I built a DIY reactor from clear acrylic for 32mm hosing a while back now and did mean to post some info on how it was done.
First off for anyone interested in doing a DIY build Alistair also built one a while back which you may like to look at.
Co2 reactor build for Fluval FX5 | UK Aquatic Plant Society
As my reactor was going to be on show because my cabinet in quite shallow i wanted to make it look quite tidy so decided to go with clear acrylic tube.
the main parts i needed were:
70mm x 60cm acrylic tube with 5mm walls - ebay (can be larger diameter but dont go too much smaller or the co2 will be pushed through the reactor before disolution.)
2 x 70mm acrylic disks - ebay
2 x 32mm threaded bulkheads - Bulkhead fittings (32mm) in Aquatics - Plumbing - Rigid pipe and Fittings - Bulkheads
2 x 90deg threaded fishtail bends - also from fishfurfeather if i rememvber right but took a phone call.
1 x 6mm co2 bulkhead - Altec Products Limited
6mm nylon pneumatic hose - Altec Products Limited
30cm length 3mm acrylic rod - ebay
1 bottle of poly weld - this is quite important... i would advise against using acrylic glue as the joint may weaken over time, the poly weld will react with the acrylic effectively melting the two pieces together and it will also dry clear. - Polyweld liquid poly plastic weld glue adhesive, plas weld Plastic welding product for welds on all solvent weldable plastsics such as perspex, petg , polycarbonate, abs, hips, styrene, lexan, body shells, bumpers plastic model kit
600 and 1000 wet dry sand paper
It wasnt the cheapest way to get co2 into a tank, but due to my tank shape (90x75x45) i was struggling to get good flow all round so went all out with an Eheim 5000 pump which runs 32mm tube.
Unfortunately i didnt take any photos during the process so ill describe it, but its not rocket science
First up to drill the holes in the acrylic discs to fit the bulk heads, if possible do this on a pillar drill with a vice to hold it steady. Once drilled smooth all the edges on the acrylic discs using the sand paper.
then get your 70mm tube, using a heat gun warm an area towards the top, make sure it isnt to far down you cant reach the area with long nose pliers. When warm using something flat and hard press down so that a flat surface is created to attach the co2 bulkhead. Then on the flat area drill a hole to fit the bulkhead. This is a little fiddly, you will drop the internal nut a bunch of times but stay calm, it just needs a little patience
Now in retrospect i think if the hole was drilled first then warm it up, i would imagine that tightening the bulkhead will flatten the area anyway to create a good seal - i didnt do this but may be a quicker process.
Now using the 3mm acrylic rod cut it into pieces to match the internal diameter of the tube you have used. Using the poly weld glue the cut lengths to the inside of the tube, opposite end to the bulk head, in a criss cross fashion far enough up that the 32mm bulkhead will still fit without being obstructed by the rods. This is so that you can add shower scrunchie, sponge, bio balls etc if needed to ensure the co2 dissolves entirely. I have found that it wasnt needed but this is dependent on the pump/filter you use and the amount of co2 you wish to inject.
Now to bring it all together.. attach the bulkheads to the discs ensure you have a perfect connection, you may wish to add a little silicone to be sure but the rubber washers should suffice. Dont over tighten them or the connection will get worse.
Clean up all the edges you will be gluing then bond it together not being shy on the weld. Personally once it was dry i then added a little more weld around the outside edge to ensure there wont be any leaks.
I just used a couple of zip ties to fix it to the tank but did look at other options.. it seems that most guttrering downpipes are 68mm so would work well.
All this done you should have something that looks a bit like this.
First off for anyone interested in doing a DIY build Alistair also built one a while back which you may like to look at.
Co2 reactor build for Fluval FX5 | UK Aquatic Plant Society
As my reactor was going to be on show because my cabinet in quite shallow i wanted to make it look quite tidy so decided to go with clear acrylic tube.
the main parts i needed were:
70mm x 60cm acrylic tube with 5mm walls - ebay (can be larger diameter but dont go too much smaller or the co2 will be pushed through the reactor before disolution.)
2 x 70mm acrylic disks - ebay
2 x 32mm threaded bulkheads - Bulkhead fittings (32mm) in Aquatics - Plumbing - Rigid pipe and Fittings - Bulkheads
2 x 90deg threaded fishtail bends - also from fishfurfeather if i rememvber right but took a phone call.
1 x 6mm co2 bulkhead - Altec Products Limited
6mm nylon pneumatic hose - Altec Products Limited
30cm length 3mm acrylic rod - ebay
1 bottle of poly weld - this is quite important... i would advise against using acrylic glue as the joint may weaken over time, the poly weld will react with the acrylic effectively melting the two pieces together and it will also dry clear. - Polyweld liquid poly plastic weld glue adhesive, plas weld Plastic welding product for welds on all solvent weldable plastsics such as perspex, petg , polycarbonate, abs, hips, styrene, lexan, body shells, bumpers plastic model kit
600 and 1000 wet dry sand paper
It wasnt the cheapest way to get co2 into a tank, but due to my tank shape (90x75x45) i was struggling to get good flow all round so went all out with an Eheim 5000 pump which runs 32mm tube.
Unfortunately i didnt take any photos during the process so ill describe it, but its not rocket science
First up to drill the holes in the acrylic discs to fit the bulk heads, if possible do this on a pillar drill with a vice to hold it steady. Once drilled smooth all the edges on the acrylic discs using the sand paper.
then get your 70mm tube, using a heat gun warm an area towards the top, make sure it isnt to far down you cant reach the area with long nose pliers. When warm using something flat and hard press down so that a flat surface is created to attach the co2 bulkhead. Then on the flat area drill a hole to fit the bulkhead. This is a little fiddly, you will drop the internal nut a bunch of times but stay calm, it just needs a little patience
Now in retrospect i think if the hole was drilled first then warm it up, i would imagine that tightening the bulkhead will flatten the area anyway to create a good seal - i didnt do this but may be a quicker process.
Now using the 3mm acrylic rod cut it into pieces to match the internal diameter of the tube you have used. Using the poly weld glue the cut lengths to the inside of the tube, opposite end to the bulk head, in a criss cross fashion far enough up that the 32mm bulkhead will still fit without being obstructed by the rods. This is so that you can add shower scrunchie, sponge, bio balls etc if needed to ensure the co2 dissolves entirely. I have found that it wasnt needed but this is dependent on the pump/filter you use and the amount of co2 you wish to inject.
Now to bring it all together.. attach the bulkheads to the discs ensure you have a perfect connection, you may wish to add a little silicone to be sure but the rubber washers should suffice. Dont over tighten them or the connection will get worse.
Clean up all the edges you will be gluing then bond it together not being shy on the weld. Personally once it was dry i then added a little more weld around the outside edge to ensure there wont be any leaks.
I just used a couple of zip ties to fix it to the tank but did look at other options.. it seems that most guttrering downpipes are 68mm so would work well.
All this done you should have something that looks a bit like this.
