# Using a ladder in a Vision 260



## cjking (10 Jul 2012)

That's where I've ended up, after trying most other methods for dissolving CO2.

I'm currently reviving a neglected Vision 260 that was set up several years ago. It had a D-D regulator set which I'd been using with 3.2kg bottles supplied by London Beer Gas.

The set came with a small ceramic diffuser in a plastic holder, this wasn't suitable for a large tank, I think it clogged after a short while, and when I turned up the pressure the plastic cracked.

I bought a Juwel CO2 reactor. Only one place advertised it, and it wasn't mentioned on the Juwel web site, both of which should have been a warning. This pumped CO2 into a transparent plastic cylinder that was held to the side of the tank with two suckers and open to the tank at the bottom, and had a hole at the top in which a tube could be inserted that was joined to the input underneath the Juwel pump. I suspect the idea was that the pump would draw water past the pool of C02 in the upside down jar. This didn't work perfectly, at 1 bps the CO2 didn't diffuse fast enough and every few seconds it would build down to the input level of the inserted tube and get sucked in and burped out by the pump. The depth of the exit tube had to be set very carefully to mininise burping and was easily bumped. The tube was also easiy dislodged at the pump end, and got in the way of filter maintenace. The reactor was also rather ugly. The suckers didn't stick to the wall easily. In short, everything about it was horrible, except it did actually get CO2 into the tank.

I did at some stage try changing to a glass diffuser, broke it tryng to fit the CO2 line, cut my hand in the process. Went back to the Juwel reactor.

So I was determined to get something better for my tank revival.

Roughly half the products sold by Tankscape or Aquaessentials need to be ruled out, because they are for use with an external external filter, and I'm using the Juwel internal one.

I bought the 4-in-1 bubble counter/atomiser from aquaessentials. This worked for about a week, then I couldn't get it to work at all. If I tried to turn up the pressure to the 2 bar it was documented as requiring, CO2 simply leaked from the CO2 tubing at the needle valve end. (For the week it worked pressure was slightly abouve 1.5 bar.)

After giving up on getting the atomiser working again, I tried feeding CO2 tube directly into hole at the bottom of the pump, the pump burped big bubbles that went to surface.

I had a Juwel Venturi kit (which the seller of the CO2 reactor had included free and I had never even opened) and after connecting CO2 that generated small bubbles that looked like they were mostly dissolving, but as a solution this was too noisy.

I got out my Hagen ladder that had come with the Natural CO2 kit for my 10G/40L tank which predated the Vision 260 by a few months, and which I hadn't used in the small tank after the first few months. I've got that up to 2 bubbles per second in the Vision 260, it is working well. I put it on the back glass flush against the filter, near the Juwel filter output and one of the intakes. It could be my imagination, but I think positioning it half way down shrinks the bubbles slightly more than having it near the surface, whether because of greater flow or pressure I'm not sure. 

I'm a bit bemused that the thing that works the best for me isn't even sold as an option by most shops.

There was Dennerle ladder going at half-price on Ebay, I've bought that as another option. It has extra potential benefits in terms of small bubbles being collected at the top, and I suspect these could be pumped out throught the Juwel pump as well, if I wanted to. Also it mounts slight differently (perpendicular to the tank wall rather than flat on it) which might be an advantage. However the Hagen is working so well that I think I may just stick the Dennerle in a cupboard and forget about it.


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## ian_m (10 Jul 2012)

How about using one of these in the tank, diffuser and pump.

http://www.co2supermarket.co.uk/co2-mixer-reactor-diffuser.html


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## cjking (11 Jul 2012)

Looks like an interesting option. I can't tell if it could be connected to the output of a Juwel pump, but if it could you'd need to add a separate pump for circulation, and if you are going to add a pump then you might as well add it to the CO2 and leave circulation to the Juwel. (I have my Juwel outlet pointing in a direction that seems to get the whole tank circulating slowly.) I think pump+reactor will be more unsightly than the ladder. (Which admiitedly is more unsightly than a ceramic disk, but I've had no luck with those. Besides, I'm starting to like watching the bubbles on the ladder.)

I think the simpler the solution the better, and the ladder seems much more straightforward.


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## BMK (11 Jul 2012)

Hi
I was going to post about my co2 woes but you beat me to it, I have a Jewel Vision 180 and for years used an Aquamedic 5000 reactor powered by a Maxijet 900LPH pump but when setting up my new tank decided to opt for glass ceramic diffusers (as although the reactor worked perfectly it looked out of place at the back of the tank) I bought a couple each of JBL Proflora Taifun p, an Aquamedic 1000 and a TMC Aquagro model 2906 and no matter what working pressure/bubbles per second they ALL only used about a quarter of the ceramic plate and ALL only lasted about a week before being 'clogged' and needed cleaning. I am in no dought that the ADA diffusers will be much better but I dont want to pay upwards of £100, there must be something in between that will work. I have also read that the UP atomisers work well for a short period and then start to leak at the seams due to the high pressure they need.

Barry


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## ian_m (11 Jul 2012)

BMK said:
			
		

> ....I have also read that the UP atomisers work well for a short period and then start to leak at the seams due to the high pressure they need.


Mine works fine and has been working fine since February on about 2.6 bar (40psi).

Easy to check for leaks, connect CO2 pipe only, dunk in jug of water and turn on. Masses of fine bubbles from inside but certainly no leaks.

I have fixed my filter pipes with jubilee clips as whilst filter fiddling it is possible, if you pull hard, to pull the filter pipes out the connections, at least with my JBL pipes, which do appear to be a tad thicker than the other 16/22mm pipe I have.


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