co2 reactor

[volvolater]

Are you using any kind of reactor. I downloaded one from this site some time ago and have it built but not hooked up yet. I was thinking instead of putting it in line with the canister filter i would hook it up to a small power head. Do you know if this will work.

 

[An t-iasg]

If you're posting a link from a website, I don't see it.

I have my CO2 line connected to a limewood airstone. The airstone is at the bottom of the tank. Above the airstone, I have a small powerhead that pulls the CO2 bubbles into it and then ejects smaller bubbles as the CO2 bubbles are chopped up by the impeller, and spread throughout the tank by the action of the powerhead. You could get the same result by connecting the CO2 line, if you can, right into the powerhead so that the impeller chops up the bubbles and sends them all over the tank.

 

[volvolater]

Thanks I may give that a try

 

[An t-iasg]

My powerhead is so small that it's probably only considered a water pump. There is no way to connect the CO2 tubing to it, so I use the airstone. If you can get your CO2 line into the powerhead, it would be the same as connecting it to the canister filter. The end result would be chopped-up bubbles being sent throughout the tank. This is a great way to get your CO2 into the tank.

 

[Purrbox]

Yes you can run an inline CO2 reactor powered by a water pump. That's how I had mine set up and it worked quite well.

 

[volvolater]

I was under the understanding that the longer the co2 was in the water the more that it would dissolve into it. If you place the co2 line next to or connected to the power head does the co2 stay in the water long enough to dissolve. Also what PH do you have on your tanks when you use co2. Mine is at 6.6.

 

[fort384]

My pH seems to hang right around 6.6 as well while dosing about 30-50 ppm CO2

 

[czcz]

I was under the understanding that the longer the co2 was in the water the more that it would dissolve into it. If you place the co2 line next to or connected to the power head does the co2 stay in the water long enough to dissolve.

I am not sure how in vogue it is anymore, but around spring/summer of 2006 the rage was CO2 mist. (This was another Plantbrain/T. Barr concept many folks tried on their tanks for experimentation.) While we of course want dissolved CO2 at our target ppm, the idea with CO2 mist was to circulate undissolved CO2 to our plants, where each sphere/bubble/"piece of mist" would have the opportunity to dissolve closer to the target plants.

The problem is mist tends to make the tank look turbid/cloduy, just as a high pearling/streaming tank will, but of course the powerhead to target mist makes it less natural. Some folks claimed that the great growth others saw was really gas saturation near the plant, and the same could be acheived simply with good current and plenty of dissolved CO2. Other folks thought all mist does is make better fake pearling (like after a water change) pictures. But yet others found some of their previous problem plants suddenly grew well in mist, while also finding node density on their stems (the amount of space between leaf nodes) increased (more leaves per section of stem), which of course is desireable when you want to build little bushes and groupings. (I am one of these latter people and a fan of CO2 mist.)

Yet other folks do find benefit in CO2 mist but find it difficult to reach saturation or find they want to targtet mist to several parts of the tank. For these folks two reactors or more, be they a combination of total diffusion (bubble/ball reactors) or mist (a powerhead to chop or direct CO2 bubbles).

Just more methods to consider. Lots of roads to the same end, as you know.