powered or passive reactor and bulbs

[muddlehead]

my new tank which i just got up and running is a standard 55 gal, i have eco substrate and i plan on going with a pressurized co2 system with 260 watts of light, im trying to keep cost down so should i get a powered reactor or would a passive reactor do?? i know the powered one would be more effecient but do i really need it?? and the fixture im going to get has four pc bulbs and i heard that the 6500 bulbs have a funny tint to them but i also know that they are the most effective for growing plants, so should i get 4 6500 bulbs or 2 6500 and 2 10k, im thinking 4 6500 but ive never really seen what tint they have and i know people have gone with the 50/50 approach because they like the color more, i plan on moderate to heavy planting with high to med light plants, thanks in advance

 

[BlazerFRS]

On a tank that large, I'd go powered for sure.

You can make a powered reactor for under $30... All's you really need is a power head and a clear container of some kind.
Check this out:

http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11

and

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

The second one deals more w/ DIY CO2, but has a nice powered reactor design with all parts called out near the bottom.

I built a weak version of these with a gatorade bottle, some filter floss, an air stone, and a cheap little internal filter, all stuff I had laying around. Works well for the parts I put into it.

The most important part of these is the PH... for a 55 get something decently powerful. The more h20 you can push throught that CO2 the higher your co2 numbers will be.

 

[muddlehead]

i like the gravel vac tube idea on the second link, now that i think about it there are a whole bunch of ways to build a reactor

 

[BlazerFRS]

Yup there's nothing mystical about it; bring water to the CO2 bubbles, and keep the CO2 from escaping before it dissolves....