Anyone using ISTA Max Mix CO2 reactor??

[seanang168]

The instructions say to overturn the reactor to remove the air. But within 2 hours, my reactor becomes half filled with CO2 again. I overturn again and later the same thing occurs.

Now I just use it as it is, with the CO2 column varying beween one third to half filled of the container while the rest is water. It seems to be still functioning and pumping the CO2 water into the tank.

Is my setup ok? What is your experience in using this reactor?

[gemo82]

What is the input rate of your CO2 supply? As in, how many bubbles per second? And how big is your tank?

Sometimes, the air column is not just CO2, but a mixture of it and air from your filter. It could be due to air being sucked into your filter from your water intake, especially if you are using surface skimmer and it is not adjusted properly. You can check this by emptying your reactor when the CO2 supply is off, then wait for 2 hours to see if the air column builds up. If it does, then the column of air in the reactor is coming from somewhere else.

If the column of air in the reactor is not purely CO2, then you can expect the dissolved CO2 concentration will not be as high as it could be.

[tcampbell]

Actually I helped with the production design/testing of the Mix Max designs.
I would say the problem you are having is too slow of a flow rate through the mix max and or too high of a bubble rate.

The Mix Max is very efficient and the bubble rate can be a lot less than what is necesssary through a glass diffuser. As well, if the flow rate of the canister or pump hooked up to the mix max is too slow (usually less than 300l/hr - example Eden 501 filter) then the problem you mentioned will occur. Also if the flow rate is too high, then the co2 will simply be pushed through the mix max befoe being disolved.
There are 2 designs, the small/Medium size and the large size. Small medium used for tanks 2 feet in size or less with a flow rate of ABOVE 300l/hr, and the large for tanks larger than that.

The turning over of the Mix max is only for the initial setup or after the filter has been disconnected for cleaning. In most cases it is not necessary as the Mix Max will naturally push the air out of the Mix Max after 24 hours, but it will prevent the extra noise and reduced diffusion rate for Co2 in that 24 hour period if you can turn the Mix Max upside down while running to quickly displace the air in the Mix Max.

Once the Mix Max is hooked up, it is basically run and forget about it. If used with an inital tank the Co2 bubble rate has to be adjusted as the plant mass increases ofcourse, but other than that there is nothing to it.

[sword28]

Hi tcampbell,

I am using one too.
is the bottom blade supposed to be rotating as well?
mine is not rotating and i read from that a few people also encounter the same problem.
One of them suggested to take it out and sand it, which i did.
indeed the bottom blade is a bit tight fitting resulting it not able to spin well.
after sanding it, now it is spinning.

by the way, the flow rate from my canister is quite high, so i don't think so it is the flow rate issue.

[seanang168]

Hi

I believed my max mix is medium size. My tank is 3 ft 40 gallon. The max mix only starts to behave in this manner when I connected 2 bottles of DIY CO2 instead of 1. The bubble count increased from 1 bubble every 2 seconds to 4 bubbles every 1 sec.

My Max Mix is powered by a powerhead inside the tank while I use the Max Mix externally. I am not so such the rating of this powerhead but it is considered quite a big one.

It appears to me that the Max Mix is still serving its function. So if it is ok for the column in it to be about half to 2 third filled with water, I guess I will not invert it anymore? I am always scared when I invert it for fear of tubings coming loose ha.

[tcampbell]

No, the bottom blade is not supposed to rotate. It is there to stabalize the center column and prevent noise. In the originally design there was a sponge there to do so but it resulted in clogging and extra maintainance that people did not do, thus reducing the efficinecy of the Mix Max.

Only all the tanks I have tested it on, there has not been the problems you mentioned unless the flow rate was too low or the bubble rate was extremely high, and the Mix Max was thus not able to disolve the Co2 fast enough. Are you using the large size?

Hi tcampbell,

I am using one too.
is the bottom blade supposed to be rotating as well?
mine is not rotating and i read from that a few people also encounter the same problem.
One of them suggested to take it out and sand it, which i did.
indeed the bottom blade is a bit tight fitting resulting it not able to spin well.
after sanding it, now it is spinning.

by the way, the flow rate from my canister is quite high, so i don't think so it is the flow rate issue.

[tcampbell]

I think for a 3 foot tank you would find the larger size works for the bubble rate you have. Only my 3 foot tank I have a bubble rate at about 6 bubbles per second, being powered by a Tetra Ex Power 1200 filter and I never have more than 1/2 Cm of C02 at the top of the Mix Max. The more Co2 there, the louder you will find the mix max.

After servicing my filter I will find for the first hour or so the Mix Max will be more than 1/2 filled with air, thouh after about 1 hour it is 2/3 filled with water and by the end of the day it is back to it's normal running method (1/2 cm of CO2 at the top). I as well do not like to invert the Mix Max as the way I have it hooked up it is rather difficult to do so and there is the fear of the hoses coming lose.

I have not had to service the Mix Max in over 1 1/2 years.

When I ran the Medium size Mix Max on the same tank with the same bubble rate I was getting similiar problems to yous, too much noise, half filled with Co2, though the Co rate in the tank was fine. I am sure the up grade to the large one will be more suitable for your bubble rate as well as your tank size.

Hi

I believed my max mix is medium size. My tank is 3 ft 40 gallon. The max mix only starts to behave in this manner when I connected 2 bottles of DIY CO2 instead of 1. The bubble count increased from 1 bubble every 2 seconds to 4 bubbles every 1 sec.

