In-line reactor question

[Daryn]

Do you think the aqua medic co2 reactor is worth the money, its for a juwel vision 450 in my living room.

 

[ceg4048]

It's more valuable if you can find it second hand for less. If you are not good at DIY and can't make your own then you're forced to pay up. The big problem with this unit is that the plumbing is only 12mm which chokes your filter flow a bit assuming your filter plumbing is 16mm or larger. This problem is mitigated if you add a second filter or powerhead. Other than the flow restriction issue the unit does a good job but it is a little overpriced...

Cheers,

 

[Daryn]

Thanks for the info, the tanks in the living room and my other half has warned me no unsightly DIY bits, is there any other good in line reactors that are more free flowing or will glass diffusers placed at each end of the tank be enough since its got a bit of depth to the tank (around 2 feet high).

 

[ceg4048]

Hi,
I love the idea of installing two of the 17mm CalAqua external diffusers. You might have to re-mortgage your house in order to afford these though (gulp).

If the bank officer rejects your loan request then yes, the next best thing is a couple of internal diffusers, one at either end which can look quite stylish.

Cheers,

 

[Daryn]

LOL, they are dear. Thanks again ceg4048, do you think 1 will be enough for this tank if the flow is strong enough in the tank and there are minimal dead spots, its 5 foot long, ive not got the external yet but it will deffo be huge and run alongside the standard internal supplied with the tank with possibly a powerhead as well for added circulation but i will have to see what the flow is like after i get the external. Thanks again for the info.

 

[TDI-line]

Hi Daryn,

these are available from Germany, a few of us on here have these, and are available with 16/22mm connections.

http://www.aquamas.de/Reaktoren

 

[ceg4048]

Yes that's right. I'd forgotten about the Aquamas versions. You can try using only one. The effectiveness will depend on a lot of things, primarily the lighting level, the circulation patterns, the type of scape (i.e open plan versus jungle for example) as well as the types of plants you keep. Just remember that 5 feet is a long way for CO2 to travel so the penalty you pay may be that you need a much higher injection rate and/or that you need to turn on the gas much earlier prior to lights on. Everyone thinks they have strong flow. Will the filter rating be 10X or more of the tank volume per hour? If not then that's not strong flow. Again, depending on the factors listed above this may or may not be significant.

Cheers,

 

[Daryn]

Thanks for the info people its really appreciated, im going to get a selection of external filters im looking at then i will post up after work to get peoples thoughts on this and i will also give some info on light levels and layout ideas, thanks again people, this site is great .

 

[Superman]

I've have an Aquamas external reactor. I love it to be honest and seems to be working well with my JBL Cristal Profi e1500 external filter. I do inject at 2 bubbles per second as otherwise the drop checker is not blue. But obviously that'll be different in each tank.

 

[hellohefalump]

I have a rio 400, and I have two internal diffusers, one at both ends of the tank, which works well, except they're a bit big. I'd like external ones, but don't want to spend any money at the moment. Maybe in a few months I will.

I have two filters - an external on one side and the juwel internal on the other, so I've positioned the diffusers at the outlets for maximum distribution.