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Help with the co2 reactor

Fred13

Member
Joined
13 Jul 2016
Messages
321
Location
Athens
Hello,

I have a cor50 reactor which is a PVC body unit with bioballs and comes with a bypass for more precise water flow adjustments.
I haven't make it to work yet though.
It seems that I really have to close the bypass valve almost all the way to reduce the flow inside the reactor in order to avoid escaping bubbles from the outlet.
Problem is that the more water flow inside the reactor the more co2 enrichment.
Atm I cant tell you the exact number of bps since I have increased them a lot. That seems to work but just a little.

Should I reduce the bubbles to 1 or 2 bubbles per second and open the bypass to allow more water inside the reactor?
Is this how reactors work?

Aquarium is 330 liters, JBL 1501.

Thank you!
 
I am bumping this in case any tips arise.
I have achieved a lime green at the dropchecker but still huge bubbles escaping the reactor at constant short intervals.
I don't mind a lot but if there are any tips which can help, please share.
 
Hi Fred, I have no idea what a cor50 reactor looks like, do you have a picture or a link?
Did it come with instructions?
Hello,

Yes, I have the link.

It isn't a small unit and I thought it will help me completely dissolve the co2. I am getting a green dropchecker but lots of co2 escaping the outlet. I don't know if I have done something wrong :/
 
I found that having high or low flow though my APS EF2 DIY reactors made little to no difference on the CO2 uptake - except with higher flow though the reactor is was noisier. Some CO2 reactors work better with higher flow rates esp the one @foxfish did as it created a great vortex of spinning bubbles.
Even with low flow rates though the CO2 reactors I was able to do a 1.4pH drop in less than 30mins with twin CO2 injection/CO2 reactors/ solenoids/PLC
 
Fred, I just think the reactor is to small for 330l.
It cant handle the flow rates you require, two in line might do it but that would require a strong pump.
It is a huge unit though, close to aquamedic reactor. It is sold as "up to 1.000" liters but, I know those nominal references are just for marketing.
I believe that I can leave it as it is and let some bubbles escape but I will try it a little bit more.
I have the bypass which can limit the flow as much as I want but this still doesn't work.

My question is , what if I reduce the bps until the point it is fully dissolved? Would this be the same in terms of co2 enrichment (or better)

Tank is only a few days old, thus I dont want to do many adjustments..
 
is the ‘burped’ CO2 just going out the filter outlet? If so I assume you would be right and you can lower the input to match what is actually being dissolved as the excess is just wasted.
 
Ok well as far as I can see it has a 50mm diameter and looks to be around 400mm ?
I dont know how it is designed to work, is the flow against the rising bubbles or with the flow?
Basically these type of reactors rely on the dwell time of the Co2 bubbles, so the longer the bubbles path and the longer the bubble is inside the reactor the more likely it will fully dissolve.
This means there is probally a sweet spot of injection rate and water flow but that spot will vary from one tank to another.
However you are not the first person to struggle with this type of reactor, as you cam imagine there will be a lot of potenial settings, that is why I ask if the reactor comes with setting up instruction?
 
is the ‘burped’ CO2 just going out the filter outlet? If so I assume you would be right and you can lower the input to match what is actually being dissolved as the exc

Ok well as far as I can see it has a 50mm diameter and looks to be around 400mm ?
I dont know how it is designed to work, is the flow against the rising bubbles or with the flow?
Basically these type of reactors rely on the dwell time of the Co2 bubbles, so the longer the bubbles path and the longer the bubble is inside the reactor the more likely it will fully dissolve.
This means there is probally a sweet spot of injection rate and water flow but that spot will vary from one tank to another.
However you are not the first person to struggle with this type of reactor, as you cam imagine there will be a lot of potenial settings, that is why I ask if the reactor comes with setting up instruction?
Hello and thank you.

The reactor works exactly in the way you describe. I understand that there is probably a sweet point until it's fully dissolved and you cannot exceed that limit.
Now I am losing much CO2 but I achieve getting a green drop checker.

I sent an e-mail to the Green Aqua team which is using the same reactor and they suggested not setting the regulator's pressure more than 1.5-2 bars. Atm I am running at 3 bars.
I sent this suggestion to the manufacturer who told me that pressure does not matter.
 
