Reply With QuoteWhat is the flowrate of the pump that your using to supplement the External reactor?
I bought the external reactor from NA hoping that it can dissolve CO2 more efficiently compared to the 2 x taiwan green reactor to support my 6x2x2 tank with sump...
but the external reactor i just bought seem to dissolve co2 really slowly.... to the extend that it there is still co2 almost until the next day...
can some expert help me clear this doubt? or i have connected the reactor wrongly... anyway, the my co2 running at abt 5-8 bps....
pls help..
thanks
What is the flowrate of the pump that your using to supplement the External reactor?
Regards,
Izzat
External sump right?Originally Posted by GreenTea
Try to raise the overflow section to about 4 inches below surface water. Use 1 or 2 external reactors (DIY those similar to that of Ghazanfar Ghori's except the bottom outlet is at the side directed 1/2 inches away from the return pump suction) and use powerheads of 400-600gph to drive them. Fed the CO2 directly into the powerhead intake. The return line connected to a spraybar pointing down or place at the bottomback pointing straight forward. Drill a siphon break hole 1/4 inches below the surface of the tank water. Seal the wet/dry section tightly. Drill a hole mid-way of the 2 CO2 reactors and connect it with CO2/air tubings to the return pump intake for degassing of O2 if it builds up to that level.
Use pH/KH readings to check the CO2.
Regards
Peter Gwee
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Yeah, what is the flow rate of the filter you're using. It has to be strong. So far I've runned a 1000 l/hr filter on it and it worked fine.
As for connections... the reactor is standing upside down right? I.e the transparent chamber is on top and the inlet and outlet is at the bottom? If so, and the water is still flowing, then your connections are correct.
5-8 bps seems a little high. I'm at about 4 to 6 bps and does not hold back any CO2.
Is your water flow as strong as before? If there is a drastic drop in flow rate after you installed the reactor, then you might want to check out this thread http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=14484. I posted on a blockage flaw in the reactor design which can be easily fixed.
So far I haven't had problems with O2 de-gassing into the reactor. At least not to that extent.
The thread I linked is quite relevant to your questions.
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Hi,......but the external reactor i just bought seem to dissolve co2 really slowly.... to the extend that it there is still co2 almost until the next day...
I have been using NA reactor for quite some time. How do we know there are still CO2 exist in the reactor? I am not able to differentiate CO2 and normal air inside the reactor.
If there are tiny bubble come out from the reactor, then I can tell it does not dissolve properlly. Am I right to say so?
I have one also, but stop using it. Throughout the usage I experienced that if the flowrate is high lots of undissolved CO2 will be push out. If the flow rate is slow, the reaction takes longer time.Hi,
I have been using NA reactor for quite some time. How do we know there are still CO2 exist in the reactor? I am not able to differentiate CO2 and normal air inside the reactor.
If there are tiny bubble come out from the reactor, then I can tell it does not dissolve properlly. Am I right to say so?
DIY a venturi external version like |Squeel| had showcase in the forum. I made one which is 1M long as I can afford to put inside my tall cabinet to give enough distance for the reaction. My setup is tank-->1260 pump-> reactor --> chiller --> tank. You can make a shorter version if you want.
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There should not be bubbles coming out from the reactor because the outlet is located way below in the reactor container. It could be you are using the reactor the wrong way up.
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I knew how to work with the NA reactor , which the input / output lay flat on the ground , and CO2 rise up to the top and there is one hose inside the reactor to spin the water with the CO2.There should not be bubbles coming out from the reactor because the outlet is located way below in the reactor container. It could be you are using the reactor the wrong way up.
If for some reason you need to inject a lot of CO2 into it, the fine bubbles will be purged out undissolve, especially if you have a high flow rate pump.
Wherelse for the long PVC venturi design, I don't face this problem. Physically no fine bubble purge out even with very very high CO2 injection.
Cheers
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Hmmm... I'm using the older one from NA... never had problems with fine bubbles exiting. I'm also running a 1260 (actually a 2250 with the pumphead replaced with the 1260) on it, but the chiller is before the reactor.
