Co2 diffusion through needle wheel pump

Who on here uses a needle wheel pump as their co2 diffusion method?
And how do you run it?

Do you run the pump outlet straight to the tank?

If you have a sump do you run the needle wheel output back into the sump aimed at another return pumps inlet?

The situation I'm at right now is I was running my return pump which is a Mag drive 7 w/ fractioning impeller through an Aqua medic 1000 dual venturi method. The reactor never built up any false gas in over a week running this pump so the venturi loop to the pump was never needed. The problem was I was losing too much flow to the AM reactor so the overflow u-tube kept getting an air pocket in it so I knew I wasn't getting enough flow from the return pump.

I took the reactor out of the equation and just ran the co2 through the needle wheel pump to the tank. The flow is right where it needs to be now and no air pocket in the u-tube in 2 days.

I didn't really want the micro bubbles in the tank but I have to run it this way for awhile and see. It reminds me off the look of my old reef tank. I think I will likely end up running another pump in the sump through the reactor and using the Mag for the return pump. I just don't know what pump to use through the reactor. Would a mag 5 or smaller work?

So if you have the micro bubble look do you ever get used to it? I'm so used to my water being crystal clear with a freshwater tank.

I'm curious to hear how others run their needle wheel co2 diffusion.

 

Thank you for the reply.
Does that eliminate the majority of thre micro bubbles that enter the tank? I'm worried that running the needle wheel pump that I have would be too much flow inside the sump. I still have the AM1000 so may just buy a Mag5 to run through the reactor.

 

My tank is 90gal. And the sump is not very big so the mag 7 I'm afraid would be blowing water all over in the sump. I wouldn't mind a few micro bubbles in the tank as right now I can see how good the flow is but it reminds me too much of my days in the saltwater side of the hobby. Here is a few pics of my sump.

 

There is the AM1000 crammed behind the sump. It's still in there and plumbed if I decide to buy another pump and run it through the reactor. I'm afraid that with the limited space in my sump that 2 mag pumps they will heat up the water too much. Is there a way to remove the bio balls from the reactor and use it as a bubble collector? It's all the bio balls and the small barbed fittings on this reactor that slow down the flow. I'm just going to let it run the way it is now with the return from the needle wheel pump into the main tank for my own curiousity. I'm curious to how the plants will react any differently than running a reactor.

 

So I found an extra pump in my shed with all my pond equipment so I hooked it up to the reactor and just ran the return from the reactor back to the sump. I couldn't stand all the micro bubbles in the main tank so will go back to running the reactor dual venturi method with the bleed valve hooked up to the venturi on the mag 7 pump in case the 300gph pump on the reactor doesn't have enough flow and I end up with false gas in the reactor. I don't think I would have ever been able to get used to the micro bubbles in the main tank. If it was a reef tank then ok but to me a freshwater tank should be crystal clear at least that is what I'm used to. I may try the misting again in the future but for now no more seltzer water for me.

 

The pump I was using to feed my reactor wasn't handling the bubble count and ended up building up false gas by the end of the day so I bought another mag 7 to use as my main return pump and hooked up the mag 7 with fractioning impeller to the reactor using the dual venturi method. The return to the reactor flows back into my sump and is pointed at the inlet of the other mag 7. No more micro bubbles in the tank which is what I was trying to avoid. I was worried about having two mag drives in my sump heating the water up too much but haven't noticed any change in tank temp. I'm still coming up with ideas to build a different reactor/bubble collector, so that will be a winter project along with the dual stage regulator that I'm in the process of building. I don't know if one way of diffusion is any better than the other but I must say that while running the needle wheel pump straight into the tank I could see exactly where the flow of the mist was going and moved around the filter outlets to get the best flow pattern, I just couldn't stand all the bubbles. If it was a reef tank then I could deal with it because that is what I grew accustomed to but to me a freshwater tank should be as clear as possible other than the pearling you get from the plants.