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20" DIY C02 Reactor Question

KirstyF

Member
Joined
25 Jul 2021
Messages
663
Location
Kidderminster
Hi There
Following some advice on this forum (thanks for all the responses to my last post) I'm looking to build a DIY Co2 reactor, so I've been doing some research.

Tank size - 84" x 24" x 24"
Reactor to run off an Ehiem 2180 Thermo - 1700lph

Based on the size of the tank, I'm looking at a 20" water filter housing for the main component.

There are a number of width options available from 2.5" to 4.5"

Couple of questions?
Would you recommend the wider housing (4.5") to maximise dwell time or are there any disadvantages to doing this?
Would you then just use 1" PVC for the 'counter current' tube?

It looks fairly simple to put together (famous last words. lol) but most of the on-line tutorials I can find are making 10" reactors, so just wondering if there is anything I should be doing differently on a larger size.

Thanks in advance for any tips!
 
I use a 20" housing, it's quite narrow (image attached below). I discarded the filter that came with it, and ran a tube down the middle (think it was 25mm). As I ran the internal tube all the way to the bottom of the housing I needed to cut a few holes in the tube with a hole saw.
s-l1600.jpg

I'm getting some mist out of the outlet. I intend on altering the flow of the inlet to force the water in to a spiral, as by default this isn't really happening.
 
Personally having done the DIT route with APS EF2 and have just fitted a Yidao External reactor after @LondonDragon has great success with it, only just fitted them and last night I had a little test with no atomisers or venturi fitted and I was very impressed so far, IMO your filter output and a Yidao External reactor will work well, nice thing about them is cheap and it creates plenty of swirl in the chamber, I was getting very good CO2 taken up last night.

Only trouble takes a while to get them in the country, but I don't think there's anything else on the market that's as good or as cheap- 'plenty of bang for buck' - two 16mm hoses fitted dead easy and so did the CO2
 
Hi Zeus
Well, as my tank isn’t built yet, I’ve got time on my hands. Would be really interested to hear how you get on with this over the next couple of weeks. If it works out well and saves me building one, that would be fab.....and cheaper than I could build 👍
 
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