# CO2 Reactor - New CO2Art Project



## CO2Art.co.uk (12 Jul 2014)

Hello All,

In past few months we received many questions about CO2 Reactor for larger hoses (Ø17 and Ø24). Unfortunately we were not able to source anything which is good quality and for acceptable price. This is why we will take this as challenge for us and we decided to design and build such product.

Before we start designing we would like to hear from you, what features such reactor should have (apart from 100% dissolution rate).

So far we have on our list :
- build-in heater
- pump to increase flow
- adapters for all hose sizes (Inlet starting with size Ø24, then adapter to Ø17 and to Ø13)
- option with UV lamp ?

We will gather all your suggestions, pass to our development team and we will let you know what can be done and how will be price range.

Once all agree with you, we will build prototypes, give it away to beta testers here at UKAPS and if all tests passed we will start production.

Let us know what you think.


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## tim (12 Jul 2014)

Interested  you seem to have covered most requirements.


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## GHNelson (12 Jul 2014)

Size....is major issue for smaller cabinets.
hoggie


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## 13r0wn7 (12 Jul 2014)

Very interested 16/22 size  


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## EnderUK (12 Jul 2014)

Ensure good sealing for external use.
Keep it simple, no complicated parts, easy to clean.
Sound, my max mix is very loud due to the impeller rattle.
Ø16 dia inlets  In fact if you could just screw in the correct barb that would be good.
Spare parts.

I don't think an extra pump in the unit would be work, you would have the filter pump and the reactor pump working at different rates, not ideal.


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## GHNelson (12 Jul 2014)

In fact if you could just screw in the correct barb that would be good....excellent idea Ender
hoggie[DOUBLEPOST=1405159156][/DOUBLEPOST]A cradle to screw to the cabinet....maybe?
Easy access shut off valves for removal for cleaning the reactor...similar to these.




Think these are a must....don't see why these are so expensive!
hoggie


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## pepedopolous (12 Jul 2014)

Interested in 16/22 size. I've been thinking about getting one if these:
http://www.us-aquaristikshop.com/co2-reaktoren/
but I think that because the inlet and outlet tube are on the same side, it will make fitting it in the cabinet harder. It would be better if they were vertical on the top and bottom, or just orientated in opposite directions.


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## foxfish (12 Jul 2014)

About time someone made a commercial reactor that can take a decent flow & pipe size.
There are many ways to go but keeping the unit small would probably mean either a multi chamber unit or a vortex design, both are very simple in operation.
A separate pump powered model has lots of potential as well.
The most simple design might just be an external version of what is readily available as an internal reactor.


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## Frenchi (16 Jul 2014)

Noise level when in use ... And water tight ...  I'm sure you guys can top up with another great product  


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## CO2Art.co.uk (16 Jul 2014)

Hello,

Thank you all for your input! 

All these suggestions takes me to one direction...to modify (internals to make CO2 dissolve correctly) small compact external filter construction. We would have different type of connectors, shut off valves, easy to clean, build-in pump, we could add heater, UV lamp.

What you think about having separate inlet and outlet pipe ?  As Foxfish mentioned, two pumps on one inlet - outlet hosing will not be very good idea (maybe if we split hosing into two at reactor inlet and join into back at reactor outlet? We need to test this to see how that will affect water flow).

Thank you!


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## EnderUK (16 Jul 2014)

If I get what you mean you'd have the reactor with pump running in a parallel circuit to the main filter which again I don't think is a real good idea as if the reactor pump is stronger than the filter pump you would get cavitation due to low pressure on the reactor inlet. If your filter pump was much higher than the reactor you would still have the ractor pump running at forced RPM.

Unless you make it so that the pump is a modular extra for those that want to run the reactor seperate from their filter I don't think the pump is a good idea. It will increase cost and make the thing more complex then it needs to be.

I think if I was designing the reactor I would make some sort of inverted U-bend tubing with CO2 inlet and pipe inlet on one end and the outlet on the other. Have the CO2 go through a low pressure diffuser (unscrew to clean) and the undisolved CO2 will collect at the top of the bend, you could have a bleed valve here. Have the water tight fittings to screw in your internal heater and UV lamp on to the end caps. You'd have to work out pipe diamter and the bend radius to minimise pressure drop.

