazy like I was and use a wrench to tighten every threaded piece all the way. As soon as I started it up I noticed a drop per second leak from one of the barbs. I just shut it off and didn't want to mess with it. This morning I took it all apart, undid all the threaded pieces, re-Teflon taped them, and used a wrench to screw them down all the way. Turned it all on and no more leak! After turning it on I noticed all these bubbles shooting out of my spraybar and I thought "what the f" until I realized it's just trapped air that was in the actual reactor. Now everything has settled down and I'm just waiting on the drop checker to give me the green light.


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So gas comes in the bottom?

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