# CO2 injection in a large tank



## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

What methods is everyone using to inject CO2 into 200+ gallon tanks taht are runnign sumps. I currently have 2 CarbonDoser EXT5000s that I will experiment with but curious as to what others are using.

Craig


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

You need to ask in Tom Barr site for big tanks , But I hear needle wheel pumps do wonders with big tanks with sumps . I've ran across HD and saw a house filter that was real big with 1 inch intake and out-put with clear glass housing that could be set up like the ext 5000.


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## Aquaticfan (Oct 30, 2011)

Craigthor said:


> What methods is everyone using to inject CO2 into 200+ gallon tanks taht are runnign sumps. I currently have 2 CarbonDoser EXT5000s that I will experiment with but curious as to what others are using.
> 
> Craig


Personally your best bet would be multiple inlets coming off a reactor. The LFS I used to work at had their show tank, a 200 gallon (7ft long x 2ft x 2ft) oceanic tank with Co2. The Reactor runs on a separate pump or could run on a pump coming off a sump. But the reactor was like a Rex Griggs reactor (No media in it) but it was about 4" diameter and it was 3ft tall. Set upright. You could also do one or 2 Cerges reactors. Have them return in different places and of course have some flow from powerheads help pushing it around the inside. Reactors will give what I believe is the most complete mix of the Co2 into the water so it will dissolve. The Cerges reactors are very much like the CarbonDoser EXT5000's except none of the additional stuff inside. I use a cerges and it works very well. I bet the CarbonDoser EXT5000's wil;l work great as long as you have them return flow on each end of the tank and then get a circular flow going inside.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

I already talked to Mr Barr beefore posting this was jsut curious on what everyone else is doing.


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## Aquaticfan (Oct 30, 2011)

What did Tom recommend?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Aquaticfan said:


> What did Tom recommend?


Said the carbon dosers should be fine. I was just curious what others were doing.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

i'ce read needlewheel for a sump.. personally after setting up a sump i see the advantages. as a bubble it can either pop on the surface or dissolve. it can o through an overflow an dnot be wasted. dissolved gas has two options, be used or come out of suspension in lesser pressure.. an overflow is a beautiful way to use up lots of c02

experimenting with a venturi outlet on my rio gave me better results after going throught the cerge versus going in the cerge first. where previously goin the the cerge first was the best..

im 4 days into a runnig sumpo setup and im already considering a needlewheel

hope this helps


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

can the small needle wheel be place close to the return pump to get suck up faster?


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## SEV110G (Feb 12, 2012)

Reading thru the threads, I'm glad I'm getting back into the aquarium hobby. Been a while and glad to see there is a knowledge safety net. My first question is: what is the optimal way to set up a CO2 diffuser with respect to proximity to the filters? I want to hide as much of the equipment from view as possible, so I plan to put the diffuser chamber behind a false wall partition where the filter intakes will also reside. This means that the CO2 bubbles will float within a narrow space and into the intakes, then be run thru the filter media before entering the main planted area. Would this diminish the CO2? Also, would it affect the bacteria needed for bio filtration? Thanks.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

inkslinger said:


> can the small needle wheel be place close to the return pump to get suck up faster?


its preferrable to get a return pump fitted with a needle wheel


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

Craigthor said:


> Said the carbon dosers should be fine. I was just curious what others were doing.
> 
> Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


Just like to ask how fast was your co2 going into the ext5000 and did you have little bit of co2 bubbles in your tank. Is your out-put side of your regulator set around 10-20psi ?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

inkslinger said:


> Just like to ask how fast was your co2 going into the ext5000 and did you have little bit of co2 bubbles in your tank. Is your out-put side of your regulator set around 10-20psi ?


 
CO3 reg is running about 25-30 PSI and don't know how many BPS as I don't have bubble counters on the setup probably in the 5 bps range. I have roughly 800 gph running through the reactor but no co2 bubbles seem to venture out through the tank.


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

Craigthor said:


> CO3 reg is running about 25-30 PSI and don't know how many BPS as I don't have bubble counters on the setup probably in the 5 bps range. I have roughly 800 gph running through the reactor but no co2 bubbles seem to venture out through the tank.


Not sure what I'm doing wrong , because I have tiny bubbles reaching out into the tank {not like the mist from the Atomic diffuser} and my DC is like 
Blue/Green. Going to add my co2 controller in just to keep and eye on where my ph reads thru out the day . Right now my BPS is fast I can't count them so I will lower it down and see what happens .


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Are you running this on your 2262?


