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(NO MORE) 2,000L High tech BEAST

Zeus. said:
Hanna pH pen
Click to expand...

Thanks Zeus!
Just swiped 2 used ones for £50.
Lets hope they work!

BTW i defo need a 2 stage co2 injection system like yours. My current setup (as per video) took a few hrs to make the drop checker lime green. Had to switch it off fearing any more would kill the shrimp.

How long does your system take to drop 1 ph? 50mins?
I doubt I can beat that, but i will have a damn good crack at it with a powerful enough pump and 2 of those reactors in full use.

Thanks
Filip
 
Well my DC turns light yellow to clear so is really close to the limit to what livestock can handle, which IMO helps keep the algea at bay and the plants/carpet going in my tank as I feel/think it lacks turnover. But feel I can do it with confidence with the aid of the pH controller linked to the PLC. So the pH probe turns off the booster CO2 injection at 7.0pH for the rest of the day, starting pH varies from day to day atfer WC day but it's about a 1.5pH drop and some fish are gasping for a short while when the target pH is first reached for 10 mins then they settle down. But a 1.0pH drop takes about 30mins but that's with twin solenoids valves with one needle valve on the booster line fully open and running close to 50PSI working pressure. But hopefully you won't need that level of pH drop or I would estimate you will be using a 22Kg CO2 clyinder a month!
 
I think i would go for 2 reactors if you want to go full throttle, but remember it's also possible to add less CO2 if you control the light.
I used low dose 24/7 CO2 in my 400 gallon and got good results.
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38068787_00005295 by Ed Prust, on Flickr
 
Hey Fil,

All just my opinions, not tried or tested! - See what other people say to them

How did you end up plumbing your pumps in?
option 1 from @ian_m seemed the winner to me.

I think you're always going to get some gas trapped in the top of the reactors with the amount you're pushing through although there are ways to try and reduce that which I think is what you're after.
Surely it's better the gas is trapped in the top than being pushed straight through though!
The bio balls are always going to impede flow and given the amount of gas you're injecting I'm not so sure they are going to help too much but a little could be better than nothing, may just require a more powerful pump.
I think looking at the different 'venturi' or recycling options are worthwhile.
Something as simple as returning the second 6mm inlet/outlet to a tee somewhere along the input flow could be helpful, putting it to a pump in the sump which has a pinwheel pump could be even more helpful - this is the kind of thing used to chop things
up for protein skimmers in marines.
There are also a couple of things you could put inside the reactors which could help; maybe!
An eductor nozzle - http://www.spray-nozzle.co.uk/spray-nozzles/mixing-eductors
You will often see talk from @foxfish about creating a vortex and I think a spiral cone nozzle could help do this within your reactors, it's just a matter of finding the correct angle and bearing in mind both of these would impede flow too.

I'm told CO2 will eat the airstones so just be prepared for that.

This might be worth a skim through
https://barrreport.com/threads/dual-venturi-diy-external-co2-reactor.3413/
 
Andrew Butler said:
How did you end up plumbing your pumps in?
option 1 from @ian_m seemed the winner to me
Click to expand...

Ended up running the pumps paralell as per suggestions on here, with the reactors also paralell off just 1 pump.

Thanks for the suggestions, lots of tinkering to do, its all good fun. Although I will avoid the venturi route, too much complexity.

The current setup works well enough, I almost gassed my shrimp yesterday and thats running 1 reactor only! In a 2000L tank, I take it as a badge of honour :)

Im thinking of running the reactors in line rather than paralell, with one dissolving crazy amounts of co2 before lights on to get the ph down fast, and the other just a maintenance amount. So I can control each one of a separate solenoid like in Zeus' setup.
Also planning on sticking a 90mm bazooka in the reactors. Just cause I can :)

Thanks
Fil
 
Filip Krupa said:
Ended up running the pumps paralell as per suggestions on here, with the reactors also paralell off just 1 pump.
Click to expand...
good call I think.

Filip Krupa said:
I will avoid the venturi route, too much complexity.
Click to expand...
There is a really simple way with the reactors you have and a couple of fittings.

Filip Krupa said:
I almost gassed my shrimp yesterday and thats running 1 reactor only! In a 2000L tank
Click to expand...
just remember with plants it will take more CO2; maybe even a lot more CO2.

Filip Krupa said:
Also planning on sticking a 90mm bazooka in the reactors. Just cause I can
Click to expand...
:lol: let's see them take all that gas!
 
deffinatly agree with the previous posters about getting one nedle valve on each, . the CO2 will defuse better with the bio balls in and i think it may just be a case of controlling the flow into each one better with the nedle valve. My reactor injects from the top not the bottom directly into the waterflow so that might be somthing to consider too
 
leetaylor said:
will defuse better with the bio balls
Click to expand...

I've tested. It doesnt, not even close.
All that the bio balls do is slow down the water flow, which impedes the mixing of water and gas. The bioballs do nothing to slow down the rising bubbles either.
This results in the reactor filling up with co2 from the top, and being completely full of gas in 10 minutes.
Injecting from the top will only make this worse.

The moment i got rid of the bio balls, the reactor stoped filling up with gas.
Furthermore, i have tested running the reactors in parallel, and the split flow does not push enough water through the main reactor to dissolve the required volume of co2.
So the solution is to either get a more powerful pump, or test running the reactors in line.
I am not getting a new pump ;)

Thanks
Filip
 
Increasing the pressure inside the reactors will increase the CO2 uptake rate of the water.
My reactors work well even with low water flow through them. Think it's because the spraybar limits the flow which increase the pressure within the reactors, but it also my be because I use inline diffusors also OFC.
Mine are packed with the Bio Balls.
 
Big update.

Had a busy weekend.

Re-plumbed the returns. Reactors are now in line, happy so far.

Added a second solenoid, so that I can have a similar setup as Zeus. The first solenoid controls the "boost" where the needle valve is fully open for the 50psi of co2, this is on for 1 hr before lights on. The second solenoid controls the "maintenance" trickle of co2. Will need tweaking as still waiting for my ph meters to arrive.

Finally got some hardscape! Feels like 200-300kgs in 8 rocks.
My scaping skills arent great, so I am made up with this so far. Pics below.

Ordered: 50 otos, bunch of dwarf sag, bolbitis, pogostemon and red tiger lotus.

Next weekend I am planning to make a few vids about how Ive plumbed the co2, the sump, and wired the lights. So that you guys can tell me what Ive done wrong ;)

Btw, the pics are a poor substitute for the real thing. This is always true but more so with this tank as it's strength is in size, and pictures do not convey it. Perhaps I should speedo-up again and sit on one of the rocks? Ideas for next time...

Thanks
Filip

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Think you may have the buy all tropicas stock for the month of the plants of your choice to get a decent Biomass. Good news is you get more discount the more you buy ;) well I did :thumbup:. But I do ask all the time when I go in bulk orders get BIG discounts up to 50% easy
 
Wow 50 otos will take some feeding! They look so much more relaxed than I have ever seen them in smaller numbers and at schooling behaviour is awesome!
 
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