Hi everyone.
I've got a 480L planted aquarium and I've tried a few methods of CO2 injection. I started using an UP inline atomizer after the filter and it worked very well but I thought it might waste too much CO2 since it gets the CO2 into the water without being disolved. I had CO2 supply problems so I wanted to minimize CO2 use and bought the AM1000 reactor.
I installed the reactor with a dedicated pump and I think I'm using a lot more CO2 with the reactor than I used with the atomizer while getting similar CO2 concentrations. I have a Fluval bubble checker, it's small but reliable unlike another bigger one I've tried. While I was counting 3-4 bps with the atomizer, now with the reactor I can't count how many bps I'm dosing, maybe 10-15. I know I would have killed my fish using the atomizer with the same CO2 rate.
I have checked there's no CO2 leaks. It seems the atomizer was faster raising the CO2 levels and although it released bubbles in the tank maybe the fine mist is a more efficient way to keep the CO2 in the water. I'd like to know your experience.
The advantages the reactor has for me are: no little bubbles in the tank, and more secure (it's harder to push the CO2 concentration off limits in a short period). It seems it doesn't save any CO2 like I thought.
Now I'm thinking to use this in-tank atomizer: http://www.co2art.co.uk/products/pre...um-up-to-500l#
My goals: using less CO2 and improving CO2 concentration stability while doing less maintenance work. I know these atomizers have to be cleaned frequently but right now it's a big pain to clean the dedicated pump, hoses and reactor, and when it gets dirty the flow reduces drastically and so does the CO2 injection. I built a dedicated circuit for the CO2 hoping to achieve more constant CO2 levels but I'm doing twice the work and it doesn't pay off as I expected. So having to clean the atomizer every 2-4 weeks seems like a big gain.
I'm also thinking about getting an automatic CO2 controller but I'd like first to get the right CO2 method that gets enough CO2 in the water while wasting little and reducing maintenance work to a minimum.
Any comments that can help?
Thanks for this forum!
Best regards.
I've got a 480L planted aquarium and I've tried a few methods of CO2 injection. I started using an UP inline atomizer after the filter and it worked very well but I thought it might waste too much CO2 since it gets the CO2 into the water without being disolved. I had CO2 supply problems so I wanted to minimize CO2 use and bought the AM1000 reactor.
I installed the reactor with a dedicated pump and I think I'm using a lot more CO2 with the reactor than I used with the atomizer while getting similar CO2 concentrations. I have a Fluval bubble checker, it's small but reliable unlike another bigger one I've tried. While I was counting 3-4 bps with the atomizer, now with the reactor I can't count how many bps I'm dosing, maybe 10-15. I know I would have killed my fish using the atomizer with the same CO2 rate.
I have checked there's no CO2 leaks. It seems the atomizer was faster raising the CO2 levels and although it released bubbles in the tank maybe the fine mist is a more efficient way to keep the CO2 in the water. I'd like to know your experience.
The advantages the reactor has for me are: no little bubbles in the tank, and more secure (it's harder to push the CO2 concentration off limits in a short period). It seems it doesn't save any CO2 like I thought.
Now I'm thinking to use this in-tank atomizer: http://www.co2art.co.uk/products/pre...um-up-to-500l#
My goals: using less CO2 and improving CO2 concentration stability while doing less maintenance work. I know these atomizers have to be cleaned frequently but right now it's a big pain to clean the dedicated pump, hoses and reactor, and when it gets dirty the flow reduces drastically and so does the CO2 injection. I built a dedicated circuit for the CO2 hoping to achieve more constant CO2 levels but I'm doing twice the work and it doesn't pay off as I expected. So having to clean the atomizer every 2-4 weeks seems like a big gain.
I'm also thinking about getting an automatic CO2 controller but I'd like first to get the right CO2 method that gets enough CO2 in the water while wasting little and reducing maintenance work to a minimum.
Any comments that can help?
Thanks for this forum!
Best regards.
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