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CO2 Reactor UK sellers?

What is this?
My mistake APS EF2 ( All Pond Solutions - External Filter 2)
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Did blow the lid off a couple of times when filling tank and not isolating then first 🤣, but apart from that they worked well for me, same the bottom wasn't clear
 
No 1 is something I have done, no 2 would be miles better but I dont know if it would work?
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Tried method 2 and was it was very noisy, didnt bother to see how well it worked as the noise was unacceptable IMO. Think the niose was due to the CO2 bubbles being at high pressure then expanding in the area of low pressure in the venturi.
Vid of noise below
 
Me says that venturi of yours is simply overkill/overpowered for the intended purpose. That venturi is for mixing fertilizer in an irrigation system. You would need to either use that venturi to simply take care of the CO2 accumulation at a certain depth OR use a weaker venturi to reduce the noise.
The noise in Vid was when the CO2 was injected before the venturi, when injected CO2 and the recirculated CO2 use the same port on the venturi it isnt an issue at lower flow rates and just use the needle valve on the Vidao CO2 reactor to regulate the recirculation of CO2, seems to work well. I am getting a CO2 pocket build up about 100mm, so have ordered another venturi and will have twin venturi/reactors and try cross over feeds.
Trying to get them as quiet as my APS EF2 was which you couldn't hear at all, except when the CO2 came on at first and the atomisers use to make a 'pop' when clearing the water.
 
Excellent work Zeus, keep up the good work and experimenting.
Of course some reactors rely on a build up of gas in the chamber to operate as they are designed to do but I dont like that idear on a C02 reactor.
If you could achieve that vortex cyclone effect it might solve that build up, my main concerns are about the amount of flow restriction the Venturi is causing, I wonder if a 25mm version might be worth trying ?
 
If you could achieve that vortex cyclone effect it might solve that build up
That would be difficult with that reactor he has because the top of the reactor is recessed compared to where the water arrives and so there will always be a pool of CO2 at the top. I think he would need to mod the top for all that CO2 to properly be mixed.
That's exactly why I did a new reactor with a conical shape top which basically does the same thing as a vortex which is to increase contact time between water and CO2. I have shut down the venturi port for the past 2 days and so far each time I open the venturi valve late afternoon before CO2 shutdown, I see no CO2 being sucked which tells me that no real accumulation happens. My CO2 flow is pretty high with a 1.2PH drop.

my main concerns are about the amount of flow restriction the Venturi is causing
Exactly my concern as well. In fact if I was Zeus I would have done a reactor with a jumbo 20 inch water filter instead of 2 reactors which will reduce flow with all the piping and fittings etc.
 
How many liters is your tank again?
When full 500litres, at the moment about 350litres. I was able to drop 1.4pH with full tank with APS AF2 and twin CO2 injection with PLC controlling CO2 timings
looks complicated

Its simple when its in front of you and easy to change/modify with the 6mm push fit connectors. The tank base has a short least of life as one flood in cellar and it wont last anyway. Do plan to make a solid base for 500litre and go for a smaller tank in main house, could also then have reactors in cellar with a 2.0meter drop on the between the venturi and reactor!. So its more of a proof of concept ATM. Plus once I have the injection rates that suit the Venturi that yield a stable pH/CO2 then I will try the reactors without venturi with CO2 being injected direct into Vidao reactor

Just got a new BNC pH probe for monitoring pH levels, as present one is a few years old

Excellent work Zeus, keep up the good work and experimenting.

Thank you, like yourself I find it interesting and do like the challenge also;)

If you could achieve that vortex cyclone effect it might solve that build up
With that comes noise as well - but would work well if in different room

my main concerns are about the amount of flow restriction the Venturi is causing, I wonder if a 25mm version might be worth trying ?

Well I have both the 1/2inch and 3/4inch venturi's and the venturi restriction is the same diameter. The use of a bypass would also help keep the flow high as well similar in design to pic below
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my present bypass, bypasses the CO2 reactors altogether, old design below with Vidao reactors in place of APS EF2.
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It would be good 'if' we could find a cheap system that works well that others could install easy also with parts off the shelf.

High flow may be the answer and skip the venturi altogether, but will try the ideas I have with the plumbing I have at present. The venturi from E bay was cheap and easy to fit/mod/remove
 
@Zeus. Also something you might want to consider is to have the CO2 reactor in a separate loop from the filter by using a small pump. If I had the space that's what I would. Most plant growers I know have it set it up this way as it allow better control and also preserves your filter flow.
Had thought of that also ;), trying to keep parts/cost down also so more can use same system. PLC's are great for controlling fish tank but very costly
 
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As I posted earlier in this thread, could you not use a straight pipe fitting rather than the venturi? As @foxfish mentioned previously, the water pressure should be sufficient to force the excess gas back up into the inlet tubing, and it may eliminate some of the issues with the venturi?

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As I posted earlier in this thread, could you not use a straight pipe fitting rather than the venturi? As @foxfish mentioned previously, the water pressure should be sufficient to force the excess gas back up into the inlet tubing, and it may eliminate some of the issues with the venturi?

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My opinion is this will not work unless you have quite some pressure buildup in the reactor. Reason being that with this fitting you will also have an inverse water pressure coming out of the smaller barbed connector. That is why I created a homemade "ventri". This greatly reduces the water pressure coming out from the smaller fitting and acts as a weak venturi.

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What did I start? haha looks like that venturi adapter will restrict flow quite considerably! I have tweaked mine so the tank gets enough CO2 without a build up ;)
 
I have tweaked mine so the tank gets enough CO2 without a build up
Yeap, same here. I am not seing the need for a venturi anymore after my new reactor design. @Zeus. I think I initially implanted the idea of a venturi in your mind like in Inception, come back to reality 😂
 
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Yeap, same here. I am not seing the need for a venturi anymore after my new reactor design. @Zeus. I think I initially implanted the idea of a venturi in your mind like in Inception, come back to reality 😂
Still in testing phase m8 ;), if a few of us independently, try the same idea, even without controls and not in a scientific way and come to the same conclusion then it adds weight to our findings

Today I had planned to take the ebay venturi out and try the reactor in a with my DIY venturi which didn't recirculate the CO2 very well but had better flow though it. I was away overnight last couple of days and came back to a reactor full of air/CO2 so the present setup/venturi is drawing air (no leaks) - the venturi recirculation port wasn't quite tight enough!!! haven't checked it yet today.
 
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