Ehhh... are you sure you are using the word venturi correctly? If you are talking about this one that |squee| posted, there is no venturi involved.Wherelse for the long PVC venturi design, I don't face this problem. Physically no fine bubble purge out even with very very high CO2 injection.
Cheers
Sorry, I just don't want to see a word mis-used and then picked up by the rest of the forum to wrongly describe something... better to nip in the bud.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Vinz:
You are right. The PVC design I mentioned should be called the "Ghazanfar Khan Ghori" design as shown by |Squee|'s post.
Fine bubbles definitely present using NA reactor if the flow rate is high, even run through Chiller after that.
Previous setup :tank--> 1260 pump --> NA reactor --> Chiller --> tank
Cheers
Is that really important to dissolve 100% CO2? If only 80-90% dissolved, then increase slightly more bubble counts to get the CO2 ppm that you need. Afterall, each $10-$15 top up can last a few months. Unless there is some other side effect when CO2 not fully dissolved.
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You can't increase the bubble count like that... what you end up with is a larger build up of leftover CO2 in the reactor chamber. Once CO2 starts to build up, increasing the bubble rate does not increase the dis-solution rate much. When the solenoid goes off, and the light goes off, that leftover CO2 is still being dissolved and since the plants are not using it anymore, the CO2 and pH levels will build up over the next few hours. It probably never gets high enough to be harmful, but I don't think it's a risk worth taking.
Once that leftover CO2 starts to build up, it's time to stop increasing the CO2, but look at what is affecting the dissolution rate.
I just did a check last night of my pH levels. I have a drop of 1.9pH from tank water at ambient CO2 level... that's about 45ppm of CO2. I'm using NA's external reactor, at about 4 to 6 bps, driven by a 2,400l/hr filter with a chiller inline. Hardly anyCO2 build up, no fine bubbles escaping. I used to drive it with a 1000l/hr filter without a chiller and I didn't have problems.
The chart and CO2 calculators are not reliable because there are other factors that can affect the pH in your tanks. What you think is in-sufficient CO2, may actually be caused by skewed pH levels. If you are having BBA problems despite having "sufficient" CO2 levels, you should be looking at your tank circulation.
A better way of checking CO2 is to find the difference in pH levels of tank water at max CO2 levels and tank water at ambient CO2 levels. Get ambient CO2 levels by taking a sample of tank water in a clean container, shaking it to dis-spell the excess CO2, then letting it sit for a day or two. Better if you can aerate the sample for a few hours. You should be looking for a drop of about 1.7 (~30ppm) to 1.9 (~45ppm).
Last edited by vinz; 7th Sep 2005 at 17:55.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
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Vincent, thanks for the great info.
If use ceramic diffuser or those Nutrafin type dispenser, is the un-dissolved CO2 simply escape into the air, and has not ill effect on the water?
It is possible to have tinny bubbles coming out from the reactor if your flowrate is strong. I am using Eheim 2028 which is 1000L/H. If fully open, the tiny CO2 bubbles will come out from the reactor.There should not be bubbles coming out from the reactor because the outlet is located way below in the reactor container. It could be you are using the reactor the wrong way up.
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Assuming you're referring to the Nutrafin flipper, yes, both that and diffusors will not accumulate any or large amounts of CO2 and hence will not lead to raising CO2 or pH levels significantly after the CO2 supply and lights are shut off.
However, these devices are not recommended for large tanks. Any tank 4ft or longer should use more then one of such devices, placed at different locations.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Just switched to NA external reactor and changed the elbow pipe inside to curved pipe to increase the flow.. I ran it with 4.5 bps with ehiem 2080 and then chiller first and noticed a small bag of air builts up at the top and fine bubbles blown from my lily pipe into the tank. Is it due to my flow rate is too high? However, I felt the circulation is just right for my 4ft tank. Anyway to futher improve the dissolution without putting into some bio-rings into the reactor (have to clean frequently with this)?
Lowered to 3.5 bps and noticed the air bag reduced to less than 0.5 cm from 2 cm with no visible effect to CO2 level according to my indicator.
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