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Changed to a Sera Co2 Reactor 1000. Gave up on inline diffuser for my planted tank.

Zak Rafik said:
Its very interesting to note that the member here are very quiet on this post.;)
I would very much appreciate if other fellow members who have had experience with this reactor share their input.:thumbup:
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Well I will be able to soon ;) amazon still yet to dispatch :( saying I will get it Monday to Wednesday though...
 
Zak Rafik said:
Its very interesting to note that the member here are very quiet on this post.;)
I would very much appreciate if other fellow members who have had experience with this reactor share their input.:thumbup:
Click to expand...
I bought one. It lasted a few months until I had to clean it when the co2 nipple snapped off with the smallest of ease. I'd heard on the grapevine that the sera unit might not be made of co2 proof plastic thus the thinnest piece at the co2 junction was prone to becoming brittle. I binned mine in favour of an UP
 
stuworrall said:
I bought one. It lasted a few months until I had to clean it when the co2 nipple snapped off with the smallest of ease. I'd heard on the grapevine that the sera unit might not be made of co2 proof plastic thus the thinnest piece at the co2 junction was prone to becoming brittle. I binned mine in favour of an UP
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:( this gets worse and worse
 
If I use a separate external pump to run it do you feel a 600 l/h will be ok?
 
Bhu said:
:( this gets worse and worse
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I would say the workaround would be to attach a small section of co2 tube (4 inches?) to the nipple then leave it there. Further down the line put a non return valve in and you can remove the tubing at the non return valve junction for cleaning therefore not risking snapping the nipple.
 
I know what you mean Bhu, worse for you as you have paid for both now, but for me, I am trying to decide what to buy for the first time and I just don't know what to do. People say the Sera breaks, people say the UP breaks, what on earth do you buy? The CO2 system is the last equipment I need to get and I just don't know what to spend my money on, so will be watching this thread hoping for more opinions!
 
Well my UP broke. I am getting a full refund offered by co2 I didn't ask for it! But that doesn't solve the real issue! I think the idea of using a one way valve is good and that's the way I will go. That way if I break the one way valve no big issue right ;) I have an Intense inline diffusor arriving tomorrow to tide me over. These are good but cant be cleaned or have the ceramic replaced! CO2Art are creating a more robust (metal maybe) casing for the UP ceramic but they are not ready yet so if you don't mind the 7UP look lol that's what to go for! It worked fine for me but I just had enough of seeing fine mist entering the tank.
 
Hi
For Sera 1000, the pump should have a minimum capacity of 700 L per hour. The main reason many people avoid a reactor is due the final reduced flow into the tank. Why don't you try the reactor with the ext canister first?
In my case, I had a spare Eheim 2078 with a flow rate of 1250l/h with only an uv system attached.

Cheers
 
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Tnx for that, im thinking the eheim 600 what do you think? 600 l/h next jumps up to 1200 l/h!

I have emailed sera in Germany and await a reply from them :)
 
stuworrall said:
I'd heard on the grapevine that the sera unit might not be made of co2 proof plastic thus the thinnest piece at the co2 junction was prone to becoming brittle.
Click to expand...
Oh really. The grapevine........hummmmm:rolleyes:
On a serious note, my opinion : the weakest part for this reactor is the Co2 connection tip. The other would be the O ring seal. It may become brittle over a period of time but not sure of the duration.
Maybe one can use some form of lubricant to extend the life span?
Cheers

stuworrall said:
I would say the workaround would be to attach a small section of co2 tube (4 inches?) to the nipple then leave it there. Further down the line put a non return valve in and you can remove the tubing at the non return valve junction for cleaning therefore not risking snapping the nipple.
Click to expand...

Good tip. Will remember it.Thanks.:)


Bhu said:
CO2Art are creating a more robust (metal maybe) casing for the UP ceramic but they are not ready yet
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You see the main disadvantage of using an inline diffuser, is that the ceramic tube will get clogged up soon or later. It does not matter who the manufacturer is or what material is used for housing. As my tank is heavily planted ( aka Amazon look;)), it got clogged up once a month. Usually one would not be able to detect the very slow reduction in number of bubbles due to the clogged pores. Its only when the plants start showing symptoms of Co2 deficiency in the tank, do we realize it.
This scenario can be further aggravated if it happens to a hobbyist who is new to planted tanks, leading to pointing finger at all the wrong reasons (eg. too much fertilization, lights etc...)
I'm sure the more experienced members here can provide more details.


Bhu said:
I have emailed sera in Germany and await a reply from them
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Fantastic job.:thumbup: Can't wait for their reply.

Cheers.
 
Will do. Still waiting to hear back from Sera. Still humming and haring whether to get the extra pump for more flow. I think I would T the output to my canister filter so I only have to use one spray bar :) but still not sure whether the 600 or 1200 l/h pump. Thinking about it I think the 1200 will be serious over kill. So the real question is can the sera 1000 run on a 600 l/h pump? Its only 100l/h away from the minimum and the pump is a dedicated one... This will give me the 10 X magical flow rate as well ;) I think I've talked myself into it lol! Time to go shopping!
 
Its so difficult. The 600 is very small piping 13mm and 11mm the 1200 is 17mm and 13mm !!! What to do!??

Im thinking that I could run one of these two pumps through the sera 1000 to this ...

http://www.aquatix-2u.co.uk/product...nnector.html?gclid=CM2-lLis5sECFSrjwgod_KIAjQ

then one end from my eheim 2171 then the final output from both pumps to the spray bar. Would this work?

Any opinions on this whether it would work or not much appreciated...

Cheers

Bhu
 
Bhu said:
Will do. Still waiting to hear back from Sera. Still humming and haring whether to get the extra pump for more flow. I think I would T the output to my canister filter so I only have to use one spray bar :) but still not sure whether the 600 or 1200 l/h pump. Thinking about it I think the 1200 will be serious over kill. So the real question is can the sera 1000 run on a 600 l/h pump? Its only 100l/h away from the minimum and the pump is a dedicated one... This will give me the 10 X magical flow rate as well ;) I think I've talked myself into it lol! Time to go shopping!
Click to expand...

Hi
If the higher pump has the adjustable function to lower the output say from 1200l/h to 800l/h, then by all means get the higher model if cost is no issue. If you get the lower model and you want to increase the output in the feature then you're stuck and you may end up spending more and not to mention the frustration that come with it.

This is the same mistake I made when choosing the Eheim ext canister filter. I wanted to get the higher model for
my 255 ltr tank but then I was at that time, naïve enough to take the LFS as the ultimate truth. After the plants started to take off in the tank, I had some very serious issues with flow inside the tank as the Eheim 600 was struggling. I had to buy another filter, the Eheim 1200 and ended spending more. So now you know why I have 2 filters for my tank. :cool:

Cheers
 
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