New DIY Ca reactor

does the CO2 generally mix well with the water or do you still have a lot of gas at the top as the bubbles go through? This line feeds in to the line from the tank. Is there enough suction there to suck down the gas? i.e. would it be better on the recirculation pump output (or input)?

BTW, I couldn't find that cutting board at walmart. I have to use some ugly black and sparkly cutting board with a handle. :)
 
this place has taps and drill bits..i just bought the 1/2ntp part #03253028 price $9.18...3/4npt part #04350070 price $12.72....drill bit for the 1/2"(45/64) part #01340454 price $9.82 and drill bit for 3/4 is part #01340587(29/32). they also have the 1/4npt also.. these probably aren't the best for metal but they're great for plastic http://www.mscdirect.com/mscdirect.process
 
got the co2 tank, the co2 guage with solonid and bubble counter, and i bought a kangaroo 324 dosing pump on ebay, $36, i noticed that you are running at 20 bubbles and dosing pump at 900ml/hr. that comes to about 5.7 gals a day. i know all tanks are not the same but thanks for giving me a starting point. ?? the dosing pump is on the intake side not the outtake (right)..thanks for all your help
 
DrMilhouse said:
does the CO2 generally mix well with the water or do you still have a lot of gas at the top as the bubbles go through? This line feeds in to the line from the tank. Is there enough suction there to suck down the gas? i.e. would it be better on the recirculation pump output (or input)?

BTW, I couldn't find that cutting board at walmart. I have to use some ugly black and sparkly cutting board with a handle. :)
Click to expand...

That is why you should have a recirculating line from the top of the 1st chamber back into the venturi input.

It will recirculate any unused CO2 (more efficient use of CO2 and better mix in the 1st chamber. less CO2 fill ups) GO back a couple of pages and take a look at my reactor aka dubbed "flux capacitator" to see what I'm talking about.
 
got it all done,checking plumbing for leaks,fixed the one leak then was letting it run with just water,came back 20 minutes later and the pump female inlet cracked all the way to the base,open it up and the ceramic shaft was in pieces,total run time for the pump 23 minutes..who said mag 2 pumps were any good. maybe i ought to buy a rio. maybe i'll get the replacement parts in a month if i'm lucky
 
just curious, but are you using this second red line because your first design had to be extended a couple of inches? i.e. if the 1/2 inch return at the top of the first chamber is high enough, that second "venturi" line from the top of the chamber to the bottom isn't really needed, right? Should be finishing mine up tonight (minus the CO2 input, but that's coming first weekend of april).
 
I have 2 mag#2 pumps on 2 reactors running all day every day for months on end, I dont think that pump housing cracked itself. I think you should buy that rio and watch what happens.
 
i had the unit hooked up on the front porch all was fine when i went inside,,came out 20 minutes later and water was leaking,,i looked down and it was cracked all the way.the fitting was not overly tight either.i was joking about the rio
 
use the search and look for a thread with the words "broken rios"... more specifically "let's count the broken rios". There are HUNDREDS of bad experiences with those pumps. I personally got one hell of a shock from one. Mag or at least something better than rio is the only way to go. How about that red "gas return line" that you have. Think it wouldn't be needed if the 1/2 in return is high enough?
 
Also, I have a mag 5 sitting around that I could use for this. Any reason why that wouldn't work for this? (i.e. too much flow, not enough time to break down the substrate?)
 
Drmilhouse, Are you speaking of the first to second chamber Ã"šÃ‚½ poly tubing, the single red Ã"šÃ‚¼Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚poly line is just to recirculate the co2 to the pumps inlet( there is no venturi in this plan), if you located the Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ poly line higher on the first chamber you may run the risk of air locking from the first chamber to the second depending on how you are feeding the reactor (powerhead, return pump, etc) Jeyes, I have built four reactors and used mags#2 on all of them, you may have just gotten a bad one, the mag works for me, I did build one with a maxijet on a Kalk reactor and within weeks the impeller was completely trashed, I have had the mag#2 on the same reactor for nearly a year now without cleaning it once and its still going quiet as can be, this is just my preference. Thanks >>>>GEBC
 
i'm sure they're good pumps,looking at it closely there is a plastic mold line running all the way through it even up the male outlet, it cracked on this line, so i'm guessing maybe too much stress on the inlet caused it to crack.. the plumbing weight should be mostly on the 1/2 fitting at the top of the reactor, but there is weight on the female inlet of the pump also.as far as the ceramic impellor, that had to be broken as they dont break in 20 minutes, maybe ups dropped the box a few times last week too.
 
The mag#2 im using has a barbed inlet, I have a piece of tubing connecting to the 1/2" pvc, there is no weight on my inlet, i would try another mag if I were you, some people love them, others hate them, I am in the first group of mag owners.
 
Okay, what is that piece that is at the bottom of the bubble counter side of that crossing? What do you have that air will go into? Is it just a compression type fitting like the two 90% fittings that you have joining the two chambers?
 
DrMilhouse,at the bottom fo the bubble counter is a 90deg (JG)speed fitting (all the fittings on the reactor and on the Co2 setup are "john guest" type fittitngs, The fittings are also sold by the Home Depot, just look for Watts speed fittings in the plumbing isle, I run my Co2 through the poly icemaker type tubing and those fittings without any leakage.>>>>>>>>GEBC
 
Cool :) that's what I was thinking it was. It's what I had purchased already, but wasn't sure if that was going to do it or not. :) missed the first round for plumbing it, have to do it again Sunday. Hopefully this one I can line up better. :D
 
DrMilhouse said:
use the search and look for a thread with the words "broken rios"... more specifically "let's count the broken rios". There are HUNDREDS of bad experiences with those pumps. I personally got one hell of a shock from one. Mag or at least something better than rio is the only way to go. How about that red "gas return line" that you have. Think it wouldn't be needed if the 1/2 in return is high enough?
Click to expand...

1st Re: Rio's
The majority of the problems occur with user error.
When the end user cleans the unit and re-assembles it back together incorrectly.

The ceramic shaft that the impeller goes on has a small rubber
guide. Many people put this rubber piece into the top of the housing (the bottom if you are looking at it from the bottom of the pump (INLET) ). This part holds the impeller in place to give it balance as well as allowing it to move slightly up and down.

What happens if it assembled incorrectly is that the unit functions for a minute or so then stops working because the unit is out of balance, it gets stuck or if the pump is powerful enough it will crack the ceramic shaft.

I have had no problems with Rio's other then what I mentioned here. They are powerful and inexpensive pumps.

FYI

I fired up my CA Reactor on Friday evening:
using an Eheim 1250 for circulation, in-water is gravity fed, outflow water has a valve to adjust the effluent rate.

Sunday morning readings are:
Effluent rate= 100ml per minute
BPM= 80
EPH=6.9
FPH=8.1
dKH=28
CA=400 I would like to see this higher, but I went from a 55gal to 140 and added a 55 gal sump and a 55 gal refugium. So it will take a week or so to build up to 550 again with all the add'l water.


How does this compare to others?
 
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