Sera Flore Active 1000 reactor problem

[pleco4me]

Ive just installed one of the Sera Flore Active 1000 reactors on my ~950L tank. Its running inline on the output of an Eheim 2080 (running at full capacity, however it hasn't been cleaned in some time), with CO2 at around 5bps.

However, im noticing large bubbles emerging from the outlet within the tank, indicating that the CO2 is not dissolving completely. These bubbles appear in small 'burps' every 15-20 secs.

Has anyone come across this? Am I asking too much of the reactor by pushing 5bps through it? I'd greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Craig

[Gerryd]

Hi,

I think that the canister and the hose diameter limit the effectiveness of these units and the c02 is not dissolved as you suspect.

I would for sure clean the canister and see what happens first

Perhaps do a nw pump for c02 instead? Let the filter, filter.

[pleco4me]

Good call Gerryd, I tend to agree with you.

I do have an Eheim 1260 pump that I could use to solely drive the reactor. However It's rated at 2400lph, which could be too powerful! I guess I could always attach a tap inline to slow it down

Craig

[Gerryd]

Am I asking too much of the reactor by pushing 5bps through it? I'd greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions. Craig

IMO, yes you are....You have a large tank and a very small inefficient reactor. That does not make for a good combination. I would look into a nw or larger reactor....

[Aquadream]

I use this same reactor on my large tank, which can take up to 300 Litres of water. It works perfect with a separate Eheim 2224 canister, but it is relatively slow on supplying the tank with CO2, because the reactor itself has quite narrow internal tubing that reduces the flow of just any pump by about half way. So I have to start the CO2 5 hours before the light to get good CO2 levels.
I can imagine the tank you have will need about 4 of these reactors.
The realistic capacity of this reactor is for aquariums up to 200 Litres. Sera have exaggerated the figures by far.

[pleco4me]

Thanks Gerryd and Aquadream. I wish I had of known this before purchasing it. I should have known not to go by the manufacturers recommendations

In terms of a new, larger reactor, what is the best way to go about it? I've heard good things about the AM1000, but it's price in Australia is ludicrous so I'd rather look into a DIY reactor. Are there any stand out designs for large tanks?

Would it be reasonable to run the new reactor on a separate circuit with the Eheim 1260?

Thanks again,
Craig

[pleco4me]

The other option is to use an UP Atomizer inline with the Eheim 1260. If I was to have the atomizer before the Eheim, CO2 mist would enter the Eheim and be broken up even further. This could be the best option so far...

Craig

[Aquadream]

You can use big water canister filter box for CO2 reactor. I believe there were some treads in this forum that describe how to do it, but can not remember which ones were they.