Looking into CO2 injection...

[asnatlas]

I have not been in the hobby for a few years... I moved into my house about a year ago and I am just not getting around to setting up my 58gal freshwater tank. It’s a reef ready with a sump. Right now I am doing my fishless cycle and I am looking into getting some plants in the next couple of weeks. Along with the plants I have already looked into getting a 10lb CO2 tank, Milwaukee regulator, and pH Controller. I am also looking at getting an AquaMedic 500 - CO2 Reactor. I was wondering if I could place the reactor in the sump. The sump is a 20gal (high) tank with a 350w Pro Heat Titanium Heater in it right now. (I want to keep as much clutter out of the tank as possible). The tank maintains temp with the heater in the sump, and I was wondering if I would get the same effect with the C02 if I place the reactor right in front of the pump that is feeding the tank above...

Thank you for your time
Shawn

 

[savga]

That should work. Realize however that your sump will probably strip most of the CO2 out of the water so that you will be wasting alot of gas to maintain CO2 in the tank. A canister filter is a better choice, but you could probably manage with what you have without much problem.

 

[malkore]

I'd ditch the sump too. and the aqua medic reactor sits outside fo the tank...it hooks into a canister filter's return hose, near where it enters the tank.

 

[travis simonson]

If you're dead set on keeping the sump, you can cover it to prevent as much CO2 loss as possible, although it's still likely to dump a lot of it. However with pressurized CO2 you have the luxury of just cranking up the output to make up for the CO2 that the sump strips. This means that you'll be refilling your CO2 tank more often, but hey, CO2's cheap right

 

[asnatlas]

That should work. Realize however that your sump will probably strip most of the CO2 out of the water so that you will be wasting alot of gas to maintain CO2 in the tank. A canister filter is a better choice, but you could probably manage with what you have without much problem.

I was thinking about getting a canister filter, but I would hate to get rid of my sump. It was not the cheapest... And in the past with it setup, I had great success with it... But then again I was not forcing CO2 into the water...

 

[asnatlas]

I'd ditch the sump too. and the aqua medic reactor sits outside fo the tank...it hooks into a canister filter's return hose, near where it enters the tank.

Thanks for the info, I was thinking that the reactor sat inside the tank. I have not received the unit yet. But with that said I think I have a new idea in mind...

Thank you...

 

[asnatlas]

If you're dead set on keeping the sump, you can cover it to prevent as much CO2 loss as possible, although it's still likely to dump a lot of it. However with pressurized CO2 you have the luxury of just cranking up the output to make up for the CO2 that the sump strips. This means that you'll be refilling your CO2 tank more often, but hey, CO2's cheap right

I am pretty set on keeping my sump, at least for now... The sump is covered, has been since day one. Its a 20gal high with a 2 section flip up lid on it. I do not mind using a little more CO2 as long as I can keep the tank stable...

Thanks for everyones time...
Shawn

 

[Steve Hampton]

Hi Shawn, properly setup a sump will not lose very much CO2. One of the most respected long time planted tank experts did a controlled study on CO2 lost with trickle filters. Here's the link to George Booth's excellent article.

http://users.frii.com/gbooth/AquaticConcepts/Co2/index.htm#loss


And, Chuck Gadd also runs a sump without huge losses of CO2

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/wetdry.htm

 

[asnatlas]

Hi Shawn, properly setup a sump will not lose very much CO2. One of the most respected long time planted tank experts did a controlled study on CO2 lost with trickle filters. Here's the link to George Booth's excellent article.

http://users.frii.com/gbooth/AquaticConcepts/Co2/index.htm#loss


And, Chuck Gadd also runs a sump without huge losses of CO2

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/wetdry.htm

Cool, thank you very much for the links...

Shawn

 

[asnatlas]

I'd ditch the sump too. and the aqua medic reactor sits outside fo the tank...it hooks into a canister filter's return hose, near where it enters the tank.

Are you sure the reactor sits outside ? I found this on aquadirect.com.

"The reactor introduces CO2 into the aquarium. Secured to the inside of the glass, its advanced design offers a very high CO2 diffusion rate and automatically removes any unwanted gases."

http://www.aquadirect.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=190&cat=7&page=1

Shawn

 

[travis simonson]

Shawn - you're correct, the AquaMedic Reactor 500 sits inside the tank and diffuses the CO2 through a spiral, ladder-type diffusion system. I use the AquaMedic Reactor 1000 which is an external-type reactor, so I think that's where the confusion may come from. The fact that your reactor is internal shouldn't cause any problems at all.

 

[malkore]

thanks Travis. I wasn't aware of that difference between the 500 and 1000...I was only familiar with the 1000.

 

[travis simonson]

Same here. I only know because I just looked up the link to the 500

 

[kane2004]

you will get much better CO2 injection if you simply use a power head, or cannister filter to mix the CO2 into the water..and with the Canister Filter there will be nothing in your tank. I hate the bubble ladders and spirals, they look so out of place in a planted tank, and in the end the bubbles end up on top the water anyways.

 

[Fishingdood]

that bubble diffusor is sweet

 

[malkore]

Kane,

Actually the aqua medic reactors are some of the best you can get. I do agree that having a 500 in the tank is unsightly.

Cheapest route is to build an in-line reactor (which is waht the Aquamedic 1000 is) out of PVC and some bio-balls, for about $10, and plumb it into the return of your canister.

Its never a very good idea to plumb your CO2 line directly into the intake of your canister, as it could build up and cause an air lock in the impeller area. If the canister runs too long in an airlocked state, you'll destroy the motor...very uncool, especially if you have an Eheim.