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## Aquaticfan (Oct 30, 2011)

inkslinger said:


> Not sure what I'm doing wrong , because I have tiny bubbles reaching out into the tank {not like the mist from the Atomic diffuser} and my DC is like
> Blue/Green. Going to add my co2 controller in just to keep and eye on where my ph reads thru out the day . Right now my BPS is fast I can't count them so I will lower it down and see what happens .


You won't have bubbles in the tank like an atomizer. The reactor will more fully dissolve the co2 into the water. Having said that with my set up I'm running 25psi working pressure and can't count the bubbles in the bubble counter fast enough. My guess is around 10 bps. I'm running a cerges reactor. My drop checker is yellow. I can see very very fine micro bubbles floating throughout the tank. Fish are not stressed. Plants at the end of the day are pearling. 

Sounds to me you need to up the bubble count. My gph flow is around 300. If your flow is a lot higher try reducing it. Or keep increasing your co2. Remember drop counters aren't accurate way to tell. Watch and use your fish as a guide. But I'd say add more co2. You probably need to be up around 8 to 10 bps.


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

Craigthor said:


> Are you running this on your 2262?


Yes I'm running the ext5000 with my Eheim 2262


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

Aquaticfan said:


> You won't have bubbles in the tank like an atomizer. The reactor will more fully dissolve the co2 into the water. Having said that with my set up I'm running 25psi working pressure and can't count the bubbles in the bubble counter fast enough. My guess is around 10 bps. I'm running a cerges reactor. My drop checker is yellow. I can see very very fine micro bubbles floating throughout the tank. Fish are not stressed. Plants at the end of the day are pearling.


Will I try lowering it to see if the very fine micro bubbles floating throughout the tank would go away, but nope . I had it going pretty fast count before I thought if I went any further it would just be a stream of co2 , I will go back to I had it an go from there an see if I can a green on my DC . 

Thanks


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## Aquaticfan (Oct 30, 2011)

The drop checker can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to change. So be patient. I wouldn't worry to much about the drop checker but watch your fish more so. Looking at my bubble counter I've got a pretty fast stream of bubbles going up it. It's un-countable but my guess is around 10 bps give or take. My drop checker now takes about 30 minutes to go light lime green and about an hour to yellow. I run it yellow but the fish are fine and at the end of the day my plants start to pearl.


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

Aquaticfan said:


> The drop checker can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to change. So be patient. I wouldn't worry to much about the drop checker but watch your fish more so. Looking at my bubble counter I've got a pretty fast stream of bubbles going up it. It's un-countable but my guess is around 10 bps give or take. My drop checker now takes about 30 minutes to go light lime green and about an hour to yellow. I run it yellow but the fish are fine and at the end of the day my plants start to pearl.


With the Atomic diffuser I would get pearling with the same amount of bubbles and could see my DC on green but until I switch over to the ext5000 I haven't seen any an still have 4 t5 54w ho lamps running for 8hr.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Have you checked for leaks at all connection points on the CO2 system? I know mine didn't seem to change much when I switched but I haven't used the Atomic Diffusers before. The only bubbles I see is the tank pearling.

Craig


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

Just check with some soapy water at my BC and the ext5000 and it was good , 
Just bump my co2 some more, The fish don't look stress out. My DC still blue.


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## Aquaticfan (Oct 30, 2011)

With a reactor its a totally different game. The Co2 is dissolved much better inside the reactor. Thus the reason for little to no bubbles inside the tank (so no 7up look) But you will need to crank up the BPS to a higher amount then you did with a atomizer. They just work differently. The Reactor needs more saturation of the Co2 inside the chamber so it can build up the level of Co2 into the water of the tank. Im sure if you start to run your BPS up you will notice a difference. And I would also agree with Craigthor about checking for leaks.


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## Aquaticfan (Oct 30, 2011)

inkslinger said:


> Just check with some soapy water at my BC and the ext5000 and it was good ,
> Just bump my co2 some more, The fish don't look stress out. My DC still blue.


Keep increasing. Watch the fish. And of course make sure your solution in the drop checker is good. Just be patient as it may take a little bit but keep dialing in increase in small amounts and let it run for a while.. 30 min to an hour watch the fish check the DC. If fish still good and DC hasnt changed or change is small add a little more. watch again for same.. then recheck and adjust if needed.


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## inkslinger (Dec 28, 2003)

Will the co2 is running high but cant really till the color of the DC because I have a lot of Green Plants and it all reflex's of the DC {but it looks green} does any know what brand this house filter is ? Just wounder if I could just replace the clear housing with a longer one.
The sponge that is on now is not holding the co2 in place so it will get dissolve in the water flow.


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