My Max Mix is powered by a powerhead inside the tank while I use the Max Mix externally. I am not so such the rating of this powerhead but it is considered quite a big one.

It appears to me that the Max Mix is still serving its function. So if it is ok for the column in it to be about half to 2 third filled with water, I guess I will not invert it anymore? I am always scared when I invert it for fear of tubings coming loose ha.

[seanang168]

Hi tcampbell

thank you for the advice I think I will stick to this medium reactor as I do not want to spend more money to get a large one. I am ok with having additional noise as my fan and and powerheads already seemed to drown the noise from Max Mix!

[sword28]

No, the bottom blade is not supposed to rotate. It is there to stabalize the center column and prevent noise. In the originally design there was a sponge there to do so but it resulted in clogging and extra maintainance that people did not do, thus reducing the efficinecy of the Mix Max.

Only all the tanks I have tested it on, there has not been the problems you mentioned unless the flow rate was too low or the bubble rate was extremely high, and the Mix Max was thus not able to disolve the Co2 fast enough. Are you using the large size?

Hi,

can you elaborate more on "stablishing" the center column?
as for noise issue, i did not face noise issue either with or without the bottom blade rotating.

any problem if the bottom blade is rotating?
i did not know that it is not meant to be rotating and now i have made it rotate

[tcampbell]

Hi,

can you elaborate more on "stablishing" the center column?
as for noise issue, i did not face noise issue either with or without the bottom blade rotating.

any problem if the bottom blade is rotating?
i did not know that it is not meant to be rotating and now i have made it rotate

I see no problem with it rotating, though that wasn't the original design. If it is working for you, that is great. When the bottom blade was removed the center column was moved with water flow inside the mix max. The bottom "Blade" held it in place with the groves at the bottom to allow flow.

If you don't notice extra noise, that is good.

[sword28]

I see no problem with it rotating, though that wasn't the original design. If it is working for you, that is great. When the bottom blade was removed the center column was moved with water flow inside the mix max. The bottom "Blade" held it in place with the groves at the bottom to allow flow.

If you don't notice extra noise, that is good.

great! thanks for your reply and support.
it is always good to hear from the designer and maker of the poduct.

[mikeang]

hi,

the amount of air in my ISTA reactor kept going back to 1/2 the cylinder overnight. My CO2 is just set to 5bps. Can't be air lock as well as i cleaned and primed my 2224.

Any idea?

Thank you.

Michael

[seanang168]

Hi Tcampbell

there are two sets of propellors at the top. Is the design meant for both to rotate? Occasionally, the lower second set of propellors would stop moving which I believed is due to the presence of some small particles getting stuck on the propellor. However the top one would still be rotating.

So should both set of propellors meant to rotate? Quite problematic to get the lower second set of propellor to rotate again when it get stuck.

[sword28]

Hi Tcampbell

there are two sets of propellors at the top. Is the design meant for both to rotate? Occasionally, the lower second set of propellors would stop moving which I believed is due to the presence of some small particles getting stuck on the propellor. However the top one would still be rotating.

So should both set of propellors meant to rotate? Quite problematic to get the lower second set of propellor to rotate again when it get stuck.

Actually I am not referring to the 2 sets of propellers on top.
Yes both of them should be rotating.
I am referring to the bottom one, just before the outlet.
that bottom propeller is as-designed to be tight fit and it is not rotating when I first use it.
so I took it out and sand it and now all 3 propellers are rotating. (top2, bottom 1)

[Desewer]

would like to share my experience. i'm using an eheim ecco pro 2034 about 600lph rated. i found that my co2 were best dissolved when i used the ista maxmix reactor. it was small and took up very little space. due to its size i also was able to ensure that very little flowrate was lost from the filter through the reactor and into the tank. comparatively, my na external reactor caused a drop in flow rate due to its design and size.

i've stopped using my ista because it leaked after i reinstalled it after cleaning. now im using a spare na reactor. but if i were keeping small 2ft tanks i would definitely use the ista reactor.

[seanang168]

My ista mix max is not spinning again two weeks after my last wash. I suspect is due to growth of algae in it or some plant particles stuck there. It is usually a nightmare for it to dismantle it for maintenance as pipes would come off and water will spill all over the place. And after that leAks may happen. My mix max generally only the first set of top propellor is turning. The main top second propellor generally stops spinning after a while.

Anyone manage to keep your ista mix max spinning smoothly all the time? And how do you achieve it? My mix max is used externally and connected to an external canister filter. Also I am currently using diy co2 production.

[ladygaga]

Now I don't think it's a good idea to use of reactor (I used two canister, one is just for CO2 reactor).

1) The reactor would become very dirty after a couple of days running.
2) Plants prefer bubble/misty co2

after 2 months running of reactor, now i return back to a diffuser.

[seanang168]

You are probably right. Quite painful to always maintain the reactor. Do you have a good diffuser to recommend?

[ladygaga]

I use a Nano Diffuser of ANS and made it in-line.
Refer to my DIY bellow:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ctor-ever-made

[tcampbell]

Hi,
Sorry I have been away for a while and not logging in. It is not necessary for both propellers to rotate for it to work well. In a few of the models the second one rotated freely and it caused more noise. In most cases the second one does not rotate.

Hi Tcampbell

there are two sets of propellors at the top. Is the design meant for both to rotate? Occasionally, the lower second set of propellors would stop moving which I believed is due to the presence of some small particles getting stuck on the propellor. However the top one would still be rotating.

So should both set of propellors meant to rotate? Quite problematic to get the lower second set of propellor to rotate again when it get stuck.