# co2 reactor question



## coryp (May 28, 2008)

hi i had a red sea 500 reactor and i thought it sucked so i took it out and made one out of a water bottle and it fills up with air after about a day and then when i shut my co2 off it takes 18 to 20 hours for the air to dissolve is this co2 or is it O and N gasses? also if i empty the air bubble and then crank the co2 wide open too fill the bottle and then close it i can watch it dissolve within 10 to 15 sec. so should i add a burp valve and how close to the top of the reactor should this be?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

I'm not too sure of the Red Sea 500 reactor (since I've never used it before), but from the sound of it, what you have designed is essentially a bell diffuser (not the most efficient way to allow CO2 to dissolve into your water column).

If you are feeding CO2 directly into your bell diffuser, then naturally, it will be CO2 that is dissolving into your water column (and not oxygen nor nitrogen).

If you crank your CO2 for 10-15 seconds (this sounds like you have pressurized CO2), then the CO2 that goes into the bell diffuser should not be able to dissolve in 10-15 seconds. 

Perhaps you should consider an inline reactor, or a glass diffuser (with ceramic disk) instead? The former is the best method to obtain full CO2 diffusion, while the latter is a close second.


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## coryp (May 28, 2008)

well i basically made one of the python diy 1s but with a water bottle unsted of using my gravel vac so im forcing water into the co2 however it was still building up after a whine in the bottle( reaction chamber ) i did however switch my source of co2 refills tonight and can no longer get it to build up after going up to full open on my needle valve so i think the old place just had a really low grade supply of co2 . i also found out that they wernt filling my cylinder to the max so maby ill get more then 3 weeks at 3 bps on a 20oz co2 cylinder .


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