What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

CO2 reactor question

  • #21
i was just thinking, i have another idea on why it does that or aids the effect of the suction, you use warm water to activate the yeast fermentation process. well for the short time that u you fill the bottle up with warm water the air expands pushing excess air, giving a short bubbling period before the air cools, then causing a reverse of air pressure in the bottle, causing a suction until Co2 can replace the deminished supply of gas forced out of the bottle. This may be a big factor or little factor to this problem, i dunno? yeast works really fast so it may just cancel out the whole effect all together. also while the water is warm, evaportion takes place causing th air pressure to climb even more.
This is my 2 3/4 cents
 
  • #22
Interesting theory which may have some validity, however it is not the major factor here because I often don't use warm water.
smile.gif
 
  • #23
lol yes, then that wouldnt be a factor to the problem then
smile.gif
:'(

lol
 
  • #24
havron, I followed your directions and ended up with a great CO2 reactor. I thank you for that. At first, I kept the reactor equal next to the raidiata tank so water levels were equal. I woke up to find, however, some of the yeasty reactor fluid had been pumped into the tank! Just a tiny amount that doesn't necessitate (IMO) changing the tank water. If there is an algae bloom, the Daphnia I ordered should clear things up.

So, I relocated the CO2 generator to the floor a couple feet below the tank. I'm no longer having the problem I had before, and there is a steady stream of CO2 into the tank. There is a bubble about once per second, which seems right to me. D'accord? What puzzles me is that because the reactor water level is far below the level in the tank, why doesn't the tank water flow down the tube into the reactor. Is the steady CO2 stream from the reactor preventing this from happening? That must be it.

Happy Easter!

Chris
 
  • #25
DE even if the CO2 reactor is below the water level in the tank something has to cause an inbalance in pressure between the two. In other words if you just took tube and connected two tanks of water and one was lower than the other it wouldn't start a syphon. It would take me to long to explain the rest of this and it would be very boring. So blah blah blah blah and blah there. Happy Easter every one.
 
  • #26
No problem DE, glad to hear it worked out well for you. I'm guessing you probably put a little too much water in the 2 liter bottle?
 
  • #27
That must be it--the water is a few inches below the tube. I think what's happening is the yeast fluid condenses into droplets which enter the tube and are slowly pushed up into the tank along with the CO2.

Thanks, both.

Chris
 
  • #28
lol, I don't even fill mine halfway.
smile.gif
 
  • #29
After reading these posts I started my first CO2 reactor. I went to the petstore and got a back flow preventer, they are used to prevent water from flowing into the air pump in case of power failure. I got the one that does not use a piston and installed as if the water was the air pump and the reactor was the water. It seams to be working OK.

Marjorie
 
  • #30
Hey thats pretty cool. Maybe I'll try a couple different reactors.
 
  • #31
havron,

I emptied our some of the yeasty fluid. Think the extra will taste good on tomorrow's scrambled eggs? ;-)

Chris
 
Back
Top