[APD] Inline CO2 Reactors.

[Chris Hotte <ecwh at cogeco_ca>]

S. Hieber wrote:

> An alternative -- mind you I didn't say the only one -- is
> to get the CO2 equipment out of the tank -- a mixing
> chamber (or what the at-a-loss-for-small-words folks call a
> *REACTOR*) can be made for a few bucks and a little time --
> and not much dexterity is required:
>
> http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/co2reactor.htm
>
> Btw, neither Dave nor Hudson nor I make a penny on these --
> and I didn't design the things or make the pictures and I'm
> not even connected with the website -- I only bring them up
> because they're  inexpensive, 100% efficient, out of the
> tank, and easy to make.
>  
I made something like similar based on that instructional.  I could only 
find barb connectors that have had a 90o angle. It works, however it's a 
pain in the ass to clean since I sealed it with the exception of the 
barbed fittings.  It also doesn't disconnect very nicely and usually 
ends up in a mess. Instead of BioBalls, I used large inert granite 
pebbles I had lying around. I used it for around 6 months and then grew 
tired of it slowing down the little flow I had. I'm lazy about cleaning 
my canister filter, so I didn't need the extra drag inline after a 
couple months of buildup. I removed the stupid thing and now feed CO2 
directly into in a powerhead I pulled out of retirement. It works fine. 
The bubble rate is now 0.33/second vs 0.14/second with the reactor.  My 
5lb tank still lasts 'forever'.  The guy at the welding shop has only 
seen me once for a refill since I got this setup from him around this 
time last year. I absolutely blew his mind with the slow controlled rate 
I was trying to achieve.  He'd never heard of anything like this 
application, however that isn't surprising at a welding supplier.  My 
tank would have lasted longer if I hadn't decided to dump it when the 
guage was reading 800psi, down from the regular 900psi.  That was fun. I 
did it to avoid "tank dump" but there was alot more gas in there than I 
had expected and I likely will not do that again.

CO2 is cheap and well... I think the inline reactor is a nice project 
and all, but necessary if some other reaction method is available, even 
if not as efficient.  It's still nowhere near the inconvenience of using 
the yeast/sugar method.  I'll stop keeping aquatic plants before I go 
back to that.

Anyone want my PVC inline C02 reactor? I still haven't tossed it. Free, 
but you pay shipping --  It's full of rocks. ;-)

- Chris.
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