Hi, just curious, has anyone tried to use a plastic 2 liter coke bottle for a fludize sand filter or as a substrate reactor? I'm thinking this should be pretty quick and doable. powerhead with hose to the bottom of the bottle and water flow out from top. no / little work required.
DIY 2 liter coke fluidize sand filter / substrate reactor.
- Thread starter vegita
- Start date
Welcome to RDO, vegita!
Yes, it works, but the narrow neck of the bottle make it difficult to jack up the flow rate. I used wide-mouth bottle like juice bottles.
You can even make a calcium reactor out of one! But that was back in the starving student days. Now I have a few bucks to spare
Yes, it works, but the narrow neck of the bottle make it difficult to jack up the flow rate. I used wide-mouth bottle like juice bottles.
You can even make a calcium reactor out of one! But that was back in the starving student days. Now I have a few bucks to spare
Anybody Have a schematic on how to make one of those? I want a calcium reactor so bad it hurts. Maybe when I sell my house I will buy one. I have to be sneeky about it cause the wife does not like me to spend money on my hobby. Even though she loves the reef tanks. Sucks dont it.
Thanks,
Shane
Thanks,
Shane
Take a look at any DIY reactor plan. The only thing that is different is the use of the bottle instead of a bullet-proof acrylic cylinder. Everything else is teh same, so you still need to pay for the CO2 bottle, the regulator, and water pump. The saving is not that great when you add everything up, but it does make a difference between eating Instant Noodle for two months vs. Burger King Oh, make sure you put the reactor in the sump, since it is very prone to leaking. All of you are forewarned.
Oh, make sure you put the reactor in the sump, since it is very prone to leaking. All of you are forewarned.I've built skimmers out of 2-litre bottles and airstones.
Don't laugh - some of the stipud things worked extremely well deu to the large voume of the reaction area. Damn ugly in a 55gal tank though.
I regard fluidized beds with the same shrug as trickle filters and wet drys; basically what problem are we trying to fix? Your bacteria too fussy to live in rock and sand and need the pleasing currents of a whirlpool?
For a calcium reactor though, count me in.
Don't laugh - some of the stipud things worked extremely well deu to the large voume of the reaction area. Damn ugly in a 55gal tank though.
I regard fluidized beds with the same shrug as trickle filters and wet drys; basically what problem are we trying to fix? Your bacteria too fussy to live in rock and sand and need the pleasing currents of a whirlpool?
For a calcium reactor though, count me in.
Cut the bottom off, clamp it to the side of the tank or sump, and stick a wooden airstone in it. Use a simple garden hose PVC fitting over the top that screws on, and dumps into something for disposal. Adjust the height of the bottle to get it working good.
The only real drawback is it's sensitive to water level. In other respects it works well - very well in a sump where you can't see it. The amount of fine foam a 2" wooden airstone can generate is staggering and only bettered by perhaps spray injectors and beckets.
The only real drawback is it's sensitive to water level. In other respects it works well - very well in a sump where you can't see it. The amount of fine foam a 2" wooden airstone can generate is staggering and only bettered by perhaps spray injectors and beckets.
The sand and the swirling are meant to kill the bacteria, so they are continually repopulating and using ammonia and nitrites to do so.blastermqn":dsro2j7m said:I regard fluidized beds with the same shrug as trickle filters and wet drys; basically what problem are we trying to fix? Your bacteria too fussy to live in rock and sand and need the pleasing currents of a whirlpool?
The function of a fluidized bed filter has nothing to do with killing bacteria AFAIK...
The media is fluidized to keep water flowing over all surfaces (ie. - water carrying nutrients and oxygen to the aerobic bacteria) and thereby maximizes use of the media - no dead spots. Sand is generally used because the small particle size is easy to keep suspended in the water column (ie. easily fluidized) and provides tremendous surface area for the aerobic bacteria to colonize.
I agree with blastermqn, the overall function is similar to a wet/dry, just more compact and efficient. One thing the wet/dry will provide that the fluidized bed will not, however, is aeration. For a marine fish-only system where no live rock will be used the wet/dry is fine IMO. For a live planted freshwater tank where it's best to not off-gas the CO2 so the plants can suck-it up a fluidized bed is ideal.
JMO...
The media is fluidized to keep water flowing over all surfaces (ie. - water carrying nutrients and oxygen to the aerobic bacteria) and thereby maximizes use of the media - no dead spots. Sand is generally used because the small particle size is easy to keep suspended in the water column (ie. easily fluidized) and provides tremendous surface area for the aerobic bacteria to colonize.
I agree with blastermqn, the overall function is similar to a wet/dry, just more compact and efficient. One thing the wet/dry will provide that the fluidized bed will not, however, is aeration. For a marine fish-only system where no live rock will be used the wet/dry is fine IMO. For a live planted freshwater tank where it's best to not off-gas the CO2 so the plants can suck-it up a fluidized bed is ideal.
JMO...
I'll stand by my statement. If the filter is used properly the sand is swirling in the chamber and colliding with itself constantly. This continually creates new areas for bacterial growth as the older bacteria is removed from the sand grain by friction.
I am not a big fan of fluidize sand filter and wet/dry for the simple reason that they are awful nitrate factory.
>...The sand and the swirling are meant to kill the bacteria, so they are continually repopulating and using ammonia and nitrites to do so. ...
Fluidization serves many purposes in a FSF, for example:
1, more homogenity thru out the substrate to prevent stratification.
2, more water-to-substrate surface area for higher bacterial population than non fluidized reactor chamber.
It is possible that bacteria is killed when it is hit by a sand partitical, but it is certainly a secondary ramification that was not part of the vision of the engineers/scientists that invented this.
>...The sand and the swirling are meant to kill the bacteria, so they are continually repopulating and using ammonia and nitrites to do so. ...
Fluidization serves many purposes in a FSF, for example:
1, more homogenity thru out the substrate to prevent stratification.
2, more water-to-substrate surface area for higher bacterial population than non fluidized reactor chamber.
It is possible that bacteria is killed when it is hit by a sand partitical, but it is certainly a secondary ramification that was not part of the vision of the engineers/scientists that invented this.
Better nitrification and oxygenization. Nitrificating bacteria use a great amount of oxygen, and they need a lot of air to work well. This is why you see some gadget that have a wet and dry phrase (wet/dry filter, biowheel, bioball with spraying mechanism, etc.). Don't be too excited about your noval idea, however.
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