I sent this suggestion to the manufacturer who told me that pressure does not matter.
If the reactor isn't full of gas with it coming out of the return then its still working, My DIY APS EF2 use to be at least half full of CO2 at times
 
If the reactor isn't full of gas with it coming out of the return then its still working, My DIY APS EF2 use to be at least half full of CO2 at times
I have a new suggestion coming from green aqua to open the valve at 100%. They do the same with their more powerful filters.
I thought that opening the bypass valve at 100% restricts the flow into the reactor's chamber by 100%. It seems I am wrong and water still flows in the reactor.
 
I have a new suggestion coming from green aqua to open the valve at 100%. They do the same with their more powerful filters.
I thought that opening the bypass valve at 100% restricts the flow into the reactor's chamber by 100%. It seems I am wrong and water still flows in the reactor.
Keep us posted, always good to have data on the performance of various bits of equipment.
Cheers!
 
CO2 reactor is a matter of balance.

If bubble reach out your reactor it can be 2 things :
  1. Flow is too strong for the size of the reactor
  2. Injection rate is too high
You said that with your current setting you get a green drop checker which mean you need a little bit more injection. If you inject more with your current setup it will be worst.

You will need a bigger reactor or you can add another one in series with the first one to help with dissolving the CO2 that leave out your first reactor.
 
CO2 reactor is a matter of balance.

If bubble reach out your reactor it can be 2 things :
  1. Flow is too strong for the size of the reactor
  2. Injection rate is too high
You said that with your current setting you get a green drop checker which mean you need a little bit more injection. If you inject more with your current setup it will be worst.

You will need a bigger reactor or you can add another one in series with the first one to help with dissolving the CO2 that leave out your first reactor.
Hello,

Well said :)

This is what I am getting atm (attached). Not bad, but I usually aim for a little more.

I sent some videos to the manufacturer whose conclusion is that my pump is too strong even with the bypass open at 95%. They suggest opening the bypass valve at 100% and reducing the flow in the chamber at a minimum. This will probably form a co2 pocket inside the reactor which will eventually find its way back to the tank but will still work. Fortunately, opening the valve at 100% seems to stop those co2 burps from the outlet.
In any case, If there are still losses, they suggest installing a larger bypass or mechanically reducing the filter's output.

The filter is brand new and clean, I guess it produces most of its power atm.

I believe further adjustments may needed in the long-term as the filter's output gets lower
 

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Hello,

Finally, it seems that I did the trick by opening the bypass valve at 100%.
No bubbles escaping and drop checker indicated a lime green color for the first time.

I was injecting 6 bps. I now increased to 8 bps.
It is maybe too much for a reactor since it dissolves co2 at 100% but I have a lot of surface agitation and I believe I can safely push it up a little more.
Imo someone may limit light and ferts but co2 should not be limited.
I remember running my previous setup with almost a yellow checker.
 
Hello,

Finally, it seems that I did the trick by opening the bypass valve at 100%.
No bubbles escaping and drop checker indicated a lime green color for the first time.

I was injecting 6 bps. I now increased to 8 bps.
It is maybe too much for a reactor since it dissolves co2 at 100% but I have a lot of surface agitation and I believe I can safely push it up a little more.
Imo someone may limit light and ferts but co2 should not be limited.
I remember running my previous setup with almost a yellow checker.
Hi Fred and all :)

I'm having a very similar issue to yours. Having a 160l aquarium running a Oase Biomaster 600 with exactly the same reactor and bypass that you are using. I'm having CO2 bubbles escaping via the filter outlet even though my bypass is opened at 100% (full-on vertical position of the ball-valve handle). Do you or anyone else have an idea what the issue might be? I should add that this is my first day with the CO2 reactor, I did however release the air until the reactor was overfilling with water, in case this might be some symptoms of startup use.

Seems as though my biomaster filter has a slightly lower flow rate and my bubble rate is below 2 bps (using CO2-arts built-in bubble counter which is quite small in bubble size) which makes me a bit confused. In theory I should have less risk of bubbles escaping than you, correct..?
My pressure is slightly above 20 psi (1.4-1.5 BAR according to Google).
 
I thought that opening the bypass valve at 100% restricts the flow into the reactor's chamber by 100%. It seems I am wrong and water still flows in the reactor.
If you open the bypass to 100% then, all things being equal, you will have 50/50 flow through reactor and bypass.
 
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