# DIY CO2 reactor problem



## agzuny (Nov 17, 2004)

I have recently made a DIY reactor for the first time and my plants are a lot better than before. The reactor is made of a pump and reactor chamber with filter pad at the end. This was originally put vertically in my aquarium but the gas would accumulate at the top of the reactor chamber. I did a few adjustments and now the reactor is placed vertically in the aquarium. So far, the gas is still accumulating and seems to not be dissolving. I have disconnected all the airlines and waited for the pump to dissolve the gas but even after hourse, the gas has not dissolved. I'm looking for alternative designs as this reactor takes up most of my space in my 20 gal. I'm thinking that maybe its not dissolving because the gas saturation level at the top of the aquarium is too high and the gas won't easily dissolve there. I can't put this reactor in the bottom because it takes up space and blocks light. What is the reason that my gas isn't dissolving? Also, there is virtually no turbulence on the water surface of my tank and the gas that is trapped in my reactor chamber is heavily agitated, and it still does not dissolve.


Thanks for any help!


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## Rolo (May 12, 2004)

Don't sweat it, that likely is not CO2 but rather oxygen. O2 can build up in a reactor of these designs and can remain there for a while.

CO2 will dissolve very fast. If you have a pressurized system try flooding your the reactor with the gas and watch it all disappear within seconds. I've done this with a pH probe placed at the discharge end of the reactor and observed a 0.3 pH drop in a less 10 seconds. The CO2 really dissolves that fast.

BTW thanks for the picture. That helps a lot!


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## agzuny (Nov 17, 2004)

I cut all the tubing shorter and now have gone back to using the reactor in a vertical position, which somehow seems to produce more bubbles coming out of the pump and the CO2 being mixed up better. Just curious, how does oxygen get into the reaction chamber when it hasn't been exposed to the air? Maybe through the pump???


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