CO
2
reactor adjustment:
1. Turn on the circulation pump to start the water flow.
2. Open the valve of the CO
2
pressure bottle
3. The working pressure gauge of the
regular
is set to 1.5 bar ( +/- .5
bar)
4. open slowly the needle valve of the regular.
5. Check the flow of the CO
2
bubbles on the bubblöe counter. The initial
flow should be approx 15 bubbles/minute.
6. The
CO
2
will flow into the reactor and dissolved in the water flow.
7. Determine the CO
2
content in the water using a pH controller or a pH
test. Take an initial pH reading before starting the reactor. Raise the
bubble count per minute daily until a reading of 7.0 – 7.4 ( for
freshwater aquaria) is reached. It may take some days, until the
proper CO
2
level is reached and maintained.
Check the pH value regually and adjust the CO
2
bubble count as required.
The CO
2
gas in the pressure bottle is 99.8% pure carbon dioxide. The
remaining 0.02% are nitrogen, oxygen and other insoluble gases. These
impurities are collected in the CO
2
reactor and can decrease ist efficiency.
An air hole allows these gases to escape automatically, when they reach
a preset concentration. Because of this safety exhaust, the reactor will
work continously without interuption.
raising the carbonate hardness ( alcalinity)
Aquarium water, freshwater or saltwater should have a minimum
carbonate hardness of 4 – 6 °KH (1.5 – 2 mmol/l). Below this limit, the pH
of the water cannot be stabilised. Biological processes produce
permanetly organic acids, that reduce the carbonate hardness. Filtration
with peat or the use of other acids ( Phosphoric acid or hydrochloric acid).
If peat products are used for filtration, the carbonate hardness of the water
should be checked weekly. If the KH drops below 4° in freshwater or 6 ° in
saltwater, it should be raised. We recommend the buffer tablets
aqua+ KH
.
Maintenance
Keep CO
2
reactor always clean. For cleaning, it can be completely
dissassemblied.
1. dismantle the reactor
2. Separate the reactor cover (4) from the reactor by twisting the bayonet
joint to the left.
Pull out the spiral tube insert (6)
3. Clean all parts under running water with the brush provided with the
kit.
4. reassemble the parts and install into the aquarium.
