Considering moving spray bar to back of tank.

[John S]

Hi dave...yes it has given me another way to go....thanks

I managed to tidy mine up by using a rubber elbow that I had on an Aqua one tank. Will take a picture later.

 

[Bertie]

I think, as I bought two metres of pipe,I will cut the shepherds crook where it bends, so that it hangs straight down. Join it to a short length of pipe with some hose.
Connect a 90 deg elbow to that and directly to my extended spray bar.

I will get everything ready and do it a bit later today.

Sods Law though, I adjusted the powerhead last nigh,t and the flow seems much improved now! I will give it a few hours when the CO2 is running and make a final decision mid afternoon. Thanks for the help.

 

[John S]

its always the way. Report back on what you decide.

 

[Bertie]

Well that was interesting!! The spraybar worked ok....good circulation back to front but......and a big but the CO2 was not really getting circulated.

So I put the spraybar on the side again with powerheads and back to as was. I will have to research purchasing, if there is such a thing, a connection for the regulator that allows two connections so that I can have one either end of the tank. The fish are now going to be terrified of me with all the messing about I have been doing. All in all I am quite disappointed.

 

[foxfish]

So Bert, do you use an external power filter?

 

[Bertie]

Hi foxfish...Yes I use an Eheim Pro3 250

 

[foxfish]

OK then why not direct the Co2 directly into the filter inlet & then it will dissolve inside the filter & be distributed via the spry bar?

 

[Bertie]

I thought that could damage the impeller and rubber seals etc?

 

[foxfish]

Dont concern yourself with that mate, there are loads of folk who have been doing just that for years with no ill effects.
I guess there is a small possibility the gas could perish the seals but it definitely wont happen over night!

 

[Bertie]

Thanks...so how do I go about it? Just aim the diffuser at the outlet? Or shove the co2 tube into the bottom of the outlet pipe?

 

[foxfish]

Shove it up the pipe - or what I have done in the past, is just fixed the C02 line end a few mm under the inlet - close enough to get sucked up but with enough room to see & count the bubbles.

 

[Bertie]

Thanks foxfish....will have a go in the week I think the fish and my other half have had enough of me and the tank today.

 

[foxfish]

Ha Ha yes I think we all know that issue!
From my experience small tanks with a spray bar & power filter are a piece of cake to run successfully but anything over 60lt takes a bit of patience to get right....
If it is any consolation my main hobby is playing the didgeridoo & believe me I dont get away with much practice time when she is at home LOL..

 

[lurch1000]

Plenty may do it, but you run the risk of noise from cavitation.

IMO if you're going to do CO2 with an external, get an inline diffuser designed for the job.

 

[foxfish]

Lurch, you may be right but then Bert would need a high pressure reg & he would have a tank full of bubbles - Bert is a pensioner & that might be an unessary cost for him too!
I would say inline diffusers cause more problems post on this forum than any other form of dissolveing the C02 there is!
Fine if you have the experience & equipment to run one but in Berts cast it must be woth a try to run his gas into the filter as so many other guys are doing without any cavitation or other issues?

 

[Bertie]

Hi and thanks all for the help...I don't know what to do at the moment, so will leave as is for the time being and will try again during the summer. The really good thing about it on the back wall was that I could actually see the circulation in action.

The drawback on how I have it now, is that although all of the plants are moving, there is still a lot of movement in the upper part of the tank and not so much lower down and the plants look more "windswept".

 

[Bertie]

Hi all,
I am still not happy with my flow/distribution. I am seriously thinking of giving the long back spraybar another go but have some questions.

Firstly as the filter is only an Eheim Pro 3 250 with a stated rate of 950 lph, it will obviously be less than that. I have a 800/1600 New Wave Circ pump and a cheap 200 lph submersible. If I used these two in conjunction with the spray bar, and as they all have different flow rates would it have an adverse affect?

Secondly with only one inlet pipe in one corner, would that create any bias?

Third and most importantly. As the co2 diffuser was not very good under the long spray bar, if I purchased an aquamedic reducing T -bar, would that affect the filter badly and would I need to remove the filter floss? Or would it be better to wait until I could afford say a UP inline diffuser and connect that to the inlet tube?

I think the wife is getting really fed up with me keep spending money on the tank!

 

[Bertie]

Wel,l I have just inserted the co2 line directly into the filter pipe ..what a mess I made, bits of plants floating everywhere I will adjust the bps right down from 4bps to 1bps to start with when the co2 comes on at 9am...if this does not work I will use an up inline diffuser when the wife releases funds! Don't know how efficient they are though...have done google and there seems to be conflicting reports.

 

[John S]

Bertie, what size is your piping? I might have an UP I'm not currently using I could loan you if you'd like to try it before spending any more money?

 

[Bertie]

Morning dave, thanks for the offer, how did you find the diffuser? I have read on google, that some people find they produce a milky appearance to the water, and others that they have to clean them on a very regular basis.

My hose is 16/22...at the moment I am waiting for the clock to tick to 9am when the co2 kicks on...I have left the filter floss in the filter for now.