I was asked earlier today through PM to share how I built my CO2 reactor. Unfortunately at the time I build it 3 years ago, I didn't really record the process but I did take some pictures here and there. I thought perhaps it would be beneficial to the community to share some of these pictures with some commentaries for those willing to replicate what I did. This reactor is neither revolutionary nor spectacular and this is just another reactor built upon Rex Griggs' reactor design, but it doesn't hurt sharing.
Commentaries:
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Commentaries:
- The three ports at the top are not necessary IMO. Only 1 or 2 max should suffice. There were initially designed to be 2 venturi ports at different depths for CO2 recycling back to the reactor + 1 bleed port for priming when the reactor was empty. The priming port is the important one and you want it to be as flush as possible inside the reactor to evacuate all the air when the reactor is empty.
- I would recommend you use rigid PVC tubing inside the reactor. I've had bad experience when using flexible CO2 tubing. In less than a year it showed signed of cracks everywhere. I had to open the reactor and changed it with rigid PVC/plexi tubing which is more resistant to acidity. So far no signs of deterioration.
- All ports on top were glued with epoxy glue. I made sure not to oversize the holes. Just the size of the nipple threads so I could screw them tight. I added epoxy from the inside and outside to make sure no water went through. The reactor needs to be air tight as much as possible to avoid CO2 (and obviously water) escaping from the top. This allows the CO2 pressure to build up a bit which is great for CO2 dissolution in the water.
- I still have some bubbles coming out of the reactor but it's nothing major and in a way it's a good thing so that CO2 doesn't build up too much in the chamber. This would lead to increased back pressure. If you really don't want a single bubble then you would need to oversize the reactor (either height or diameter wise) OR create a bypass to slow down the flow in the reactor. All this is dependent on your initial flow of course.
- Note the conical shape of the reactor at the top. This is not a necessity per-say but a great advantage as it forces CO2 to congregate just beneath where the water is coming from.
- Price wise, this DIY reactor is not cheaper than to just buying a CO2 reactor from Nilocg for example. The opposite is true. The expensive part in all this is the see-through PVC pipe. It is just expensive and that's how it is.
- I added some pictures with all 3 reactors I have used. I am currently using the tall one which is the latest design described above. If you notice, it can be unscrewed at 3/4 the way down. This is for maintenance purposes. My previous design didn't have this and so it's virtually impossible to fix anything if something goes wrong. I can still cut it in half though and add a threaded fitting if I want to. If I had to redo it, I would put the threaded fitting higher up to have better access to the top part as that's where all the ports are and potentially where things can go wrong some day.
- For the sake of god, please find something else than blue PVC if you can. It's a real soar to the eyes but unfortunately Thailand is the land of blue PVC. Can't find anything else. The white fittings you see, I had to import from USA from this website but I am sure you can find them in the UK or wherever you are at.
- And before you ask, the PVC pipe is 2 inch in diameter. Below was my purchase order with Pvcfittingsonline at that time. I planed for 2 reactors. Shipping is what screwed me. The main transparent PVC pipe was purchased locally. Cost me ~40USD for a 2inch, 72cm length. That's right!
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