Cleaning CO2 reactor

[haloway]

Hey everyone. Long time reader of the forum...

I just started up a 55 gallon tank and I'm planning on making it into a planted tank. I want to do the CO2 thing, but I have a couple questions before I get going. I tried to find the answers before posting to avoid repeat questions, but I could not find anything. So here goes...

1) Does a reactor need to be cleaned regularly? I've been looking at the various models of DIY reactors people have come up with, and it seems like once everything is cemented in place they can't be opened back up to have a thorough cleaning. It appears that a brush could be slid into the intake and outgoing lines to clear any build up or debris, but the bioballs or other media can't be cleaned occasionally. Is this accurate?

2) Is there a general ratio of generator:gallons one should follow when using the DIY generator. For instance, should one 2 liter bottle be used for every 20 gallons?

3) I don't like putting unnatural looking things in the tank itself ie- hoses, return lines yadi yadi. Is it okay to put the feed hoses from an air pump into the CO2 reactor? Would this cause some bubbling at the spray bar return from my filter? Should I just bypass the whole air pump thing if I'm making it into a planted tank because of the plants giving off O2?

I apologize if there has already been threads on it.

Information about the tank:

50 gallon
100 lbs of eco-complete
xp3 filstar canister filter
Hydor eth 300 watt
Coralife PC 2 X 96 (1 x 10,000k, 1 x Actinic)

I can't give the water parameters yet, I need to still get a test kit (hopefully going to buy today). The tank is on the second day of the cycle and I still need to find a background

Thanks in advance

Kevin

 

[neilanh]

1) It's a good idea to clean them at some point. If not, they'll collect debris and start to get clogged and slow up your flow. In my inline reactors, I just hook it up to a water spigot outside and run the flow at full pressure in the reverse direction it's hooked up on the tank.

2) The more gallons, the more bottles of CO2 you'll need. For a 50g tank, I highly recommend the investment in a pressurize system, it's much more consistent and easier to maintain. DIY for that size tank is difficult, and if not done properly can cause you algae issues with the amount of lighting you have.

3) If you're running CO2, you do not want an airpump anywhere in the system. The offgassing caused by the airpump will disperse all of your CO2, then it's no longer doing anything for your plants. Most of us use tall stem plants to hide the things we have to have in the tank.

 

[Purrbox]

Neilanh has already covered the main questions very well. I just wanted to add that while the initial expensive of a pressurized CO2 setup is higher, over time it will be less expensive that DIY CO2 especially on a larger aquarium like yours.

The general rule of thumb is one 2 Liter bottle for every 10 gallons to be able to achieve 30ppm of CO2. This does vary somewhat depending on factors like how efficient your CO2 disbursement is and the mix that you're using. With a 55 gallon aquarium you'd be looking at five to six 2 Liter bottles or three 1 Gallon bottles.

 

[haloway]

thanks for the quick replies...

I'll definitely nix the air pump idea then. 5 2-liter bottles sounds a bit too extreme for the DIY route. I'll have to look into a pressurized system. I just got out of college with my Master's after 5 years at a private school, so money is starting to role in but it seems to be rolling out 2 times as fast - haha. Hopefully I'll be able to find a nice system for a decent price.

Again, thanks...

Kev

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

here is a nice option to keep in mind
Tiny super efficient CO2 reactor - Page 2 - Do It Yourself Aquarium Projects - Aquatic Plant Central