Help ARC small acrylic reactor on 40 breeder 36x18

[Dwillydog]

Hello, can anyone running the ARC small acrylic reactor on a 40 breeder tell me what your outlet position is and what ph drop or co2 ppm you are getting?

 

[JayP]

I can do some measurements and calculations when I'm back home this evening, but my thought is that the ARC reactor, even at the lowest setting, will result in more of a ph drop than you'ld likely want on a 40 breeder in overflow mode. On my approx. 48X18 tank, I'm getting over a 1.0 ph drop on the 2nd to lowest setting.

 

[Dwillydog]

I can do some measurements and calculations when I'm back home this evening, but my thought is that the ARC reactor, even at the lowest setting, will result in more of a ph drop than you'ld likely want on a 40 breeder in overflow mode. On my approx. 48X18 tank, I'm getting over a 1.0 ph drop on the 2nd to lowest setting.

Per my Calculations I should only have a gas interface approx 0.6 inches wide. I’m thinking of orienting the reactor so the mounting bracket sits on the floor of my cabinet and putting the outlet as close to the apex of the tube as I can get

 

[JayP]

I took a look at my spare ARC reactor and it appears the smallest reactor surface area I could set it to, regardless of mounting position would be about 14.7 x 1.7 = 25 (reactor surface area)

My 40g breeder measurements inside glass-to-glass is about
35 x 17.5 = 612.5 tank surface area

That gives you a factor of
612.5 / 24.99 = 24.5

That should result in around a 1.4 ph drop, which may be OK, but you'd want to keep a close eye on things and maybe invest in the Hannah co2 titration test kit to confirm actual levels.

 

[Dwillydog]

I took a look at my spare ARC reactor and it appears the smallest reactor surface area I could set it to, regardless of mounting position would be about 14.7 x 1.7 = 25 (reactor surface area)

My 40g breeder measurements inside glass-to-glass is about
35 x 17.5 = 612.5 tank surface area

That gives you a factor of
612.5 / 24.99 = 24.5

That should result in around a 1.4 ph drop, which may be OK, but you'd want to keep a close eye on things and maybe invest in the Hannah co2 titration test kit to confirm actual levels.

Thank you for checking. Why on earth are these advertised for 10 gallons and up? At any rate I’m going to try it out at the smallest surface area I can get it. I have an Apera Ph-60 and the Hanna titration kit on hand. Thanks again for the effort and measurements.

 

[Kwyet]

I don’t think that they are assuming overflow mode in the listing.

 

[JayP]

Yep, what @Kwyet said. You can still use the ARC reactor on small aquariums. You just give up one of its benefits over other reactor designs; overflow mode. You can still run the reactor in regulator mode, but like with other forms of CO2 delivery, it will be up to you to ensure you don't accidently gas your livestock. I know some people use Yugang reactors along with PH controllers and turn off CO2 at a set PH so the gas pocket in the reactor stops getting replenished.

 

[Noahspapa]

Hi all. It took me a while but I put a small acrylic reactor on my 40G plant farm tank. I have it at the minimal setting as far as bubble size and it is blasting co2 - so definitely overflowing. I have an Oxyguard co2 meter I calibrated a few days ago. The most I can as far as co2 is 27-28 ppm.
View attachment 81377846285__8854B057-4DE1-4CD8-B7E9-A350DE11575F.MOV
See pics. Yesterday I set it up on the next higher flange setting and let it overflow and shut down the experiment as the value was racing up beyond 55.

I’d appreciate any input. I desire to get this tank running at around 45.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Do you have a drop checker and/or Hanna test kit too? I'd check all of those, including pH readings, and compare and contrast. I had the new Polaris C CO2 meter and was less than impressed, especially with room for error with their calibration method.

 

[Noahspapa]

I do. I’ll check it out. Thank you

 

[Noahspapa]

Drop checker is a darker green - it’s been in there. I added a second one but will need to wait. The Hanna set turns a bit pink at ~0.8, so closer to 40. Strangely enough, Oxyguard is reading 31.9 now. Maybe I needed to wait longer. I’m curious to see what the drop checkers say in a couple hours.

 

[Noahspapa]

I could have sworn the Oxyguard reading was at 27-28 for two hours. Now it’s up to 38

 

[Noahspapa]

And now…. Will be heading out for a while but I’m watching it via ring camera.


I didn’t expect this to be an all day thing…..

 

[Noahspapa]

CO2 settled in at around 40-41 ppm overnight according to the Oxyguard this morning. Drop checker is lime green. I checked with the Hanna kit and it went light pink somewhere between the 0.9 and 1.0 so 45-50. I recalibrated the Oxyguard and have let it sit for a while and it is measuring 44.0 ppm in a steady state. So, I’m quite happy using the ARC small acrylic with the 40 gallon breeder. My next adventures are to set up two new 90P tanks with a slightly larger surface area (36” x 20” versus 36” x 18”). I may have to jump to the next flange setting and see where that takes things in overflow mode and if it’s too high go to regulator mode. In the mean time I can set another ARC unit on my second 40G plant farm tank.
Also - FWIW - I attempted to measure the actual bubble size and I believe it’s 1.25” x 14.25”.
I’m happy with the overall state of the plant farm tank but anticipate some enhanced color and growth will come with this improvement in CO2 level and associated increase in lighting. Someday I’ll take the time to learn how to maintain the plants properly to achieve the “bush” look.

 

[JayP]

View attachment 20890
CO2 settled in at around 40-41 ppm overnight according to the Oxyguard this morning. Drop checker is lime green. I checked with the Hanna kit and it went light pink somewhere between the 0.9 and 1.0 so 45-50. I recalibrated the Oxyguard and have let it sit for a while and it is measuring 44.0 ppm in a steady state. So, I’m quite happy using the ARC small acrylic with the 40 gallon breeder. My next adventures are to set up two new 90P tanks with a slightly larger surface area (36” x 20” versus 36” x 18”). I may have to jump to the next flange setting and see where that takes things in overflow mode and if it’s too high go to regulator mode. In the mean time I can set another ARC unit on my second 40G plant farm tank.
Also - FWIW - I attempted to measure the actual bubble size and I believe it’s 1.25” x 14.25”.
I’m happy with the overall state of the plant farm tank but anticipate some enhanced color and growth will come with this improvement in CO2 level and associated increase in lighting. Someday I’ll take the time to learn how to maintain the plants properly to achieve the “bush” look. View attachment 20890

This is all great info and, I think, confirms my earlier comments regarding my estimates of what you might end up with on a 40g breeder; doable, but keep an eye on it.

As another reference point, on my 48X18 (approx) tank:

• ARC reactor at 2nd lowest setting
• Bettatail design DIY precision regulator with flowmeter set at 10-12 sccm
• PH drop 1.2-1.3
• Hannah CO2 test = approx 40ppm
• Drop checker = very light lime green into almost yellow

I can leave the reactor on the same setting and turn the flow rate up slightly and still get up to 50-60ppm. I actually did this and some ramshorn snails a friend gave me, didn't even last 24 hours.