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CO2 Reactor UK sellers?

I am not surprised considering all the tubbing connectors you have there. I like to keep those to a bear minimum to avoid these type of issues. I like the push/fit connectors for liquids but not so much when gas is involved. I think there are not fully air tight specially if your tubbing is not cut at 90 degree angle and firmly pushed to the bottom. I have had some leaks in my RO unit due to those in the past.
 
I have had some leaks in my RO unit due to those in the past.
Never had an issue with push fit fittings in past over many years with water or air, the leak wasn't coming form them it was from the fitting on the venturi wasn't tight enough - I had changed things about a little, or the leak was from the resin bonded 6mm tubing to the venturi. Have got a fix for either if I choose that route - used need one or tow fittings.

Agree with the less fittings the better also :thumbup:

Little vid as a little surprise result with my DIY venturi and one reactor


In the vid I had all the output of FX6 going though Vidao reactor
 
Never had an issue with push fit fittings in past over many years with water or air, the leak wasn't coming form them it was from the fitting on the venturi wasn't tight enough - I had changed things about a little, or the leak was from the resin bonded 6mm tubing to the venturi. Have got a fix for either if I choose that route - used need one or tow fittings.

Agree with the less fittings the better also :thumbup:

Little vid as a little surprise result with my DIY venturi and one reactor


In the vid I had all the output of FX6 going though Vidao reactor

Worked well all day and a steady pH/[CO2], the output from the filter was taking a hit, so fitted the second Vidao reactor at end of CO2 period and both seem to be working well not to noisy either and seemed to be sharing the same CO2 injection as well reasonably well from a little test, the real test will be when its on tomorrow. But with both Vidao reactors fitted their was a better output from the filter as well
 
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?

s-l1600.jpg
Seeing how well mine is working this fitting might actually work well, it wont work as a venturi but it will force water down to the reactor via the CO2 inlet in the Vidao reactor, add CO2 injection and it creates a jet of CO2 bubbles in the vertex when CO2 is on.

This isn't what I expected to happen but it seems to work well and relatively quiet as well
 
Seeing how well mine is working this fitting might actually work well, it wont work as a venturi but it will force water down to the reactor via the CO2 inlet in the Vidao reactor, add CO2 injection and it creates a jet of CO2 bubbles in the vertex when CO2 is on.

This isn't what I expected to happen but it seems to work well and relatively quiet as well
Is there a way to convert it to have a slight venturi effect?

I wondered if I could insert a length of 4mm stainless tube inside the gas inlet, and notch the end that sits inside the main tube to let the gas out?

Amazon product ASIN B081MXFGGY
 
Is there a way to convert it to have a slight venturi effect?

I wondered if I could insert a length of 4mm stainless tube inside the gas inlet, and notch the end that sits inside the main tube to let the gas out?

Amazon product ASIN B081MXFGGY

Think it will need more of a constriction to create the pressure drop (suction) for a venturi to work. The trouble with the constriction is it reduces flow so you get less water though the reactor and less swirl. As @Hanuman was saying he has come to the conclusion that with his cone top reactor the venturi isn't really needed and he is getting the same performance out of his reactor without the venturi.

Most folk will want to keep good flow also for tank turnover.

I am moving over to Hani's conclusion also that the venturi isn't needed if you have a cone like he has or a decent swirl in the CO2 reactor. If I remember correct when @foxfish had his pump and reactor with great swirl the CO2 in the reactor disappeared within 10-15mins after CO2 went off which suggests the swirl was working well.

Little Vid of double vortex in my twin Vidao reactors


I think if water is being forced along with the CO2 into the reactor it is creating more CO2 bubbles in the reactor also.

I was tinkering last nigh and by mistake I fitted the power to the solenoid for the high injection rate (as only using the low injection rate at the moment). Got lucky and 35mins after CO2 had come on had a 1.5pH drop :eek::eek::eek:. Got lucky and lost no livestock - a few fish was gasping

@Wookii did you get one of the Vidao reactors ?
 
@Wookii did you get one of the Vidao reactors ?

Yeah, I’ve got two boxed up ready to try when I have time. I just want a way to draw the excess CO2 that will obviously collect at the top of the reactor, into the flow given the outlet inside the reactor is so far below the top of the lid.

I did also wonder if you could create a Venturi inside the reactor - similar to the air bubblers you get on the outlet pipe of some internal filters and skimmers - that use a short tube to draw air from the surface into the filter outflow. If you could get that working inside the reactor it would be self contained.
 
I just want a way to draw the excess CO2 that will obviously collect at the top of the reactor
Will a few cc (cubic centimeters) of CO2 at the top of the reactor make much difference ? I don't think it would make a great difference ! With an in tank diffuser or inline atomiser (without reactor) it would be lost when it hits the surface. My APS EF2 use to get well full of CO2.

If the Vidao reactor was getting a large pocket of CO2 having a venturi makes sense, but not a few cc.

I will be testing with a very high injection rate soon to get a fast pH drop, so it will be interesting how large a CO2 forms at the top of the Vidao reactors - will keep you posted m8 ;)
 
@Wookii
Think it will need more of a constriction to create the pressure drop (suction) for a venturi to work.
You don't need much of a restriction. Let me show you how you can make a venturi like device without restriction. <This is from Tom Barr's initial idea>. I quote:
Another simpler idea for the venturi: simply drilling a hole into the return line right after the filter, placing a good seal and tapering the tip of 3/16" rigid tubing that goes into the return line, make it very fine by heating the tip and then stretching the tip out. Much like pulling pizza cheese etc apart. It should get progressively smaller.
Here is what Tom Barr means:
Screen Shot 2021-09-17 at 08.56.26.jpg

I could not find any rigid tubing where I am so I reverted to my version of venturi which is weak but also does work. In my version it is PARAMOUNT that the small insert is cut to an angle of ~60 degrees facing away from the flow. That's how you create the low pressure point.
 
