# CO2 Diffuser



## Eden Marel (Jan 28, 2010)

I don't know, but if you do buy one keep this thread updated cuz I was actually considering getting one, but stopped when I heard this types of diffusors need a high pressure that is not usually associated with DIY CO2.

I think Aquatic Magic was selling one that "supposedly" compatible with DIY CO2.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

Buy the smaller water pump listed and use side cutters to split the impeller blades and spread the blades apart. I managed to split each blade twice. You can try splitting it once or twice, depending how lucky you feel . Use the side cutters to enlarge one of the input slits on the water pump and poke an airline elbow through the slit and attach CO2 line to the elbow. You will want to put a a check valve between the water pump and the yeast reactor or bubblecounter/solenoid/regulator. Place the water pump as low as you can in your particular tank. Mine is in lower rear left hand corner and blowing along the back glass towards the right rear corner. The mist drifts around the circumference of the tank in a clockwise manner. Water pumps require less cleaning and provide additional circulation. I run my regulator at 10 psi since there is minimal back pressure so less chance of leaking CO2. Since the waterpump is small, it's easy to hide behind plants or hardscape. The drawback is, it makes noise when the CO2 bubbles hit the impeller and it blows a mist all over the tank. Great for plants not great visually. But, I have had a few glass diffusers make a whistling sound so, as usual, there is a trade off with all diffusion methods..


http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4587+8164&pcatid=8164

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3669+3690&pcatid=3690


By the way, this is my interpretation of an idea developed by Tom Barr so, I extend credit to him for this.


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## Hookahh (Aug 24, 2010)

Eden Marel said:


> I don't know, but if you do buy one keep this thread updated cuz I was actually considering getting one, but stopped when I heard this types of diffusors need a high pressure that is not usually associated with DIY CO2.
> 
> I think Aquatic Magic was selling one that "supposedly" compatible with DIY CO2.


You know i figured the same, in order for the diffuser to work it needs to be under really high pressure, however if you can use an airstone with a DIY CO2 reactor, perhaps one can be lucky enough to have this work.

hbosman, thanks for the idea. Ive been looking at these DIY Reactors which use pumps, but my tank is so small that i dont even want to take up anymore space. Its only a 10G :icon_surp


BTW, Eden Marel i saw some of your tanks that are well planted, is that all DIY CO2 or do u have a co2 tank?


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## fisfan (Mar 27, 2010)

I have two, 2 liter, DIY yeast setups one for my 5.5 gal and the other for my 15 gal. For both tanks, I use identical glass CO2 diffusers to the one you’re considering. Before the glass diffusers, I used airstones, limewood and then chopsticks. These EBay glass diffusers work better than the others. The bubble mist emanating from them is finer than limewood and glass looks better in the tank than a block of wood. Additionally, I noticed that the quality of these EBay diffusers vary with each diffuser. Some diffusers generate finer bubbles than others. I recommend getting more than one. That way when you're cleaning one with bleach or H2O2 you can rinse it leisurely and let it dry. Also, these diffusers are very fragile and it’s always good to have a spare. I purchased five for about $15.

I've read several postings which question whether the DIY CO2 has enough pressure with these types of diffusers. The answer is yes. However it usually takes several hours (4 or 5) for the pressure to build. Additionally, I make sure I use a bubble counter when using these glass diffusers. Without a bubble counter, my diffuser will get gummed up with the yeast concoction. I also purchased my bubble counters from EBay for a nominal cost. I could have made my own bubble counter but I wanted to limit the opportunities for leaks in my system. The more DIY items I construct, the greater the opportunity for leaks.


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## Eden Marel (Jan 28, 2010)

Hookahh said:


> You know i figured the same, in order for the diffuser to work it needs to be under really high pressure, however if you can use an airstone with a DIY CO2 reactor, perhaps one can be lucky enough to have this work.
> 
> hbosman, thanks for the idea. Ive been looking at these DIY Reactors which use pumps, but my tank is so small that i dont even want to take up anymore space. Its only a 10G :icon_surp
> 
> ...


I'm using DIY CO2! Was considering paintball... but I'm not sure.


