RE: [AGA Member] Re: Aquarium Planning -- or - Yes, we have no diffuser

["S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>]

--- Nathan Freedenberg <gnatster@comcast.net> wrote:
> . . . Due to the size tank and desired placement of the
> diffuser/reactor in the sump a larger unit is required.
> My searches
> through many sources seem to bear that one of the larger
> reactors, such
> that Robert has available on his site will suit my needs.
> One could
> liken the diffuser/reactor convention much like the
> reefers protein
> skimmer/foam fractionator semantics. 

It's not semantics, unless mby that you mean different
words for different things ;-) "Diffuser" if generally used
to refer to "airstones" used to inject CO2. They are
usually designed to create very fine bubbles to increase
surface exposure. "Reactor" is genreally used for an
enclosed chamber into which water and some other chemical
are introduced and allowed to mix before the water is
extracted.  A CO2 reactor, in operation, has continuous
inflow of water and CO2 and with the CO2-enriched water
leaving the bottom of the reactor. You can think of it as a
box or cyclinder with  water entering at the top, exiting
at the bottom and CO2 fed into it. Bioballs, or any other
partial obstruction is used to spread the current in the
reactor to maximize exposure time and prevent CO2 bubbles
form being washed out the bottom of the reactor.

For a CO2 reactor, also consider this for a few bucks and a
little time:

http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/co2reactor.htm

You can increase the diameter or length if you feel the
need for very large aquaria but this unit should be good
for most aquaria 75 gallons or less.

Feed it with the output from any pump or filter or with the
intake from a canister filter.

Good luck, good fun,
Scott H.

 
> Of course the deeper I delve into this project the more I
> learn and
> equally the more I become cornfuzeled.  Alas this new
> adventure in my
> aquatic ways is aided much by the availability of others
> successful
> methodologies via the internet. My initial foray with
> reef keeping way
> back in the late 80's had much mysticism, along with many
> failures. I'm
> certainly glad to have found this list and hope to be
> offer advice as
> well as learn from ya'll too. 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Nathan 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-aga-member@thekrib.com
> [mailto:owner-aga-member@thekrib.com]
> On Behalf Of Robert H
> Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2004 3:45 AM
> To: aga-member@thekrib.com
> Subject: [AGA Member] Re: Aquarium Planning
> 
> >> "My plan is to cycle the tank with fast growing plants
> only, no
> fish."
> 
> Cycling refers to the period of time when the bacteria
> which convert
> ammonia
> to nitrite & nitrite to nitrate colonize the tank. See
> http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html for a very nice
> explanation of
> the
> nitrogen cycle.
> 
> Since plants are nitrogen consumers, not producers, you
> cannot cycle a
> tank
> using plants only, unless you were planning to add
> ammonia as a nitrogen
> source in the tank. But, since plants us ammonia and
> ammonium directly,
> even
> if you did that you might not see the NH3-N02-NO3
> progression that you
> would
> see in a non-planted tank.<<
> 
> I agree, but the benefit to starting a tank with fast
> growing plants is
> not
> so much to "cycle" the tank, better term would be to
> "break in " a new
> tank.
> Fast growing plants in bulk will help to prevent an algae
> bloom during
> the
> first 90 days when the tank is most unstable. A reason to
> perhaps wait 3
> or
> 4 weeks before addiing fish is to give the plants a
> chance to fully
> acclimate.  Many plants suffer transplant shock and will
> not begin to
> grow
> for a few weeks. If the plants are not growing, nitrogen
> and other
> nutrients
> are not going to be used up and an algae bloom may
> follow. The plants
> that
> seem to react to light and grow almost immediately are
> species of
> Myriophyllum, Hygrophila,and Hornwort to name a few.
> Others may take a
> couple weeks or more.
> 
> >>CO2 diffusers are good. A lot of people like the Eheim
> which
> includes a bubble counter. And you can hide a diffuser in
> the back
> rather than have the CO2 fed through a powerhead. You
> should be able
> to easily fit a 10# bottle in the stand. I like the Fabco
> needle
> valve and don't use a solenoid. Unnecessary expense, like
> the
> heating cables, imho.<<
> 
> Personaly, I think diffusors are a waste of money
> compared to the
> efficiencey of a reactor, but everyone has their own
> preference.
> 
> Robert Hudson
> www.aquabotanic.com
> 
> 
>  ------------------
>  To unsubscribe from this list, please send mail to
> majordomo@thekrib.com
>  with "Unsubscribe aga-member" in the body of the
> message.  Archives of
>  this list can be found at
> http://lists.thekrib.com/aga-member/
> 
>  ------------------
>  To unsubscribe from this list, please send mail to
> majordomo@thekrib.com
>  with "Unsubscribe aga-member" in the body of the
> message.  Archives of
>  this list can be found at
> http://lists.thekrib.com/aga-member/
> 


=====
S. Hieber

-  -   -   -   -   -   -   -
Amano Returns
to the AGA Annual Convention
Nov 2004 -- Baltimore

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online.
http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html
 ------------------
 To unsubscribe from this list, please send mail to majordomo@thekrib.com
 with "Unsubscribe aga-member" in the body of the message.  Archives of
 this list can be found at http://lists.thekrib.com/aga-member/