CO2 diffusion issues?

[grantbudd74]

I have an Aquamedic 1000 external reactor hooked up to the outlet of my ehiem pro 3 2080 on my 6x2x2 tank.

When I look at my output hose which is through a submerged spraybar I see a lot of bubbles and quite large ones at that coming out so obviously not all the CO2 is getting absorbed or mixed.

I have previously used this reactor without this pump as my 6x2x2 is new and had no bubbles on a 3 footer and using a pro series ehiem pumo for 400l aquarium. The reactor is rated for tanks in the 2000l size and the Ehiem puts out 1700LPH and is rated for tanks up to 1200l so I am way over kill.

Does anyone have any ideas why I am losing so much CO2 currently at 2 drops a sec bubble rate?

Not happy about this as this is all top quality equipment. I have 8 baby discus, 2 bristlenose and 6 cories and will have about 20 tetras currently in quarantine.

Do I need to make a DIY reactor to put inline after my 1000 reactor for more mixing? hmmm?

THx

Grant
Melbourne
Australia

[Chad Hughes]

You may just have a high flow issue. I have the same reactor and took it out due to the fact that I had to slow the flow down too low for it to actually work. I now use the power head method. I attach the CO2 line to the veturi of the pump inlet and it pulverizes the CO2. You can use this method in the tank or ina sump through return pump. Either way works great.

I completely understand your frustration with the 1000. They are expensive! I've got one for sale if any one wants one. LOL!

Best wishes!

[Harriett]

Grant, I have fooled around with different diffusion methods for my 6 x 2 x 2 also. What I am doing now that works very well is this: I run the CO2 line into the intake valve on a canister filter [Cascade 1000]. The CO2 is broken up in the canister. THere is a spray bar for the outlet and the CO2 bubbles are extremely fine when I see them. I had read some stuff about this method being potentially problematic or wearing on the impeller; I check it regularly--no problems so far and this works very well in my tank; been doing it x 2 years. I got sick of trying to solve the CO2 diffusion issue. I have a bubble counter before the intake and the whole thing is on a controller.
Best regards,
Harriett

[grantbudd74]

thanks for those comments. it seams that I have the correct equipment but still get a few bubbles which seam to have slowed a bit. I am now on about 2 drops a second and am not hitting the correct Co2 levels according to my test indicator fluid thing I have stuck to the glass. I have noticed bubbles coming out of the substrate when ever my catfish disturb the grave so I guess it is working a bit? Maybe to 1000 units inline would work?

How much for your 1000 posted to Australia?

Hey I know this is a Discus forum but does anyone here have bristlenose in their tank? Mine are breeding and the babies are being blown all over the tank and probably into the intakes! I bet they are all getting eaten by the Discus and cory's

Thanks guys

Grant

Yes I too have read that having the Co2 go into the intake of your canister will wreck the impeller? Does it cause the filter to make noise due to the extra air inside? I like a totally quiet system,

More ideas?

Thx so far

[calihawker]

Grant, the only thing I can add is what I do with my tank. I use a diy reactor hooked up to a dedicated pump. This same reactor can be hooked up to the output of your canister as well. If you already have everything else in place, cylinder, regulator, solenoid and bubble counter, then making a reactor is super simple and super cheap.

HTH

[shoggoth43]

I don't think the AM1000 will be adequate for that size tank. Many of the people who use them on the larger tank sizes use at least two of them. Mainly it's for CO2 distribution as it's very tough to get even spread of CO2 in the tank with only one source. Even the high pressure mazzei setups don't always cut it with only one outlet in the tank.

Of the people on the forums I've looked that inject the CO2 into their cannisters, none have reported any problems with Eheims, but some people do have issues with other brands. I have no idea on the models though.

-
S

[grantbudd74]

thats interesting about injecting through the canister, what I have done is get a power head to come on every hour for 10 mins to give the water a bit of additional circulation which not only clears away all the crap from the bristlenose catfish but hopefully spreads the gas a bit and helps prevent dead spots in the tank, If you are injecting into your canister does it not make a noise from the trapped air?

My issue seams to have rectified itself and I dont see so many bubbles although im only on 2 a second now so thats probably why.

[Harriett]

Grant,
As said, the canister I run my Co2 through is a Cascade 1000. It is virtually silent, even with the Co2 running in there. Once in a great while I will hear a couple of burp type noises [or as my other half says, Orca the whale noise] but that's rare. I have a 20 pound Co2 tank and to keep my pH at a steady 6.8, I refill it about 2 x a year for this 6 x 2 x 2 tank, so I don't think I am losing much gas with the method. I tried several methods of diffusion which weren't effective and then decided to just simplify it as much as possible--it works better than any reactor assembly I tried.
Harriett

[Blackwater Aquaria]

You may just have a high flow issue. I have the same reactor and took it out due to the fact that I had to slow the flow down too low for it to actually work. I now use the power head method. I attach the CO2 line to the veturi of the pump inlet and it pulverizes the CO2. You can use this method in the tank or ina sump through return pump. Either way works great.

I completely understand your frustration with the 1000. They are expensive! I've got one for sale if any one wants one. LOL!

Best wishes!I totally agree with you I run my CO2 on the intake of a power filter with great results no bubbles,I also use a PH controller,I have the cellnoid on a timer not to add CO2 @ nite it works for me. Mike D. Blackwater Aquaria:bandana: