Help Yugang reactor with a bypass... can anyone help a newbie?

[markn2025]

I've been doing a hell of a lot of research on the yugang reactor and co2 reactors in general. I am looking to build my own as I have a fluval fx4 so there is no options for reactor or inline diffusion available in the UK

Is there anyone that could talk me through exact steps on setting it up? Research suggests I will need a bypass for the fx4. I have a fluval roma 240 tank and I already have co2 running by in tankdiffuser.

The main questions I have;

- I'd like a mid range level of co2, which seems to be a 1.2 ph drop. I've been told if I am using a standard 50mm pipe that the reactor will only need to be 27cm, which seems small, is that correct?

- If I need a bypass, does anyone have a parts list or are able to advise?

- the co2 connection that goes into the PVC, how do I get a connector into a circular PVC pipe without leaks?

Thank you so much in advance

 

[Pepere]

Given your reference to mm, I assume you are not US based, correct?

Here in the US I opted to use PVC drain pipe for the body of the reactor and went 2 inch diameter.

IIRC you multiply your length times front to rear widt of your tank internally and divide by 17.7 to get the area your co2 gas to water surface area you need for your reactor. From that determine the width of the interior of the reactor where the waterline will be in overflow. Divide the surface area needed by the width and that will give you the length.

I cut my 2 inch pipe the appropriate length and gluedPVC couplers on each end. I fitted PVC bushings inside the couplers and then threaded adapters were glued in the bushings. I used 3/4 inch pex afapter to threaded pipe as my filter tubing would form a nice friction fit over thepex barb. I then put stainless steel hose clamps to make a more secure fit.



I used pvc pipe hangers to secure the pipe to the back wall of my cabinet.


To inject co2 gas into the chamber I drilled an appropriate sized hole and then threaded in a standard threaded airline valve as used to set up an air loop in a fishroom for air drops to tank with central air…




An FX 4 has a fair amount of flow. Do you have more flow than you need , or do you want t to preserve as much as you can? Different plumbing options for a bypass depending if you have flow to spare.

 

[markn2025]

Given your reference to mm, I assume you are not US based, correct?

Here in the US I opted to use PVC drain pipe for the body of the reactor and went 2 inch diameter.

IIRC you multiply your length times front to rear widt of your tank internally and divide by 17.7 to get the area your co2 gas to water surface area you need for your reactor. From that determine the width of the interior of the reactor where the waterline will be in overflow. Divide the surface area needed by the width and that will give you the length.

I cut my 2 inch pipe the appropriate length and gluedPVC couplers on each end. I fitted PVC bushings inside the couplers and then threaded adapters were glued in the bushings. I used 3/4 inch pex afapter to threaded pipe as my filter tubing would form a nice friction fit over thepex barb. I then put stainless steel hose clamps to make a more secure fit.


I used pvc pipe hangers to secure the pipe to the back wall of my cabinet.


To inject co2 gas into the chamber I drilled an appropriate sized hole and then threaded in a standard threaded airline valve as used to set up an air loop in a fishroom for air drops to tank with central air…


An FX 4 has a fair amount of flow. Do you have more flow than you need , or do you want t to preserve as much as you can? Different plumbing options for a bypass depending if you have flow to spare.

This is helpful thank you. I have more than enough flow I run my fx4 at around 70% right now. Do you have any pics or videos of yours working?

Correct I am from the UK, my 50mm is your 2 inch. My tank is 48 inches long by 16 inches wide. I don't need excessive co2 so was thinking a 50mm/2inch reactor that was 30cm, that sound alright?

 

[Pepere]

don't need excessive co2 so was thinking a 50mm/2inch reactor that was 30cm, that sound alright?

Metric numbers almost never sound right to me….




So 48 x 16 =768

768/x=required surface area in reactor.

Depends on what your target ph drop is…. Lets figure on a conservative 1.2 ph drop.

768/35.4=21.695

Soto get a 1.2 ph drop the length times width of your reactor chamber would be 21.7 sq inches

If you wanted a 1.5 ph drop….

768/17.7=43.39

Divide square inches needed by widrh of waterline in reactor..

21.7/2=10.85 inches long

43.39/2=21.695 inches long

30 cm is right around 11.8 inches..

So depending what your target ph drop is…

 

[Pepere]

To create a bypass, I would run ashort run of tubing off your adapter and fit in a ball valve. On the other side of the ballvalve fit a plumbing tee.. the ball valve will throttle the flow that wants to go in the reactor and hence divert some of the flow through the Tee. The third hole of the tee will bypass over the filter and reattach to a tee on the other side of the reactor. Allowing the flow to reconnect..

You could install another ball valve between the reactor and the second tee if you ever wanted to isolate the reactor completely from your flow, but personally I cant see where I would ever want to do so.

 

[markn2025]

To create a bypass, I would run ashort run of tubing off your adapter and fit in a ball valve. On the other side of the ballvalve fit a plumbing tee.. the ball valve will throttle the flow that wants to go in the reactor and hence divert some of the flow through the Tee. The third hole of the tee will bypass over the filter and reattach to a tee on the other side of the reactor. Allowing the flow to reconnect..

You could install another ball valve between the reactor and the second tee if you ever wanted to isolate the reactor completely from your flow, but personally I cant see where I would ever want to do so.

Ok thank you. This type of design? Are you able to review my parts list and see if anything is missing other than pvc cement for a 50mm reactor with a 25mm bypass?

 

[Pepere]

Personally I would have the throttling valve between the tee and the reactor as opposed to where it is in this photo.

The velocity mass of moving water will preferentially want to go straight through the tee and into the reactor as opposed to taking a right turn at the tee.

You need minimal flow through the reactor for it to work. By having the throttling valve after the tee you can have the lions share of water going through the bypass and not the reactor. As plumbed in the photo the lions share of flow will want to go through the reactor.

The list looks to be good. I will tell you a secret though…. I dont do plumbing every day. Every time I do a plumbing project I typically make more than 1 repeat trip to get things I need that I didnt think of…. I maybe do 2-3 projects a year.

Yes, it is inefficient, but it still is a lot cheaper than hiring it out…

 

[markn2025]

Personally I would have the throttling valve between the tee and the reactor as opposed to where it is in this photo.

The velocity mass of moving water will preferentially want to go straight through the tee and into the reactor as opposed to taking a right turn at the tee.

You need minimal flow through the reactor for it to work. By having the throttling valve after the tee you can have the lions share of water going through the bypass and not the reactor. As plumbed in the photo the lions share of flow will want to go through the reactor.

The list looks to be good. I will tell you a secret though…. I dont do plumbing every day. Every time I do a plumbing project I typically make more than 1 repeat trip to get things I need that I didnt think of…. I maybe do 2-3 projects a year.

Yes, it is inefficient, but it still is a lot cheaper than hiring it out…

Makes sense. Thanks a lot. May look to get clear pvc, too, for the main big so I can monitor the flow. Thank you again for the help, really appreciate it

 

[Pepere]

May look to get clear pvc, too, for the main big so I can monitor the flow. Thank

That is the only scenario where I would see a clear section being useful.