krap101
Aquarium Advice Addict
I guess this is a good a time as any to start my first build thread. I will be using a Mazzei injector for co2 injection into my 29 gallon (possibly my 40b once I get it running). The concept behind the Mazzei, is the volume of water running through is compressed into a smaller space, and when it reexpands, it also creates a sort of vacuum (venturi effect). This is where we insert co2. Because of the expansion process, it creates turbulence, and this is how the co2 is diffused. As found out by many people on some other forums (namely plantedtank and Tom Barr come to mind) that having co2 microbubbles dispersed throughout the tank is more effective than diffusing the co2 directly into the water. More co2 gets to the plants, and their tests have shown that plant growth is as good if not better than normal reactors. This kind of injector is especially helpful if you have some sort of sump with a return pump with a reasonable head height (read psi). So, the injector is put inline with a bypass to control how much the co2 is diffused or broken up (by controlling the amount of water going around the injector and therefore the amount of water going through the injector as shown here:
Mazzei's have been done before, and have been around for awhile, but I've only found one build thread that has successfully integrated it into the return of a canister filter.
So here is my canister filter
Sunsun HW-302B
Here is someone else's review
SUNSUN HW-302 Outside Filter setup & test - Aquaria Central
I did my own head height test, and I got a little over 7 ft. That means I have between 2-3 psi (their lowest rating is at 5, so this is why these thing need to be tweaked)
The biggest thing I've read about is the pressure differential across the injector. This concept confused me a little, but a few emails straightened it out (I hope). The pressure differential would be the amount of water pressure downwards exerted by the tank (so if I have 18" of water above my canister, and I have a head height of 78", that means the inlet head height will be like 60" and the outlet head height will be around 57" or so. If I end up putting the injector above the tank, that means I will have a positive value, so the inlet head heighth will be 78-18+2" (lets say the injector is 2" above the tank) or 52" and an outlet pressure of around 0 psi.
Sorry if that was confusing, but I didn't want to have to convert everything. But the formula is .433*head height (in ft). So, my pressure differential will be around 1.9ish psi
Please correct me if I'm wrong, this just got confusing again when I did it.
I tried a smaller model, before talking to the mazzei engineer, and my canister could not push enough water through, (even without the bypass). Flow came to a trickle, and that is why it is on ebay/classifieds waiting for someone with a stronger sump to buy it
Anyways, sent an email out recently, deciding on which model I will be buying next. I know I'm getting a 584, but whether is is the regular (584) or 1/2" model (584C), I don't know yet.
So, until I get my new injector, please feel free to offer any suggestions or ask any questions
Mazzei's have been done before, and have been around for awhile, but I've only found one build thread that has successfully integrated it into the return of a canister filter.
So here is my canister filter
Sunsun HW-302B
Here is someone else's review
SUNSUN HW-302 Outside Filter setup & test - Aquaria Central
I did my own head height test, and I got a little over 7 ft. That means I have between 2-3 psi (their lowest rating is at 5, so this is why these thing need to be tweaked)
The biggest thing I've read about is the pressure differential across the injector. This concept confused me a little, but a few emails straightened it out (I hope). The pressure differential would be the amount of water pressure downwards exerted by the tank (so if I have 18" of water above my canister, and I have a head height of 78", that means the inlet head height will be like 60" and the outlet head height will be around 57" or so. If I end up putting the injector above the tank, that means I will have a positive value, so the inlet head heighth will be 78-18+2" (lets say the injector is 2" above the tank) or 52" and an outlet pressure of around 0 psi.
Sorry if that was confusing, but I didn't want to have to convert everything. But the formula is .433*head height (in ft). So, my pressure differential will be around 1.9ish psi
Please correct me if I'm wrong, this just got confusing again when I did it.
I tried a smaller model, before talking to the mazzei engineer, and my canister could not push enough water through, (even without the bypass). Flow came to a trickle, and that is why it is on ebay/classifieds waiting for someone with a stronger sump to buy it
Anyways, sent an email out recently, deciding on which model I will be buying next. I know I'm getting a 584, but whether is is the regular (584) or 1/2" model (584C), I don't know yet.
So, until I get my new injector, please feel free to offer any suggestions or ask any questions