Basically the same design as the long tube CO2 reactors, screw off end caps, easily cleaned, no moving parts to break or rattle in the flow.


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## Iain Sutherland (16 Jul 2014)

Think it's great that you are thinking of doing this, the more choice the better.

My opinion would be that keeping the design simple is best.  Adding heaters, pumps or uv just complicates things and are all options that are otherwise available.

Obviously the main factor is it's ability to dissolve co2, next would be noise followed by the ability to see inside it (acrylic)

Having a reactor that doesn't need media in it is a huge factor for me as I means it only needs cleaning a few times a year.

Looking at the current effective designs, aqua medic 1000, foxfish's DIY id say stick to something similar to these.
The only change I'd make to the am1000 is a drain valve on the bottom to make pipe removal easier without spills and have 90deg elbows in the box for those that want them top and bottom.

Haven't used foxfish's but it looks good.

A reactor is a simple thing so why complicate it?

Look forward to seeing what you come up with 



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## foxfish (16 Jul 2014)

Vortex designs are extremely effective, they don't really seem to have limit of how much gas you can dissolve due to the very long contact time within the reactor.
A simple tube with an inlet set at an tangent will send the flow spinning inside ... that's it really!
I made a prototype to fit my standard fast flow reactor design but never got around to testing it (yet) but I thing a bit more work & a plastic injection version would work well?
If you send the flow spinning around the outside of the internal bottle the overall efficiency would improve dramatically!

[DOUBLEPOST=1405539968][/DOUBLEPOST]Here is another prototype, you can see how the pipe enters the tube...
[DOUBLEPOST=1405540167][/DOUBLEPOST]A simple vortex running externally


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## foxfish (16 Jul 2014)

Another one ...


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## CO2Art.co.uk (17 Jul 2014)

Hello.

This is very interesting, thank you all for your help! 

All suggestions noted and will be on drawing desk next week.

I'll share first draft as soon as it is available.


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## terry82517 (16 Aug 2014)

Any news on this?


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## CO2Art.co.uk (19 Aug 2014)

Hello,

Sorry guys! We are in process of moving to the new warehouse. Everything is so hectic. 

I'll keep you posted.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (6 Nov 2014)

Look forward to it. Nothing else to add other than +1 on the quick release taps so it can be removed from the system without the need to remove other piping or drain down. I think adding the heater and UV would make it less attractive and affordable though.

The key to making a good one would be where the inlets and outlets are positioned. Reactors are usually seen as flow killers so it needs to be able to be kept in the cabinet with the minimum of tight bends possible.


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## Wisey (18 Nov 2014)

I would be very interested in this, but as some have said, simple and affordable is the key. I have a heater in my Eheim so duplicating features like that would just put the price up. For me, something that works like the Sera 1000, but has a decent build quality and does not break like the Sera 1000, thats all that you really need to have a winning product that I would buy without question!


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## Wisey (18 Nov 2014)

In addition to my last post, is there a progress update? The last update looks to have been in August when you were moving. I'm looking for something I can buy in December, or January latest. Are you likely to have something up and running?


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## Miroslav (18 Nov 2014)

Good evening guys,

Thank you very much for your feedback. It is all a big help to us with the new project. 

Unfortunately we are still in stage of drawing as we would like make a good reactor. All your points are good we would like to create durable and easy too use reactor as well as not a 'flow killer', 

Unfortunately I am not sure if the reactor will be ready this year as we were moving as you all know and we will adding new products very soon so at the moment we do not know where to jump first to be honest. 

But do not worry we did not forgot about this project as we still changing, discarding and adjusting the drawings. If everything will go fine we should have first prototype soon.

Thank you all again for the great ideas.


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## imak (21 Nov 2014)

Waiting patiently


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## Sacha (21 Nov 2014)

Something that does not leak, provides 100% dissolution with zero bubbles in the tank, and as small as reasonably possible, with minimal impact on flow. If you guys manage to pull that off, you will dominate the market  

(Waiting impatiently)


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## DivZero (18 Jan 2015)

Any update on this?


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