Re: [APD] CO2 Saturation

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

It's a question of balance between CO2 flow rate and the
water flow rate.  It's okay if there is a large bubble of
gas up at the top of the "reactor" tube, an inch or two or
3. In fact, once you have the system stable, you can
sometimes roughly equate the size of the bubble at the top
of the tube with the amount of CO2 in the water.

The only thing that you want to minimize is bubbles being
blown out the bottom. One thing that might help is to place
somethine in the tube to break up the water current -- a
clean plastic mesh scouring pad or or some bioballs, etc. 
To hold them in the tube, you can make two or four small
holes near the bottom edge of the tube and use some small
plastic wire ties to make straps across the bottom. You
might find it easier to make clean holes by heating an old
phillips screwdriver or awl and pushing it against the tube
rather than trying to poke with a cold awl or drill. But do
what you're comfortable with.

At 60 bubbles per minute, the 2224 might be a bit light for
the purpose -- it has about the same output as a 2213, in
use roughly 50 -80 gph depending on the length of hose,
number of turns, biofilm buildup, filter media, etc.

I suggest trying the mess (or substitute for mesh) first,
and if that doesn't prove adequate, then think about a
stronger water source.

If you switch to an external reactor, not only will the
aquarium have less equipment in it but you will probably be
able to get 100% absorbtion.

With powerheads, the basic design is pretty much the same.
IF you get one that's unusually noisy, the manufacturer
will usually make good on it under warranty.  Personally,
I've found the Rios to be very reliable but I don't know if
TAAM, their maker, is still in business; the web site has
been down for more than a little while. But I wouldn't
hesitate to buy one if I needed a power head or small pump.


Scott H.

--- Steve <steve_wilsonii at fishpalace_org> wrote:
> I have the standard gravel vac tube at the end of
> my eheim 2224 as my CO2 reactor. The flow is not
> enough and I get a graavel vac tube that is full
> of co2 and water flowing right down the middle by
> mid day. My CO2 is only at 1 bubble per second but
> it just does not seem right to me.
> I took the gravel vac tube off of the filter and
> put a small powerhead on the tube and it works
> better, but now it's noisy, and there is still
> some air there.
> Is there a way to get total CO2 saturation so the
> tube is full of water, and not just pushing the
> CO2 out? Is there a power head that works the
> best?


=====
S. Hieber

-  -   -   -   -   -   -   -
Amano Returns
to the AGA Annual Convention
Nov 2004 -- Baltimore

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