DIY Reactor VS RedSea Reactor 500

chonhzilla

Junior Poster
Jun 2, 2008
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Hi everyone I'm new to this forum. I currently have a 29g tank. It's well to medium planted. I am currently using the RedSea CO2 kit, it comes with the Reactor 500 to diffuse the CO2 into the water. In my opinion, the Reactor 500 does OK. It still spits out bubbles every other minute or so and sometimes pushes out a bunch of little ones. I have adjusted the flow rate for the Reactor and CO2 its self to where it says I am putting in an optimal amount of CO2. The kit is about 4 months old. I have never used a DIY reactor, or Inline Reactor made from PVC. My question is: Will the DIY or Inline Reactor do a better job then the RedSea Reactor 500?
 

Gerryd

Plant Guru Team
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Sep 23, 2007
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Hi,

I have adjusted the flow rate for the Reactor and CO2 its self to where it says I am putting in an optimal amount of CO2

How are you determining this? Are you using a drop checker with a 4 kh solution?

Are you going only by PH?

Please advise. This is vital information.

In answer to your question, the DIY reactor that is detailed on this site works extremely well as they are powered by an additional pump and also have a venturi loop which enhances performance.

The 65 gph pump that comes with it should be okay for a 29g.

How are you determining the amount of c02 going into the reactor?
 

VaughnH

Lifetime Charter Member
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Jan 24, 2005
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chonhzilla;25878 said:
yes I am using the drop checker that came with the kit.

You can't follow the directions that came with the kit and expect to get a usable reading on CO2. You have to fill it with distilled or deionized water, with enough carbonate or bicarbonate in it to give a 4 dKH carbonate hardness. Then, the color of the indicator will be green when you have about 30 ppm of CO2 in the tank water. If you use tank water or tap water in it the reading tells you only what the pH of the tank water is, and that is influenced too much by other pH altering substances in the water.