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CO2 Reactor UK sellers?

As I have been quietly predicting all will end with no venturi... 😂
Which will be a good result, as we would have all found that it isn't needed. You just happen to start your latest CO2 reactor with venturi sooner thats all ;)
 
Hi all, i've been following this thread with interest from the start and got my reactor a few weeks ago.
I was waiting for the verdict on the venturi but set it up on my 350l as it comes out of the box. My CO2 is on a separate loop to my filter driven by a 3000 l/hr pump and I have always had micro bubbles whichever diffuser i've used .
I connected up and tweaked the inlet to achieve the best vortex and did the usual pH profile. Took about 2 hrs for a drop of 1pH. No bubbles in the tank and just few in the reactor initially but after a couple of weeks it was difficult to see any in the reactor. I don't see any build up of gas at the top of the reactor , just inside the dome.
I have kept the pump on full speed to maintain the throughput but might experiment with reducing the speed to see if that affects the buildup in the reactor.
Hope this is useful to somebody thinking of trying a reactor without having to modify anything.
Cheers
John
 
Hi all, i've been following this thread with interest from the start and got my reactor a few weeks ago.
I was waiting for the verdict on the venturi but set it up on my 350l as it comes out of the box. My CO2 is on a separate loop to my filter driven by a 3000 l/hr pump and I have always had micro bubbles whichever diffuser i've used .
I connected up and tweaked the inlet to achieve the best vortex and did the usual pH profile. Took about 2 hrs for a drop of 1pH. No bubbles in the tank and just few in the reactor initially but after a couple of weeks it was difficult to see any in the reactor. I don't see any build up of gas at the top of the reactor , just inside the dome.
I have kept the pump on full speed to maintain the throughput but might experiment with reducing the speed to see if that affects the buildup in the reactor.
Hope this is useful to somebody thinking of trying a reactor without having to modify anything.
Cheers
John
Thanks for your input :D, it all helps :thumbup:
 
Rather than cobbling something together for the Venturi has there been any discussion about ‘Venturi Eductors’ because chances are you may find a suitable candidate out there to buy.

:)
Like this which I had from @Andrew Butler
1632056705502.png
1632056738467.png


Two down sides IMO
1. Restriction the flow (diameter) though the venturi Eductor is similar to the venturi I had purchased from e bay
2. Once fitted the CO2 pocket would be larger than before.

TBH I had forgot I had it, I may try it at some point
 
TBH I had forgot I had it, I may try it at some point
There was a bit of a variety in the box if I remember correctly, there might be another but still the same problem, I can't remember where I got it from but the

I've not read the thread properly to be honest but I'm unsure of the internals this inline Venturi has if it helps at all.
I know you would still need some extra pieces, even if this worked but you might be able to find a piece that simply screws onto the venturi inlet and the 3/4" BSP you will get to a barb quite cheaply and easily.
Chris is/was the guy at A-R and quite helpful, he might be able to sort something for you if you are looking more at a finished unit but remember water pushing through and Venturi or any body of water will put excess force on your filter pump and is more suited to a separate pump, probably why they are not commonplace.
 
but remember water pushing through and Venturi or any body of water will put excess force on your filter pump and is more suited to a separate pump

Absolutely correct, have been using the Vidao reactors without venturi and like @Hanuman said with his, if the turbulence is good enough in the reactor the need for a venturi seems to be not required which avoids the extra load on the pump and keeps flow higher
 
OK, so @Zeus has inspired me to have a hack around with my reactor. As I mentioned above I wondered if it were possible to build a venturi/bubbler inside the reactor to draw the gas pocket at the top into the main inflow, eliminating the need for anything external to address this.

I also decided to modify the inlet as I didn’t like how the plastic elbow fires straight at the side of the reactor and forces water upwards and downwards, and wanted it pushing more downwards to enhance the vortex.

So I used a spare deflector, bonded it to the existing elbow, and drilled a hole to take 5mm O/D Perspex tube to act as the Venturi:

EB082451-1B22-4737-A472-47B62E8957BA.jpeg


The finished inlet with deflector and Venturi tube in place, with a piece of CO2 tubing to reach up to the concave centre of the reactor head:

75C7E755-A4A4-4072-AEB8-3A42D2F6123F.jpeg


As it turned out, I only needed the Perspex tube to project into the inlet by 2-3mm to get the venturi effect to work, which is great as it means minimal effect on flow:

80BB9B72-1C61-457D-8880-2B8880C2D72C.jpeg


I used more of the 5mm tube to create an inlet for the CO2 lower down in the reactor to increase contact time, and also act as a bubble counter if needed. The tube was very difficult to heat and bend successfully, so it ended up more like a deformed hockey stick 😂 , but it works to release the bubbles centrally in the reactor:

5E3AEC97-D81A-4007-A56C-2F1FB306AB2A.jpeg


Here I tested the inlet in the sink hooked up to a little 1000 lph pump, to ensure the venturi worked as planned:



Here is everything installed in the reactor head:

DF462D27-41C7-429C-A96F-FDA395FD1C9F.jpeg


5739A91A-0C9B-4664-8EE4-D2DDC78F6F61.jpeg


This is it working. When the video starts the reactor is completely full of water, with no air at the top. I use the CO2 inlet and manually blow some air into it to get it to start working.



I tried to zoom in a bit in this video - the camera focuses in the wrong place, but you can just about see the stream of air being pulled in by the Venturi in the background:

 
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@Wookii if you can find the time m8, can you block the venturi so it wont work and repeat the running water and blowing air in. This would help confirm how well the venturi is working ;)

Also what was the output of the pump you used?
 
@Wookii if you can find the time m8, can you block the venturi so it wont work and repeat the running water and blowing air in. This would help confirm how well the venturi is working ;)

Also what was the output of the pump you used?

I probably won't get chance mate - it was a bit of an effort hooking it all up. The next time I hook it up, with be to the actual tank.

I can see the air being drawing into the venturi (you can just about see it in the last video on my post, out of focus at the rear of the reactor). There is no other way for the air to be drawn into the flow as the deflector prevents the outlet flow of water snagging onto any of the air pocket. All the bubbles you are seeing in the video are from the venturi exclusively, if that is what you were wondering. You can also see in my first video of the test in the sink, when I dip the venturi under the water the bubbles stop, and then start back up again when it is lifted out.

I used a little Maxijet pump, rated at 1000 lph - though I doubt its delivering anywhere near that. It's probably representative of the output from the average canister filter - through there will be a lot more throughput when I strap my Vectra S2 onto it, and probably would be with your FX filter - though in both cases, that should make both the venturi and the vortex more effective.
 
@Wookii If you want to push this even further you can reduce the venturi tube size by slightly melting it to reduce its diameter. Alternatively you could simply use a valve like this and slightly close it.
View attachment 174785
This will have the effect of making much finer bubbles hence increasing the contact area of CO2 vs water.

Thanks @Hanuman I might try and give this a go at the inlet end of the venturi, as finer bubbles would be good. I did try this at the outlet end of the venturi inside the clear elbow, by partially blocking the end of the tube, and I couldn't get it to draw air.
 
I did try this at the outlet end of the venturi inside the clear elbow, by partially blocking the end of the tube, and I couldn't get it to draw air.
That's because you created a weak venturi. I think the only way this would work at the outlet end is if you did something like this:
Screen Shot 2021-09-17 at 08.56.26.jpg

But at this stage your setup work pretty well and reducing the inlet end of the venturi may or may not work but something worth trying and easy to do.
 
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