DIY in-line Reactor Heater Combo

[150EH]

I built this today and with a few modifications to this prototype it should be a great addition to any aquarium, it will save room and money. This is for my 10 gallon tank so it should be very efficient over atomizers or diffusers plus the heater is a 50 watt Ebo-Jager and I have only spent $65.60 and the includes shipping from 2 suppliers. Below is a materials list and you will also need Teflon tape, GE Silicone I, a 5/16" drill bit, a 1/8" pipe thread tap, a 7/16" inch wrench, and a 1-1/8 inch wrench. Any of this can be easily modified to fit larger heaters or larger reactors if needed.


You'll need to sand and fit part G to the heater, you can cut this piece up to one inch long for use with Ebo-Jager heaters, silicone part G onto the heater a day in advance letting it cure completely, also make sure part G is not touching the temperature setting dial so leave an 1/8 space here and trim up excess silicone before the final install.


Prime all your fittings then locate fittings A & B and glue up the bottom of the reactor.

Here it is together but it's upside down.

Now prime and glue the clear 2 inch tubing to the bottom and locate the second part B and prime and glue it to become the top, keep in mind how you hoses will be routed so you can turn the Tee to make it more convenient for your stand and filter setup.

You can install part D in the bottom of the reactor using 6 to 8 full winds of Teflon tape to insure you won't have a leak, leave the top barb fitting out until you tap for the pipe fitting.

You can see here I drilled a pilot hole for the brass CO2 fitting, I picked this spot so the gas would rise into the reactor intake and get broken up by the incoming water. Now drill a 5/16 inch hole.

Now insert the 1/8 PT tap and apply a light pressure to keep the tap cutting into the plastic, don't cut and clear as you would when tapping steel the plastic is wat to soft and you don't want to make any cross threads, keep cutting until there is only one or two thread exposed on the tap. When tour finished cleann up the edges and install part F, pipe thread is tapered and should need any teflon tape, plus this is a very fine thread.

Make sure to rinse out the waste from cutting the threads, Now install the top barb fitting making sure to use Teflon tape, then making sure you have a dry surface glue the heater on tho the top and hold it in place for 20 seconds while the glue dries. Now it should be ready for service.

[Cristy Keister]

Nice! How soon will you be taking orders?

[Aaron]

Cool idea. I'll be curious to know if it stays leak free. I thought about trying these liquid tight cord fittings from Heyco http://www.heyco.com/Liquid_Tight_Cordgrips/

The make some larger sizes that should fit a standard heater and would allow you to swap it out if it went bad.

One day when I don't live in an apt or condo and needn't worry about spillage into neighboring units I'll try it.

[150EH]

Thanks Aaron, some other folks had also mentioned the Heyco fittings and Jehmco sells a heater bulkhead fitting and I actually use one on my holding tank, the problem is getting water up to the heaters low water mark and at the same time fitting all that into a 2" pipe, it seems as the silicone is doing a good job and I've seen another guy do the same thing on a heater only. The good thing is if did leak this is only a 10 gallon, it's still a lot of water but better than a 150.

Bulkhead fitting, it really looks just like the Heyco fittings except for the color.

[FrannyB]

Whoa! I missed this. Pretty sexy.

[150EH]

Cool idea. I'll be curious to know if it stays leak free. I thought about trying these liquid tight cord fittings from Heyco http://www.heyco.com/Liquid_Tight_Cordgrips/

The make some larger sizes that should fit a standard heater and would allow you to swap it out if it went bad.

One day when I don't live in an apt or condo and needn't worry about spillage into neighboring units I'll try it.

I tried one of the Heyco fittings and it leaked because they are made to tighten down onto something that gives a little like wire or conduit, Jehmco has a heater bulkhead fitting but it won't work on this application, however you can use silicone in a 1-1/4 piece of pvc cut to about an inch long and attach it to the collar above the glass but below the thermostat. If you attach this first with a generous amount of silicone you can clean up the excess later after it cures and the cement it into the unit with no leaks. Unfortunately I did it differently, then I tried the Heyco fitting, and finally I did it correctly. Some how I always take the long way, maybe I like to reverse engineer so I know all the pitfalls when I get to a final product.

Leak before you own and let the landlord foot the bill???

[adin]

Very good!

[150EH]

I just wanted to let everybody know that I have installed the 3rd generation of this heater/reactor and it is functioning perfectly and leak free. I would also like to mention with the heater taking up all the space in the upper part of the reactor it keeps the CO2 gas down low and in the water circulation and makes it very efficient.


If anyone would like me to build one for your tank the reactor itself cost me $32, add a 50 watt heater and it was $58 total. So your total may differ due to a taller reactor or larger heater but I can custom build it for your tank for very little cost.

They are not hard to build so you might want to give it a try.

[SCMurphy]

If the power goes out does your CO2 stop? If the CO2 fills the reactor and the filter doesn't start back up the heater could break.

[150EH]

That couldn't happen because it's an open loop and the CO2 could, in theory fill the reactor and gas could come out of the filter intake/outlet but your talking about a lot of CO2 and many days without power. Also all of my CO2 systems use a solenoid and the gas would stop as soon as the power goes out, minus the small amount of gas in the needle valve and line, but overall it's a non-issue.

I've never tried DIY CO2 so that may be different but there is still no chance of breaking the glass is the heater.

One more thing is the Ebo Jager heaters use a shatter proof glass and have a temperature sensor that will shut off the heater if no water is present, so that's another safeguard.