Bubble Counter Plans

ajm-vfr · 10/11/2007, 10:12 PM

Hi All

I need to build a new bubble counter for my calcium reactor. It's a DIY reactor and the counter works half of the time. It's very difficult to get set up and then if I drain the reactor I have a heck of a time getting the counter to refill.

If anybody has build one I would love some ideas.

Thanks

JetCat USA · 10/11/2007, 10:16 PM

just include it as part of the recirculation loop, it'll stay filled then

der_wille_zur_macht · 10/12/2007, 07:41 AM

Get a very small bottle from bottled water or the like. Put two pieces of rigid airline tubing through the cap, seal with silicone or epoxy. Make one long enough to almost reach the bottom, the other one barely poking through the top. The long one is the input, the short one is the output. This will be bigger than most bubble counters, but that's OK - makes it easier to count individual bubbles IME, especially at high rates.

Fill it with glycerin, which doesn't evaporate away like water will. Though this design makes it easy to open and refill if you ever need to, and you can remove/replace the cap without disturbing the fluid.

kgross · 10/12/2007, 08:05 AM

What I have started doing on the reactors I build is use a small piece of clear PVC on the CO2 intake to the reactor that will fill up with water when the reactor is running. The CO2 intake is run straight down for a few inches so you can see the bubbles come up.

Or to build a stand alone unit Like Derwillezurmacht says a small bottle will work fine, sometimes hard to seal the lid though.

Kim

10/11/2007, 10:12 PM	#1
ajm-vfr Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Pittsbugh, PA Posts: 103	Bubble Counter Plans Hi All I need to build a new bubble counter for my calcium reactor. It's a DIY reactor and the counter works half of the time. It's very difficult to get set up and then if I drain the reactor I have a heck of a time getting the counter to refill. If anybody has build one I would love some ideas. Thanks

10/12/2007, 07:41 AM	#3
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Get a very small bottle from bottled water or the like. Put two pieces of rigid airline tubing through the cap, seal with silicone or epoxy. Make one long enough to almost reach the bottom, the other one barely poking through the top. The long one is the input, the short one is the output. This will be bigger than most bubble counters, but that's OK - makes it easier to count individual bubbles IME, especially at high rates. Fill it with glycerin, which doesn't evaporate away like water will. Though this design makes it easy to open and refill if you ever need to, and you can remove/replace the cap without disturbing the fluid. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

10/12/2007, 08:05 AM	#4
kgross Premium Member Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Nampa, ID Posts: 5,870	What I have started doing on the reactors I build is use a small piece of clear PVC on the CO2 intake to the reactor that will fill up with water when the reactor is running. The CO2 intake is run straight down for a few inches so you can see the bubbles come up. Or to build a stand alone unit Like Derwillezurmacht says a small bottle will work fine, sometimes hard to seal the lid though. Kim __________________ Proud Member of the Idaho Marine Aquarium Society America will only be the Land of the Free as long as it is the Home of the Brave. Current Tank Info: AGA 180gallon tank, VHO/MH lighting, DSB, calcium reactor, Also a 7 Gallon Nano softy tank, and a 32 gallon cube

10/11/2007, 10:16 PM	#2
JetCat USA Moved On Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 2,847	just include it as part of the recirculation loop, it'll stay filled then