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## Hookahh (Aug 24, 2010)

fisfan said:


> I have two, 2 liter, DIY yeast setups one for my 5.5 gal and the other for my 15 gal. For both tanks, I use identical glass CO2 diffusers to the one you’re considering. Before the glass diffusers, I used airstones, limewood and then chopsticks. These EBay glass diffusers work better than the others. The bubble mist emanating from them is finer than limewood and glass looks better in the tank than a block of wood. Additionally, I noticed that the quality of these EBay diffusers vary with each diffuser. Some diffusers generate finer bubbles than others. I recommend getting more than one. That way when you're cleaning one with bleach or H2O2 you can rinse it leisurely and let it dry. Also, these diffusers are very fragile and it’s always good to have a spare. I purchased five for about $15.
> 
> I've read several postings which question whether the DIY CO2 has enough pressure with these types of diffusers. The answer is yes. However it usually takes several hours (4 or 5) for the pressure to build. Additionally, I make sure I use a bubble counter when using these glass diffusers. Without a bubble counter, my diffuser will get gummed up with the yeast concoction. I also purchased my bubble counters from EBay for a nominal cost. I could have made my own bubble counter but I wanted to limit the opportunities for leaks in my system. The more DIY items I construct, the greater the opportunity for leaks.


Thanks for the advice, if you have any idea who you purchased from? tell me ill purchase off them, but its no biggie. Can you explain why a bubble counter is important? Furthermore, your DIY CO2 is 1 (2 Liter Bottle) or 2 of them? Or...


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## fisfan (Mar 27, 2010)

Hookahh said:


> Thanks for the advice, if you have any idea who you purchased from? tell me ill purchase off them, but its no biggie. Can you explain why a bubble counter is important? Furthermore, your DIY CO2 is 1 (2 Liter Bottle) or 2 of them? Or...


 
I use one 2 Liter bottle for each tank. In choosing an eBay seller, I simply looked for a good seller rating and the best price. At first I didn’t use a bubble counter or a check valve. On the first day of my setup, I learned that I needed the check valve because water was being siphoned from my tank into my DIY CO2 bottle. It took me several weeks to learn the importance of a bubble counter. 

At first I dismissed the bubble counter because I didn’t see the need to count bubbles with DIY CO2. After all, it’s not like I can regulate the CO2 reaction after I’ve already made my yeast concoction. Additionally, I found it difficult to get airtight seals with my DIY bubble counters. (The problem may have been not waiting long enough for the CO2 pressure to build up. However, I do believe that I waited overnight on one occasion but observed no CO2 production in the morning.) So I went without using a bubble counter at first. After 10 days, I noticed a gooey yellow buildup on top of the ceramic disc on my glass CO2 diffuser. The yeast concoction had made its way up the airline into my diffuser. (My CO2 bottle is at floor level.) This build up was easy to scrape off with an old toothbrush, but I noticed that it returned daily with increasing thickness. As a remedy, I ordered two inexpensive bubble counters from eBay. They ran around $5 each. With the bubble counters I don’t get the gooey build up. The diffusers still need to be cleaned because of algae buildup, or some waste product falls on the ceramic disc. I also don’t like introducing unknowns (the gooey yeast concoction) into my tank.


With my DIY CO2 systems, I found it needful to limit the locations where I have to establish an airtight seal through my own handiwork. Every place that I have to drill and apply sealant is a location where the airtight seal is questionable. For me, the solution is to buy inexpensive pre-manufactured devices like the eBay bubble counters. Now, there’s just one place where I have to manufacture the airtight seal and that’s where the cap on the 2 liter bottle meets my airline tube. To achieve an airtight seal here I drill a hole slightly smaller than my airline tube into the cap. I cut the airline tube that I’m going to insert at an angle so that I have a point at the end. I insert the point into the cap and pull the tube through using a pair of pliers. With this method, I don’t have to use any sealant and if there’s a leak in the system, the first place I look is where this cap meets the airline.


