CO2 tank bubbling rate

[juggler]

I got a tank recently but w/o solenoid.

I set it to 1 bubble in 4 sec and run it thru the "UP" brand CO2 reactor for 24 hours in my 4 ft tank. My fish were gasping for air by morning. Now I set it to 1 bubble in 8 sec. And the fish seem better.

I used to run my DIY CO2 using the same setup as above and the fish were OK. It seems the gas from the CO2 tank is much purer than the DIY CO2.

For those who have CO2 tank but w/o solenoid, what's your bubble rate?
Are you using a reactor (completely dissolving CO2) or diffuser (break up bubbles finely)?

Care to share? ... thanks.

[budak]

i find that one (small) bubble per 2 second (plus cheapo diffuser) is quite enough for my 3 ft tank and ditto for my 2 ft. By afternoon, bubbles are appearing. Even at that, the fishies can still be gasping in the morning, esp after hot nights. My guess is that in fairly mature tanks, the amount of DOC produced by the mulm/filter/substrate can mean a lower CO2 injection rate is needed.

[nick06]

Hi
i also have the same problem.
My is 5ft tank. i do have a solenoid.
So how many bubbles should i use for 1 min?
What is the best time to releast the CO2?
How many hours should the CO2 last?
BTW how Long should the light be on?

Thanks

[cks]

hi juggler,
i used to have the same problem when i was using a timer to control the release of co2. the supply of co2 was not exactly constant and the fish were nearly killed when co2 was in excess . i would advise you to release your co2 into your tank a few hours before the lights come on so that the tank is saturated with co2 when the lights are turned on and you should see your plants bubbling.
incidently it would be more efficient if you use a co2 diffusor to mix the co2 with water in your aquarium . i find that there is no difference between an internal or external diffusor .

[roy]

cks, is diffuser more effective than reactor?

Before there's any confusion here, let's get things straight. A diffuser is a glass container where the CO2 "diffuse" out in tiny bubbles that float to the surface while a reactor is a plastic container that has agitating balls in it to dissolve the CO2, right?

I'm using a reactor and presently not satisfied with the rate of growth and zero bubbles. I've got a diffuser too but I'm not using it because Chan from NA said reactor is more effective. I somewhat agree with Chan because the bubbles released by a diffuser would float to the surface and go to waste. Please advise.

Thanks,
Roy

[cks]

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On 7/17/2002 8:18:33 PM

cks, is diffuser more effective than reactor?

Before there's any confusion here, let's get things straight. A diffuser is a glass container where the CO2 "diffuse" out in tiny bubbles that float to the surface while a reactor is a plastic container that has agitating balls in it to dissolve the CO2, right?

I'm using a reactor and presently not satisfied with the rate of growth and zero bubbles. I've got a diffuser too but I'm not using it because Chan from NA said reactor is more effective. I somewhat agree with Chan because the bubbles released by a diffuser would float to the surface and go to waste. Please advise.

Thanks,
Roy
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Roy,
IMO I have been using a reactor for the past 10 years and it has served me well . I don't profess to be an expert but retailers also want to give you their opinion.

There is more time for the co2 bubble relased from your co2 depot to be mixed with the water before it gets back into your aquarium within a reactor.

However if you do use certain difussors, there is hardly time for the tiny co2 bubble to be dissolved into the water colum before it escapes out of the aquarium.They are more for cosmetic effect rather than practical.However certain brands of difussors are quite efficient eg Denerlee .

Incidently, if you are using a reactor whether internal or external you will need a small power head to drive water thro the reactor .

[peterkoh]

another method ... get a small pump head and feed the co2 into the inlet. pretty effective though i was told in the long run will damage the motor. thus get a small and cheap one.

[roy]

Thanks everyone!

Just as I thought, the diffuser seems to generate wastage. I'll study both method mentioned by cks and peter as they seem efficient.

Btw, my reactor is attached to the outlet of Ehiem 2224 while the flow rate is agitating the reactor balls, it seems sluggish.

Thanks,
Roy

[sherchoo]

Traditionally, reactors are more effcient than diffuser. This much is true but nowadays alot of diffusers like Dennerle and ADA outperform most reactors.

Me had the cheap taiwanese reactor with bio balls in them too. Switched to ADA diffuser, IMO performance was even better. But performance comes with a price....

[NinjaFly]

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Btw, my reactor is attached to the outlet of Ehiem 2224 while the flow rate is agitating the reactor balls, it seems sluggish.
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Hi Roy,
IMO, as long as the reactor balls are spinning, CO2 are being dissolved into the water. Sluggish movement should be alright.

I have switched from a diffusor to a reactor coz I realised that at least 50% of the tiny CO2 bubbles escaped into the air coz my tank isn't really that tall.

But feeding my DIY CO2 into the reactor causes some slimy stuffs at the inlet of the reactor... Quite an ugly sight.

[juggler]

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On 7/18/2002 10:59:49 AM

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Btw, my reactor is attached to the outlet of Ehiem 2224 while the flow rate is agitating the reactor balls, it seems sluggish.
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Hi Roy,
IMO, as long as the reactor balls are spinning, CO2 are being dissolved into the water. Sluggish movement should be alright.

I have switched from a diffusor to a reactor coz I realised that at least 50% of the tiny CO2 bubbles escaped into the air coz my tank isn't really that tall.

But feeding my DIY CO2 into the reactor causes some slimy stuffs at the inlet of the reactor... Quite an ugly sight.

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I passed the output of my DIY CO2 thru a bottle of water (which also serves as a bubble counter) before connecting to the reactor. There don't seem to be any slimy stuff deposited in the reactor.