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@Wookii

You don't need much of a restriction. Let me show you how you can make a venturi like device without restriction. <This is from Tom Barr's initial idea>. I quote:

Here is what Tom Barr means:
View attachment 174402
I could not find any rigid tubing where I am so I reverted to my version of venturi which is weak but also does work. In my version it is PARAMOUNT that the small insert is cut to an angle of ~60 degrees facing away from the flow. That's how you create the low pressure point.
The DIY venturi I made worked when I blown air though it it would draw a little water up a 6mm tube but not much. It does work when I get the flow right but the vortex in the reactor isn't very impressive, more flow and it doesn't work which may be due to the post reactor plumbing and/or inline heaters, which is probably creating some resistance/back pressure
The insert at an angle makes sense, haven't read all the thread at Barr report, but I think you did say the venturi was added to prevent the build up of CO2, however if the build-up of CO2 is minimal due to the efficacy of the reactor there is no need for a venturi which simplifies the design and less potential leaks.
 
To clarify, this would be my idea of inserting the this stainless tube inside the gas inlet (I may have the sizes slightly wrong, as I don't have the T-pipe fitting to hand):

DIY Venturi.jpg

Looks like it would provide a decent sized restriction - though I'm not sure if the rounded shape of the tube would create the right kind of low pressure area behind to generate the venturi effect?
 
Will a few cc (cubic centimeters) of CO2 at the top of the reactor make much difference ? I don't think it would make a great difference ! With an in tank diffuser or inline atomiser (without reactor) it would be lost when it hits the surface. My APS EF2 use to get well full of CO2.

If the Vidao reactor was getting a large pocket of CO2 having a venturi makes sense, but not a few cc.

I will be testing with a very high injection rate soon to get a fast pH drop, so it will be interesting how large a CO2 forms at the top of the Vidao reactors - will keep you posted m8 ;)

It does make a difference . . . to me 😂 (the OCD effect!)

If we want to get technical, the outlet inside the reactor sits about 20mm from the top of the lid. Given the internal diameters, I work that out at about 328 cubic cm of gas that can potentially be trapped at the top if its full. I'm not sure how many bubbles of CO2 that would represent - say a bubble is 3mm diameter, that's 0.014 cubic cm, so at, say 5bps, that 328 cubic cm is about 1 hr 20 mins of gas injection. So by having that gas pocket at the top of the reactor you would be delaying your effective CO2 switch off point a fair bit, as it continues to be absorbed into the water long after the solenoid switches off.

. . . . Now I'm going for a lie down! 😅
 
That might work enough, might start with smaller hole/holes then 1.5mm more like 0.5mm

Yeah, I started at 0.5mm, as I thought it would be give smaller bubbles. I just increased to 1.5mm to try and maintain the same internal open area as the tube diameter, as the 0.5mm holes restrict the open area to less than half. I don't know if that matters, but it will increase the back pressure?
 
@Wookii If I was you I would not make multiple holes. I am not a fluid dynamic specialist but my initial thought would be that multiple holes might interact between each other canceling the effect. I would go with only one to generate a maximum of low pressure in one point.

Well, if it works, the beauty of it is I can try loads of different design 'inserts' very easily by just swapping them out.
 
I still can’t help thinking though it might just be easier to create something inside the reactor, simply by adding a bubbler line to the inlet tube, so gas is drawn and bubbled back into the flow.

32D80C0F-F094-4C24-A237-98328C2289AF.jpeg

BE608CE9-7015-4FAD-B028-194AF6418D13.jpeg
 
I still can’t help thinking though it might just be easier to create something inside the reactor, simply by adding a bubbler line to the inlet tube, so gas is drawn and bubbled back into the flow.
That might work, I did try something simular with my APS EF2 which worked but made very little performance difference.

I do find having the elbow pointed so the water goes right over the CO2 inlet port does generate a better vortex and the turbulence seems to create more bubbles as well (which I am sure is how you planned to fit it m8 ;))

1631906250113.png
 
I do find having the elbow pointed so the water goes right over the CO2 inlet port does generate a better vortex and the turbulence seems to create more bubbles as well (which I am sure is how you planned to fit it m8 ;))

View attachment 174429

To be honest mate, no, I’ve ordered some 5mm O/D plastic tube - my plan is to extend that CO2 inlet down to the bottom of the reactor as @LondonDragon has done, so hopefully bubbles get caught in the vortex for longer - it’ll double up as a bubble counter too possibly.

Then if I can some sort of bubbler/Venturi working inside the reactor to deal with the gas collection at the top as I mentioned above, I’ll have everything self contained inside the one unit for a simple clean install.
 
To be honest mate, no, I’ve ordered some 5mm O/D plastic tube - my plan is to extend that CO2 inlet down to the bottom of the reactor as @LondonDragon has done, so hopefully bubbles get caught in the vortex for longer - it’ll double up as a bubble counter too possibly.

Then if I can some sort of bubbler/Venturi working inside the reactor to deal with the gas collection at the top as I mentioned above, I’ll have everything self contained inside the one unit for a simple clean install.
If it works you can make some for me too 😘
 
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