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## mdc928 (Sep 25, 2010)

fisfan said:


> I use one 2 Liter bottle for each tank. In choosing an eBay seller, I simply looked for a good seller rating and the best price. At first I didn’t use a bubble counter or a check valve. On the first day of my setup, I learned that I needed the check valve because water was being siphoned from my tank into my DIY CO2 bottle. It took me several weeks to learn the importance of a bubble counter.
> 
> At first I dismissed the bubble counter because I didn’t see the need to count bubbles with DIY CO2. After all, it’s not like I can regulate the CO2 reaction after I’ve already made my yeast concoction. Additionally, I found it difficult to get airtight seals with my DIY bubble counters. (The problem may have been not waiting long enough for the CO2 pressure to build up. However, I do believe that I waited overnight on one occasion but observed no CO2 production in the morning.) So I went without using a bubble counter at first. After 10 days, I noticed a gooey yellow buildup on top of the ceramic disc on my glass CO2 diffuser. The yeast concoction had made its way up the airline into my diffuser. (My CO2 bottle is at floor level.) This build up was easy to scrape off with an old toothbrush, but I noticed that it returned daily with increasing thickness. As a remedy, I ordered two inexpensive bubble counters from eBay. They ran around $5 each. With the bubble counters I don’t get the gooey build up. The diffusers still need to be cleaned because of algae buildup, or some waste product falls on the ceramic disc. I also don’t like introducing unknowns (the gooey yeast concoction) into my tank.
> 
> ...


I'm fairly new to all of this a well, I'm about a month into the CO2 DIY. I just installed my glass diffuser last night identical to the one that is shown. My question to you though is I run a line from my 2 liter to a smaller bottle with a small amount of water in it. In the small bottle I have two holes in the lid, line-in and line out. The line in goes about 1 inch down and the other is about half an inch. Is this what the bubble counter is replacing?


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## fisfan (Mar 27, 2010)

mdc928 said:


> I'm fairly new to all of this a well, I'm about a month into the CO2 DIY. I just installed my glass diffuser last night identical to the one that is shown. My question to you though is I run a line from my 2 liter to a smaller bottle with a small amount of water in it. In the small bottle I have two holes in the lid, line-in and line out. The line in goes about 1 inch down and the other is about half an inch. Is this what the bubble counter is replacing?


Your smaller bottle _is_ a bubble counter so long as the line that goes in is below the water line.


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## Hookahh (Aug 24, 2010)

Eden Marel, i just received my package today, i ordered on sunday and got it on Friday...pretty good shipping from China. This thing does actually work, but needs a lot of pressure to start, i had to shake up the bottle a bit. So cheers, i ordered from HK aquarium fyi.


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## Eden Marel (Jan 28, 2010)

Woot, thanks for letting me know! I just might have to give it a try myself!


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

This might get more answers in the DIY section if its regarding DIY CO2. Also just to let you know this is in the low tech section, low tech usually means no CO2.


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## Hookahh (Aug 24, 2010)

Thanks kamikaze. Useful advice.


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## Cocobid (Feb 25, 2007)

Thought I might jump in on this one.. I run DIY on several tanks did a lot of chatting prior to adding DIY. Nico suggest I use this and I could not be happier. It is a small internal filter that you simply insert the tubing from CO2, I buffer it before and after with floss. One issue I was cautioned with DIY was the fact that it will diffuse all night and can/will cause problems. Someone suggested that I plug the Mini elite into a timer thus allowing a large or undiffused bubbles at night and not the fine mist!! This method I could not be happier with. The lights and DIY/Co2 are on the same timer. 
You have spoke of pressure and this was a concern of mine also but frankly the diffusion that this filter method gives off is great. It is a spray of bubbles. I try to keep the diffusion near tanks filters to add an even a greater diffusion in the water column. You add a small sponge on the outflow of the filter large pore I can all pics if you want. 1.5 X 1.5 
This method has been up ohhh...2 years?? Best guess.

http://www.petco.com/product/13796/Hagen-Elite-Mini-Underwater-Filter.aspx


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

I'd also suggest clamping the tubing whenever you have to change any equipment out. It will reduce the amount of time you have to stare at your tank while waiting for something to start bubbling.


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