Co2 Reactor

[scottca]

Hi All,

I think I am going to buy the Co2 Kit from ebay (the german one) - It comes with a Co2 reactor that requires an external pump in order to work, I have the Fluval Vicenza series of tank so the external pump I have goes directly through the base of the aquarium and I am not able to modify this so I cant use this pump to power the reactor..

Does anyone know of a cheap external pump / Filter I can use to purely push water into the co2 reactor and back into the tank, would be helpfull if it had an adjustable flow, the cheapest I can find is a full on external filter, all the pumps I can find are either very expensive or you have to actually have them in the tank.

Can anyone suggest anything that may work?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[DevUK]

you may be able to rig something with a cheap pond pump, keeping it totally seperate from your filter.

 

[scottca]

Thanks DevUK - I have had a look at pond pumps, I was worried they maybe noisy - I have seen these cheap filters on ebay

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...rksid=p3907.m29

Although probably totally useless as a main filter I only need it to pump water, extra little filtration maybe nice, fill it with filter wool to really keep the tank clear), they pump 200/l an hour - I have a 180 litre tank, do you think that would be sufficient to run the external reactor? Only downside, is there is no way of regulating the flow (or could I do this by putting something in line like a valve I can close?)

Craig

 

[DevUK]

I have one of those little filters at home and the power from it really isn't that great. Might be worth looking at whether you can split the fluval tubing and lengthening it using additional tubing maybe.

 

[scottca]

Thanks Devuk, im a bit concerned about spliting the tubing because of the way it connects into the tank - do you think one of those little filters could run the diffuser even low powered, or do they really need to be high powered?

Is there any cheap external inline powerheads/pumps you can think of or link to ?

 

[DevUK]

I'm actually looking for a reactor myself at the moment, so its a bit new to me too. I was using a glass diffuser on my 180litre but it just didn't really do the job, and cleaning it was a pain. Thought about maybe an internal solution? You could run something off a powerhead in the tank, such as the AquaMedic 500.

http/www.bazaarbuilder.com/cgi-bin/aquam...hant=aquamedic# (Reactor 500 M might be more what you want though, but a bit expensive, you can find the internal one cheaper second hand).

 

[scottca]

I have heard the same about the diffusers, the kit of ebay I want to purchase comes with a reactor, although I dont know how good it is ..

Nosnibor has a picture of the reactor here - http/www.fishforums.net/content-page/203...nation/page/20/

I know it may not be as good as the expensive ones? - That Reactor M looks pretty good, I just didnt want to take up much space inside the aquarium

Its just so hard trying to find a simple external, in line style pump

 

[scottca]

I think I have found some powerheads which can be used externally - The Underworld Maxi-Jet series.. on this website

<a href="http/www.rocketaquatics.co.uk/baquarium-...9gph-p-839.html" target="_blank">http/www.rocketaquatics.co.uk/baquarium-...9gph-p-839.html</a>

it says it can be used submerged or externally, however other sites that list the Maxi-Jet range dont say anything about having them out of the water - I have seen reference to both the Maxijet powerhead and the underworld maxi-jet - can anyone confirm if these are two different products, although they look identical!

Also, does anyone know what kind of flow rate I would need to run through a Co2 Reactor?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[scottca]

Ok, think I have found the answer, looks like some sites list the wrong picture, there is a MaxiJet Pump range, and a Maxijet powerhead range

http/www.leicesteraquatics.com/catalog/i...85pul04ccfe0gl7

Although most websites I look at contradict each other for both products, some say they work outside of the water, some dont.

Can anyone confirm if any of the Maxi-jet series, either pump or powerhead works outside of the water please also does anyone know if you can change the flow rate, cant seem to find much info on them

Thanks again

craig

 

[scottca]

ok, sorry im spamming my own post lol - Maxijet make a powerhead range and a "new jet" pump range, although it looks like some sites just list them all as powerheads, better explained

http/www.firststopaquatics.co.uk/acatalo...powerheads.html

They seperate the products into the pump range (which seem to be quite cheap!) and the powerhead range - now i have that bit sorted lol

does anyone know what sort of power i will need to work a Co2 reactor, it will probably have to push the water up in total about 3/4 metre in height

Thanks,

Craig

 

[DevUK]

I shouldn't imagine you'll need anything too excessive. That cheap external would have been a bit under powered, but a true pump should do the job nicely

 

[scottca]

Thanks DevUK - Would you think the 120-400 lph model would have enough go it in to suck out the water, go downwards about 3/4 metre to the pump, then back up through the reactor into the tank ? or there is the 200-550 lph model ?

They are cheaper than that cheap filter too which is a bonus!

EDIT - Well this is annoying - http/tunzeuk.com/en-gb/dept_77.html states that you can only adjust the flow when you use it internally and not externally

 

[DevUK]

I honestly couldn't tell you

It might be worth asking a mod to move this to the planted forum or perhaps the hardware/DIY forum, I'm sure more of the guys in either forum will be able to answer

 

[scottca]

Thanks Dev,

Ill try the hardware forum seems so weird how something simple is hard to find

 

[DevUK]

Might interest you to see this post I just found over at APC about a *very* cheap internal CO2 reactor made from a Hagen Elite Mini filter (tiny thing). I'm actually tempted to give this a try. I've seen the filters on ebay for about £6 and there are no additional things to buy...

Check the thread here (pictures on page 2):

http/www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumap...o2-reactor.html