# In line Aqua Medic Co2 Reactor 1000 help.



## oneilmcinnis (Apr 25, 2008)

Hello all, I am in the planing stages of my 165G discus planted tank and need some help. 
I have the Aqua Medic Reactor 1000 a 8 watts UV sterilizer and a Eheim Pro II Thermofilter 2126 will the Eheim provide enough flow for both the reactor and the UV to work effectively or do i have to use a bigger canister filter?
Also should i put the reactor on the inlet to the Eheim or on the outlet? 
Is the 8 watts UV enough for a 165 Gallon tank? The manufacturer said it can handle up to 200 gallons. 
Thanks for your help.


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I've something similar to you, a 100G tank, a Eheim 2080, an aqua medic 1000 and UV unit and an external heater. 
First thing, I would put the equipment on the outlet side, this way they stay clean much longer (in fact, I didn't cleaned my reactor ever (2,5 year). About the UV, whether 8W is enough or too much depends on the flow (a very good read is: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html#turnoverbut this can be though material if you are not interested ) Short answer, I think it will be okay...

About the filter size, No, I don't think this one is big enough for a 165G. And after installing the reactor and UV you loose more than half the flow! and it will certainly not be enough. I tried splitting the outlet hose and using the equipment parallel but it reduced the flow way too much. I ended up adding a inline pump 2200 (Wave stream 2200) helping the filter pump.
For a discus tank that size, I would at least add one extra filter, the biggest and strongest you can afford!

Hope this helps and does not scare you from your dream project


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## oneilmcinnis (Apr 25, 2008)

Thanks for the info Yo-han. My plan is to have everything outside the tank the only thing that will be visible is the return pipes and they will be clear PVC pipes. I actually have 2 other filters that I am planing to use on this tank but I wasn't sure if one of the Eheim 2080 would handle the reactor and the UV. Thanks for your help.


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## inkslinger (Jan 1, 2005)

I've had a Eheim II 2080 in my 110g tank and found it not to be enough water movement, so I ran my AM1000 co2 reactor with a 9w uv light and a hydro 300w heater in a close loop for extra flow. If you can you should run 2 filters with 2 reactors and heaters and uv. {I only use my uv light when doing a water change for a couple of hours}


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## oneilmcinnis (Apr 25, 2008)

inkslinger said:


> I've had a Eheim II 2080 in my 110g tank and found it not to be enough water movement, so I ran my AM1000 co2 reactor with a 9w uv light and a hydro 300w heater in a close loop for extra flow. If you can you should run 2 filters with 2 reactors and heaters and uv. {I only use my uv light when doing a water change for a couple of hours}[/QUOTE
> Thanks for the info, I will be running 2 filters 1 Eheim 160G with bio media and filter pads and 2 Eheim Pro 2 thermofilter one will run the AM1000 and the UV and the other will run with just bio media.


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## oneilmcinnis (Apr 25, 2008)

Thanks for the info, I am getting the tank drilled for another return at the opposite end for the UV return.


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