Second cannister for co2 reactor only

[Erk]

Ok, so now that im a bit more relaxed! Had a flood when I got home this afternoon from work haha...i went out and picked up another rena filter to dedicate for the reactor only. SO my question now is, am I correct, that this filter shouldnt have any media in it? How does that work if I still have an intake inside the tank?

THanks very much

[ILLUSN]

Wont hurt to put some mech media in it, just to keep your reactor clean, maybe some corse sponge and ceramic noodles

[Erk]

Thanks very much ILLUSN! I will fix that up right now :oops: :wink: !

[Davo]

I used a Dupla Reactor S for 3 years on my 4x2x2 tank before changing to a diffusor. The difference has been amazing. Better plant growth and pearling. The other advantage is that there is no drain on your filter output.

Dave.

[Erk]

Thanks for the tip davo...do you think you could post a pic of your setup? I would like to see the diffuser. I was thinking of running both the reactor, and a diffuser in the near future. I dont get much pearling at all, and I really have a thing about it! haha :lol: I will do whatever I can to help increase the chances of pearling :wink:

Thanks again

[fish_r]

your obsessed with pearling Eric lol :P
iv'e just setup a new system for mine after seeing some amazing growth and "pearling" at my lfs that is using the same setup as this.
it is a dupla reactor s reactor running on it's own dedicated eheim inline high powered pump. i now get no bubbles at all coming out of the end going into the tank which means i'm getting 100% diffusion finally. will let u know how it goes :?:

[fish_r]

ooops forgot the pic

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v402/KharmaKazi/DSCF2371.jpg

[Erk]

Thanks Rob, I really am obsessed with pearling! hahaha :P :lol:

I never see any bubbles coming out of my spray bar right now? I noticed in your pic, you have a tube that goes into the top of the reactor from the pump, and then the bottom of the reactor looks like it has a tube out to the tank? Now I think mine is eff'd :? :?: I have my reactor vertical like that finally, on its own cannister filter, but the output of the filter line goes into the BOTTOM of my reactor and then the top of the reactor tubing goes into my spray bar??? I have the airline fitting for the co2 shoot right in at the location of the bio balls in the middle of my reactor

I messed something up huh? I was thinking of running this setup the way it is, but obviously get it straightened out a lil bit yet, and then getting a bubble counter splitter for my reg. and having a diffusor in the tank on the opposite end of the end where the co2 comes out of the spray bar. I should snap some pics, but everything is getting messy now! haha

Feel free to ask anything you want, if I confused you! hahaha

Thanks very much tho, and I am curious how things go for you :D

[ILLUSN]

Erk, you want the out put from the filter up the top, that way water is forced down through the reactor. this is important as bubbles try to rise up through the reactor. this counter current setup maximises the exposure of the bubbles to the water and allows for propper diffusion.

[Erk]

Thanks ILLUSN! I kinda figured after seeing that pic, I had stuff messed up :( I will def. fix that when I get home! Do you think its gonna create a problem, since I turned my bubble count up last night? Im worried now, cause it will be about 6.5 hours of co2 on time until I get home to mess with anything :(

I knew something had to be messed up! I have the red sea co2 indicator directly in the path of the spray bar that spits the co2 "diffused" water out of it, and the bubble count seems a lil fast to me, and I cant seem to get the indicator into the "green"

Thanks again....what do you think about the diffuser idea along with the reactor on opposite ends of the tank? Anything else I can do to increase my changes of pearling?

Thanks :D
Eric

[fish_r]

dont worry Eric i had my diy reactor hooked up wrong too lol, but thats the way i read that u were supposed to hook it up. didnt realise it was wrong till i hooked my new one up...
pearling isn't just about Co2 concentrations it also has to do with o2 concentrations too, they both have to be perfect to get pearling. i read an article on it some where i will see if i can find it again for u...

[Erk]

thanks rob! with my new filter, I now have the entire back wall lined with spray bars pointing up and on a slight angle towards the front wall....def. looks like good surface movement, so I should have good o2 conc in the tank. I was just concerned that I turned the co2 up, and it isnt hooked up correctly...dont wanna gas out my fish when Im at work and cant do anything about it :(

Im sure you have already supplied me with the link your talking about! hahaha :wink: Just must not have read it, or read it wrong :oops:

Thanks very much! I cant wait to get outta here now :( :lol:

[Erk]

I revised my reactor and tubing out of the cannister filter, and it now looks pretty much like fish-r's pic :D My reactor is on a slight angle, so its not 100% vertical, but it seems to work well. Im running about 2 bps now, and I have my drop checker a nice shade of green! I should be close now!

Thanks everyone for your help :D

[Erk]

I have a surface skimmer ordered and it should be here end of this week or beginning of next week, so i can increase my O2, and maybe turn up the co2 a lil bit as well.

Im going to wait until that arrives, and turn the co2 up a bit more, and see how everything goes....and also how the pearling is :wink: :lol:

Just curious tho, if I decide to get a diffuser along with my reactor, would this diffuser (if the link works) be ok? I will also need to get a splitter for my bubble counter, and have two of them, each with their own needle valves.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9915&cm_mmc=LiveAquaria_DFS_Links-_-Fish_Supplies-_-LiveAquaria_Gen_Page-_-CO2_Regulators&ref=3969&subref=AA&N=2004+113779

Thanks very much

[Erk]

Im curious if a magdrive utility pump would be ok to put inline after the output of the cannister and before the reactor? Like in fish_r's pic above

I have two of these at home...

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/206497/product.web

one I use to fill up the tank during water changes, and the other sits in my water storage bin with a heater to circulate water, and keep things warm throughout the bin.

It is such a PITA to get the xp1 going with the reactor after I shut it off during my water changes, and would like to put a pump inline, so this doesnt happen anymore.

Thanks very much

[fish_r]

dont know anything about them pumps, but it looks similar to the eheim ones.
how come u turn ur filter off during water changes, does the water go below the intake or something ?

[Erk]

Thanks fish_r, yes the water does go below the intake

It can take me about 30mins just to try to get this thing going again after my water change, which gets to be a bit wasteful of my new water, cause I have to keep trying to get the filter to fill (prime) and start running, and it doesnt, so I dump "new" water out and try again....its gonna be the death of me, if I dont figure something else out

Thanks again :D