cgmac Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Hi all.... Was just wondering if anyone out there has hooked up two diy reactors to one Hagen bubble ladder? Or does each reactor require it's own ladder or other form of diffusion into the tank? Thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 I used to have 2 jugs hooked up to one ladder. I used a T connector and it worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 It all comes to diffusion efficiency. Is the Nutrafin ladder suitable for your application, or not, depends how efficiently it deals with the amount of gas supplied to it. You can watch the bubbles escaping it. Do they get smaller at the end of travel along the ladder, and how much? I'm not saying take a caliper and measure them, but you can eyeball it close enough. If they are about 1/2 the original size, you have 87% efficiency, ... 1/4 gives you 99%. But the ultimate judgment would be the CO2 level in your tank. In other words, are you reaching your target? I believe, Hagen claims their CO2 systems are good for up to 20g tanks. Does that apply to their generator, or the ladder diffuser, or a combination of both, I can't tell. I've never used it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 I've had mixed results with the Hagen ladders. When I first used them when they first came out, I was getting 1/4 gives you 99%.When I reset up my 35 gal a year ago, the bubbles weren't really shrinking at all - I tried many things to help, adding more current, moving it into the current... nothing. The last time I used it, I had 2 on my 54 gal - one with a pressurised sys, the other was DIY in the Hagen reactor, and both dissolved almost completely. However, after much discussion on the APD about CO2 mist, I've since moved to using 2 powerheads to disperse the CO2 as tiny bubbles throughout the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgmac Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 With my hagen co2 ladder the bubbles are at least 1/4 of what they were when at the bottom.(maybe smaller) I also have the intake of a small powerhead to catch what reaches the top and disperses it throughout the tank. I have a little sponge over the output of this powerhead to further break up the bubbles. The only problem is this powerhead is not very powerful ! I have not figured out the co2 levels in the tank. My ph is usually between 7.2-7.4, depending on how well I can match it up to the color chart ! So I know that I am definately getting some dissolved co2 in the tank. Fish seem happy and the water is clear, no problem with algae. This is my first planted tank, and so far I think I can be very happy with the results, however I think the growth of the plants could be better, so I am going to get a T and hook up another bottle of brew !!!! Thanks everyone !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 With my hagen co2 ladder the bubbles are at least 1/4 of what they were when at the bottom.(maybe smaller) I also have the intake of a small powerhead to catch what reaches the top and disperses it throughout the tank. I have a little sponge over the output of this powerhead to further break up the bubbles. The only problem is this powerhead is not very powerful ! No worries ... With that powerhead, you are wasting your efforts on less than 1% ... I have not figured out the co2 levels in the tank. You have to measure the KH and pH. Then you can either use the chart, or you can calculate it yoursef using the following formula: CO2=3*KH*10^(7-pH) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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