the co2 input at the bottom doesnt make any sense. it should be at the top, your best bet is to flip your reactor upside down, and even then its not a very good design as the co2 will be on top of the water. why the hell did you make changes to the design without understanding the basic concept of how it works? you pretty much have a usless "reactor", haha. the co2 goes straight from the tubing to the ouput of the reactor lol. you might as well just stick the co2 tubing in your tank. the standard silicone tubing and check valves will be fine for at least a year. once they start to get too brittle you can replace them, but that will be quite a while.
my diy reactor...
- Thread starter 1SiCk Mk3
- Start date
You've got quite the mouth on you. Silicone tubing gases off co2, which mean a huge waste of co2. Vinyl (which is what he has) get degraded by co2 in less than a month. Might want to stick to your research a little longer before spouting off.blacklabel;1996983;1996983 said:
the reactor is literally useless. all it does is take up space. and you are wrong about the tubing. sure co2 is better, but silicone, vinyl and regular plastic check valves are fine. gasses off HUGE amounts? lol, exagerate much? I think by huge you mean miniscule, unsubstantial, tiny, unnoticeable amounts. replace them once a year or so and there is no problem. in stead of just regergitating info you read on a website over and over again, without any first hand knowledge, why dont you reserve your coments for subjects you have dealt with.WyldFya;1997098; said:
how does my co2 come out of my input and go straight trough my return...??...the tube that goes up into the fitting goes into the reactor and to about the middle...which means the co2 is entering the reactor in the middle and spending plenty of time in the reactor...now that i have everything up and running how i want u cant even see bubbles...i almost thought it wasnt working when i got home yesterday because the bubbles are so small and diffused...black label obviously u dont understand a reactor and how it works because if i flip it upside down its useless...and u are the expert huh???...how would a reactor with the co2 input on top work??...i mean its going with the flow...u want it against the flow of water to diffuse and get churned up...only thing that has been said on this post that is correct is my choice of tube...when i have the chance ill pick up co2 tubing and call it a day...when u think about the reactor logically my co2 is entering the reactor and dead center which is a plus...also its entering above the return with plenty of time to diffuse...so why knock it???...i understand how a reactor works and have researched it alot...only difference between me and u is that youll copy something u see and i made a attempt to make it better...if it dont work all i have to do is change a fitting and it will be just like every other reactor out there...so why say i made a useless reactor???...like wyldfya said u are talking about something u obviously dont know much about...wyldfya do u understand what im trying to accomplish with the design???...cardona's is similar...with the co2 input in the middle...i just went a different route with it....up to now it seems to be working well...time will tell...
1SiCk Mk3;1997406; said:
you didnt mention this before, or show pics of how it looks inside. i was under the impression that the tubing stopped at the fitting. now that i know this, i dont see any issues with the design of it since overall its no different from the rex reactor, just a different point of entrance for the co2 line.
as for the tubing youre using, here's a chart that shows the co2 permeability for those that want to get very techincal...
http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/...E,C&htmlfile=SelectingTubing.htm&Title=Search
I have dealt with all three. Co2 gases off in very large amounts out of silicone. THIS IS WHY NO REAL PLANT KEEPER USES IT. Vinyl is easily eroded, and lasts less than a month. THIS IS WHY NO REAL PLANT KEEPER USES IT. I speak from experience. Learn to give constructive criticism, or find a new trolling location. You will not be tolerated here. Your "experience" has little weight, when you speak against people that really know what they are talking about. The way you type out info, is the way no one would ever listen to you, not that they would be missing anything, except poor theories, and insults that hold no meaning. Again, do some research, or get some real experience before spouting off.blacklabel;1997144;1997144 said:
I understand the design. One major flaw with having tubing go up that far, is that the water will push it around a bit. I would opt for as short of a tubing as I can get.1SiCk Mk3;1997406;1997406 said:
Oh, OK. Thanks for clearing that up. I must be a 'fake' plant keeper since I use silicone line for my CO2. And I guess I just forgot about having to refill my CO2 tank every week. That slipped my mind earlier I'm glad you reminded me. I'm lucky if my tank lasts that long even! I'm thinking about upgrading to a 10,000 gallon CO2 tank, buried in my backyard because I'm just going through so much damn CO2!
thanks for the link cardona...ill be picking some tubing up this week...and wyldfya thank u for ur input also...i KNOW u know ur stuff and apreciate all the input u have given me since i started my tank...its come along way i gotta post some pics...i see what u are saying about the tubing bouncing around in the current...i can correct that by making it out of hard tube....but so far i see no problems with it...like i said time will tell...and if i have any problems ill change the fitting and design...i dont think the reactor is poorly designed like some have stated...like cardona said he didnt know the tubing went all the way up and now that he does he see's no problem in the reactor...same as me...only thing is what u brought up about the tubing which i really didnt think of...another thing i was thinking of today is adding a very fine airstone inside the reactor to give it a headstart...even though i dont think i need it...it would be more diffusion...the bubble wouldnt start as one big bubble getting diffused but many smaller ones...what do u think wyldfya???
