Inline Heater and Inline CO2 Reactor - Which goes first?

[dapellegrini]

Hello all!

I am receiving a CO2 setup this weekend including an inline reactor (AquaMedic Co2 1000, I believe) and am also planninig on installing an inline heater - both will be going in the out line from my Rena XP3.

I am wondering if there is anything to worry about putting one before the other in the line. Is there an ideal setup? Heat the water first, or inject Co2 first?

Thanks!

Dan


The setup:
72g Bowfront - 4x 54w T5 lights - Laterate Substrate - Rena XP3 Canister Filter - 300w inline heater - and coming soon: automated milwaukee C02 system, w/ Reactor, etc.

Fish:
1x Rainbow Shark - 6x Clown Loaches - 1x Opaline Gourami - 6x Neons - 4x Rummynose - 1x kuhli loach - 1x cory cat - 1x common Pleco - 2x SAEs

Plants:
1x Amazon Sword - 1x Melon Sword - Lots of Jungle Val - 1x Java Fern - Glossostigma - Dwarf Hairgrass - 1x Crytocoryne wendtil - 1x Red Crinkle Leaf - Lots of Red Rubin - 3x Balansae

 

[Lonewolfblue]

You could do the reactor on the filter intake if you like. Should be fine. But if on the output, it needs to be sitting so that the bubbles try to go up and the flow of the output goes down. So the heater would be first, as the flow is up, then do a U-turn into the reactor so the flow is down, then another U-turn back up to the filter output in the tank.

Also, only problem with the fish that I see is 1 cory cat. they prefer to be in groups. So I would up it to 3 or more.

 

[dapellegrini]

Thanks Lonewolfblue.

I actually purchased a couple more corys with my fish group of SAEs. The 10 minute car ride home resulted in all 4 SAEs dead on arrival. Is it possible that Corys can give off an electrical charge? The kid at the fish store put them all in the same bag, and I don't think twice about it.

Anyways, I brought that whole group back and just replaced the SAEs with what was left. Corys are next on my list., but SAEs were my priority.

About putting the CO2 reactor in on the in-line... Wouldn't this result in a messy reactor? I figured the outline would be my best bet, as the water will be cleaner, which will hopefully mean less fuss with the reactor.

Thanks Again

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes, the output will be cleaner, but it shouldn't be much of a problem. Even on the output, stuff will get in the reactor. You could even take a spare sponge for the XP filters, either the coarse or the medium, and snip a hole in it with the tips of a pair of scissors and slip it over the filter intake, then cut the sponge to the shape and size you like. this will keep most of the big stuff out of the reactor.