# Another DIY reactor.



## jonboy8465 (5 Jan 2009)

I wanted to have a go at building myself a reactor so I thought i would have a go at doing it with parts available from the high street. Here is a list of what i needed and the cost.
1m of 1.1/2" waste pipe                                                         Â£3.82
2 of 3/4"x1.1/2" overflow reducer                                           Â£1.75ea
(this needs a compression fitting on one end with1" thread)
1of 1.1/2" 90dgr bend solvent weld.                                        Â£1.72
1of 1.1/2" access plug solvent weld.                                        Â£1.90
1of 1.1/2" sweep tee solvent weld.                                          Â£1.90
1of 1" connector (pond pump fitting)blk                                   Â£2.40
1of 1" hose connector (pond pump fitting)blk                           Â£3.19






clean all of the solvent weld fittings well with the correct cleaner and apply the adhesive, you wont have long so dry fit it all first so you know where it all goes and that it all fits. put PTFE tape onto the hose connector and screw into the 1" connector and using 2 adjustable spanners do it up tight. screw this onto the overflow reducer( I found 2 O rings to go on these to make a good watertight seal) be careful not to weaken the solvent weld joint. thinking about it now you could do up all the threads before gluing the joints.





I then drilled a 6mm hole through the bend (see next photo) and inserted some 6mm rigid air line i had, this was glued into place. it is all now being left to let the glues harden before i do a water test.


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## JamesC (5 Jan 2009)

Looks great except for one thing. The CO2 inlet needs to be in the upright tube. Where you've got it now in the water outlet it will just go with the water flow along your tubing to the tank.

James


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## vauxhallmark (5 Jan 2009)

Looking good.

Why do you use two types of joint (screw and sovent welded)? Isn't one easier to make watertight? And if so why use the other?

Thanks for the info, as you can tell, have never worked with plastic pipes.

Can't wait for the real testing!

Best regards,

Mark


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## vauxhallmark (5 Jan 2009)

JamesC said:
			
		

> Looks great except for one thing. The CO2 inlet needs to be in the upright tube. Where you've got it now in the water outlet it will just go with the water flow along your tubing to the tank.
> 
> James



That could be the inlet!


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## vauxhallmark (5 Jan 2009)

Ooh, ooh, one more question:

Why does one end finish with a 90 degree bend and one with a sweep tee?

Cheers,

Mark


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## JamesC (5 Jan 2009)

vauxhallmark said:
			
		

> JamesC said:
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It could be, but then the CO2 inlet would be at the top. It needs to be at the bottom so that the CO2 bubbles rise against the flow of water.

James


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## vauxhallmark (5 Jan 2009)

JamesC said:
			
		

> vauxhallmark said:
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Yeah, have to wait till Jonboy's back on to see what his plans for it are. He might have both the water and CO2 entering at the top of the reactor - unless it's a truly mighty water pump it probably would leave the CO2 at the top of the reactor for the water to flow through. Free standing reactors (with both water inlet and outlet going through the top) usually work like this (with an internal pipe to return the water to the outlet from the bottom of the cylinder). I'm keen to see how it goes, as I'd love to improve my CO2 diffusion, and not have any equipment for it in the tank.

Mark


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## jonboy8465 (5 Jan 2009)

the reason for the  screw thread is its the only way i could find to reduce it down to 19mm for my fluval filter to fit.its designed to fit in the tank cabinet so the 90 at the bottom means the pipe wont be kinked and i can have a longer reactor, the tee at the top collects any undissolved gases and hey will be released either with an automatic air vent (not sure if this will work) or by adding a venturi but i`m not sure where i can connect it too at the bottom to create the venturi effect. suggestions please? the c02 will be added at the bottom so the bubbles will rise against the flow of the water.


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## JamesM (5 Jan 2009)

I'm seriously starting to think of one of these for myself now, either DIY or one from Ed.

Can someone explain the need for a space to trap undissolved gas? Isn't that a waste of co2?


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## jonboy8465 (5 Jan 2009)

i`m no expert on this but not all of the gas is co2 and you might be adding c02 faster than it can dissolve. somebody with more experience might be able to explain better. I think i saw something in one of the other posts about diy reactors. give it a go all of my bits i got from the high street, if you cant find them let me know and i will be happy to post them to you.


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## Simon D (6 Jan 2009)

Please excuse my ignorance, but why do you not have the CO2 line going in on the vertical of the elbow, instead of the horizontal? Where I've put the red blob!



I would have thought that this would would give the CO2 bubbles a chance of rising against the water flow instead of being forced through with the flow. Hope that makes sense?


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## jonboy8465 (6 Jan 2009)

yes it makes perfect sense, i put it in the wrong place and had to change it today. when i connected it to my filter it leaked and had to be stripped down, dried out and repaired. i`m now waiting for the glue to dry before attempting to connect it all up again tomorrow.


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## Simon D (6 Jan 2009)

I wasn't critisising, just thought it would have made sense that way round. I've never tried it so "hats off to you"  

Why did it leak anyway? Are you going to do change the adhesive? I shouldn't think it's the set-up that made it leak!


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## jonboy8465 (7 Jan 2009)

when i changed the c02 connection i had to re glue it and i didn't allow enough tine for the glue to harden properly. I`m going to do a pressure test before i connect it to my filter this time.


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## jonboy8465 (7 Jan 2009)

all connected with no leaks and c02 is rising and collecting at the top as its designed to. how do i know if the c02 is dissolving should i be getting very fine bubbles out of the filter return? i have a few but not as many as i did with my glass diffuser. does it take a while to get working correctly? any suggestions please?


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## LondonDragon (7 Jan 2009)

jonboy8465 said:
			
		

> all connected with no leaks and c02 is rising and collecting at the top as its designed to. how do i know if the c02 is dissolving should i be getting very fine bubbles out of the filter return? i have a few but not as many as i did with my glass diffuser. does it take a while to get working correctly? any suggestions please?



The idea is not to get any bubbles coming into the tank at all, it should all disolve in the reactor 
Just monitor CO2 levels with a drop checker.


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## jonboy8465 (7 Jan 2009)

thanks for your reply. that's good means its working ok then. i have a dropper with the correct water in it for accuracy so i`ll keep my eye on it. thanks again.


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