ISTA Turbo CO2 reactor filled up with gas

[apek19]

Hi everyone

I recently bought the ISTA turbo CO2 reactor. I was told it's the newer version and design to the Max Mix version by ISTA as well (is it true?) On comparison, it looks very much alike to SERA's CO2 reactor, but of course much cheaper.

With that, I hooked it up to my new setup which I will be sharing here soon once I've transferred the photos from my phone 😆 When I came home earlier today, I found the CO2 reactor half empty probably due to the gas not being pushed up the column into the tank.

I came across a thread here with a similar problem using the Max Mix reactor prior to this and secured all the nozzles with cable tie to prevent gas from escaping. I'm wondering what could be the cause of this despite fixing the reactor as advised.

I doubt it's the problem with the flow rate as I've turned up the flow rate on my external canister to its maximum. Could it be due to my surface skimmer? At times the blades would also stop spinning. But after a slight knock on the reactor, it spins perfectly fine - though this is the least of my problems right now.

Also, it's placed after my chiller. Cooler water temperatures allow higher absorption of CO2, yes?

Appreciate it if anyone could give me some advice on this. I kind of hit a stumbling block trying to troubleshoot the problem 😓

Thanks in advance!

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[Urban Aquaria]

Was the reactor fully filled with water and all the trapped air bubbles after initial installation purged from it by inverting the whole reactor slightly to burp out the air? What is your filter flow rate (actual final flow rate, not just listed flow rate) and the Co2 bps injection rate?

As you mentioned you are using a surface skimmer, that might be drawing air into the filter which ends up accumulating in the reactor, so you get a large build up of air and Co2 in the reactor over time.

When the reactor is working properly, there should only be at most 1-2cm space of Co2 bubbles spinning around in a vortex amongst the impellers... it should never accumulate until there is a noticeable empty gap and half the reactor is filled with air. The Co2 gas itself is not supposed to exit from the reactor directly into the tank too, its supposed to dissolve fully into the water via the spinning impellers.

[kakashi]

It could be because the CO2 dissolve rate is slower than injection rate which can happen if the filter/pump flow rate is low or when the impeller does not spin properly. Common problem cause by imperfection in impeller shaft preventing the impeller to spin properly. If this is the case, you can simply use sand paper to remove the imperfection. This was what I encounter with my set.

[apek19]

I filled the unit up with water and overturned the reactor to allow the air to escape. Maybe I should try disconnecting everything and try setting it up again? I followed the same steps I took with the Max Mix model previously, which I expected it to operate in a similar fashion.

The setup is hooked to an old Eheim Professional 2224. Changed the impeller and O-ring on the filter as well on the unit. Currently, no leaks are observed so I guess it's working fine despite it being very much an outdated model. I just grabbed the output data from the web:

Approx output: 700l/h (actual flow rate should be about 1/3 of this listed value?)http://www.eheim.asia/prod_e_extfilter_pro.html
Tank volume: 182 litres (90x45x45cm)
CO2 bps: approx 3 bps

Should I test the system without the skimmer to reduce one variable at this stage?

[apek19]

It could be because the CO2 dissolve rate is slower than injection rate which can happen if the filter/pump flow rate is low or when the impeller does not spin properly. Common problem cause by imperfection in impeller shaft preventing the impeller to spin properly. If this is the case, you can simply use sand paper to remove the imperfection. This was what I encounter with my set.

I considered that too as I read about a similar problem that a member faced here. I was reading this thread before I posted a new thread.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ght=ista+turbo

[apek19]

Hi UA and kakashi

Thanks for the advice given. I've done the following:
1. Diaconnect the reactor and found out that the rotary blades in the reactor are not touching the walls. So I guess there's no need to sand the rough edges of the blades.
2. Disconnected my skimmer to allow air trapped in the pipes leading to the filter to escape.
3. Reconnected both equipment and turned on filter and chiller.
4. Oveturned the reactor to fill it with water.

Currently my CO2 is off as its connected to a timer. Will update tomorrow night if the reactor operates as its intended purpose. Thanks you both for the prompt help in troubleshooting! *applause*

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[Urban Aquaria]

The setup is hooked to an old Eheim Professional 2224. Changed the impeller and O-ring on the filter as well on the unit. Currently, no leaks are observed so I guess it's working fine despite it being very much an outdated model. I just grabbed the output data from the web:

Approx output: 700l/h (actual flow rate should be about 1/3 of this listed value?)http://www.eheim.asia/prod_e_extfilter_pro.html
Tank volume: 182 litres (90x45x45cm)
CO2 bps: approx 3 bps

Should I test the system without the skimmer to reduce one variable at this stage?

Thats quite similiar to my 2ft planted setup... i'm using an Ecco Pro 300 with 750 l/ph flow rate (actual flow measured to be around 650-700 l/ph after its filled with media, tested with measuring cup at outflow + stopwatch method), though my Co2 is currently running at 1 bps. I've run it at 2-3 bps before and the swirling pocket of Co2 in the reactor did form abit larger, but still remained within the reactor's impeller area.

[thebaldingaquarist]

Thats quite similiar to my 2ft planted setup... i'm using an Ecco Pro 300 with 750 l/ph flow rate (actual flow measured to be around 650-700 l/ph after its filled with media, tested with measuring cup at outflow + stopwatch method), though my Co2 is currently running at 1 bps. I've run it at 2-3 bps before and the swirling pocket of Co2 in the reactor did form abit larger, but still remained within the reactor's impeller area.

I have the same filter (i think.. ecco 2236) in my 3 ft
unprofessionally measured flowrate with iphone stop watch and 1 litre bottle indicates 600-650 litres per hour.
Anything more than 1.5bps will cause CO2 build up in the ISTA (medium sized) reactor.

[apek19]

Thats quite similiar to my 2ft planted setup... i'm using an Ecco Pro 300 with 750 l/ph flow rate (actual flow measured to be around 650-700 l/ph after its filled with media, tested with measuring cup at outflow + stopwatch method), though my Co2 is currently running at 1 bps. I've run it at 2-3 bps before and the swirling pocket of Co2 in the reactor did form abit larger, but still remained within the reactor's impeller area.

I decided to hook the Eheim 2224 to my 3ft tank as the plant mass is not too heavy. About half the surface area is covered with sand to include bottom feeders. I'm planning to reduce the bps over the next few days, combating the initial possible algae growth at the start.

I have the same filter (i think.. ecco 2236) in my 3 ft
unprofessionally measured flowrate with iphone stop watch and 1 litre bottle indicates 600-650 litres per hour.
Anything more than 1.5bps will cause CO2 build up in the ISTA (medium sized) reactor.

Thanks for the advice! I'll try to keep that in mind!


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