# wouldnt this be the perfect cheap inline reactor?



## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

connect it to your inflow tube of the canister. And hook the co2 in the middle plug. done! would that work good as a co2 reactor? 10 bucks and no messy diy stuff.

http://www.aqua-medic.com/products/products.php?category=Filter Accessories&product=Reducing T Piece


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

No, it wouldn't be an effective difuser. You need to keep the CO2 bubbles in contact with the water flow as long as you can, hoping that only CO2 enriched water will flow out. If you want a simple method, just use a ceramic disc difuser in the tank, or better, use a little powerhead with the CO2 line stuck into the inlet grill of the powerhead. That way the rotor will chop up the bubble into microscopic bubbles, and you can use the output flow for the CO2 mist scheme.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

hoppycalif said:


> No, it wouldn't be an effective difuser. You need to keep the CO2 bubbles in contact with the water flow as long as you can, hoping that only CO2 enriched water will flow out.


hey thanks for the response, can you explain a bit more why this wouldnt be good? the co2 bubbles would flow into the inline tube and be in contact with the water ALL the way through the canister and flow out of the output tube. Isnt that a lot of contact with the water before they could escape to the surface?


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

In reality, that would work just fine..... but also in reality save your self 10 bucks and just stick the CO2 line in the inlet strianer of your canister.... many people do this and it does an alright job of dissloving the CO2 into the water, but you really dont need that T connector to be able to run CO2 in-line with your canister filter


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I guess it may work... don't know how efficiently though.

I use these same Aquamedic parts to connect the tubes from my dosing pumps "inline". Works great.


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## Tahsequah (May 1, 2006)

*I agree*

I agree I run my 125 g with the co2 going into the inlet of the canister filter. 
It did a decent Job. Then I got the bug and bought a reactor well that was a bummer because it does not work very well the other way was better I am having to see good effects from the aqua medic 500 yet and can't get the company to respond. 
GL 
Barb


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

hoppycalif said:


> No, it wouldn't be an effective difuser. You need to keep the CO2 bubbles in contact with the water flow as long as you can, hoping that only CO2 enriched water will flow out. If you want a simple method, just use a ceramic disc difuser in the tank, or better, use a little powerhead with the CO2 line stuck into the inlet grill of the powerhead. That way the rotor will chop up the bubble into microscopic bubbles, and you can use the output flow for the CO2 mist scheme.


Why not? If he puts that on the input side of his filter and introduces CO2 there, it has to travel down the tube, down through the filter, back up through the media, up the output tube and into the tank.

That seems like plenty of time to dissolve CO2 up to 3 bps. I had to get rid of my reactor last night and now I'm running the CO2 into the intake and it works fine. No bubbles come out the spray bar. Only down side is a tiny noise inside the intake tube each time a bubble goes up.


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

MrSanders said:


> In reality, that would work just fine..... but also in reality save your self 10 bucks and just stick the CO2 line in the inlet strianer of your canister.... many people do this and it does an alright job of dissloving the CO2 into the water, but you really dont need that T connector to be able to run CO2 in-line with your canister filter


I do that and it makes a bit of noise in the intake tube..


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

banderbe said:


> Why not? If he puts that on the input side of his filter and introduces CO2 there, it has to travel down the tube, down through the filter, back up through the media, up the output tube and into the tank.
> 
> That seems like plenty of time to dissolve CO2 up to 3 bps. I had to get rid of my reactor last night and now I'm running the CO2 into the intake and it works fine. No bubbles come out the spray bar. Only down side is a tiny noise inside the intake tube each time a bubble goes up.


That isn't using the tee fitting as a reactor, just as a fitting. The filter is then the reactor, and from what I read, it is a good one. His question was whether that fitting is a good reactor - it isn't. It is a useful fitting.


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## kwc1974 (Jan 4, 2006)

Wouldn't introducing co2 into the filter cause it to airlock?
Or at the very least my eheim gets very noisy when the smallest amount of air gets into it.


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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

hoppycalif said:


> That isn't using the tee fitting as a reactor, just as a fitting. The filter is then the reactor, and from what I read, it is a good one. His question was whether that fitting is a good reactor - it isn't. It is a useful fitting.


ah you took my post too literally i just meant if the overall setup would work good if i connect the co2 tube to that T connector, then connect the T to the input tubes of my canister filter. Looks like this would work good? can someone just confirm so i can go buy it.

thanks


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

newguy said:


> ah you took my post too literally i just meant if the overall setup would work good if i connect the co2 tube to that T connector, then connect the T to the input tubes of my canister filter. Looks like this would work good? can someone just confirm so i can go buy it.
> 
> thanks


It is a good way to introduce CO2 into the water flow. Normally people just drill a hole smaller than the tube and force the tube in. This is more foolproof and elegant.


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