CO2 Diffuser Question

[Hulka9]

I just bought a fluval mini co2 kit for my 10 gallon tank. The diffuser it came with is much larger than I would like for such a small tank. I bought some wooden air stones thinking I could use those instead. Would those work or is there another way to go about it?

 

[PJFISH]

I just got that system myself! I'm not 100% sure but I don't think an air stone will have the same effect as a diffuser.

 

[Hulka9]

I was hoping someone else had it because i had a question about the diffuser that comes with it. It says to fill it up twice a day. The first time i put it in and filled it up with co2 nothing happened so I wasnt sure if it filled up. Now im noticing the water level inside the diffuser rising. Does that mean the co2 inside is getting released and when it fills up all the way with water its empty?

 

[Plantaholic]

You'll see the bubbles if its working. An airstone wont work effectively because they would release the Co2 in too large of a bubble, that will float to the top and release into the air. The ceramic diffuser is used to turn gas into small fine bubbles that absorb in the water column to be consumed by the plants.

 

[Hulka9]

There isn't any bubbles... Hmm

 

[Hulka9]

When i try to fill it up a big bubble comes out of the top and the water level inside the diffuser goes down. Then i close the co2 and the water slowly rises again. No small bubbles come out of it though.

 

[Plantaholic]

Let me pull up info on the fluval kit...

 

[Plantaholic]

Just refreshed my memory on the kit on amazon, what are you filling up? The diffuser on the kit looks like a black ring with a white ceramic disc in the middle that you hook the Co2 grade airline to and put in the tank. I'm not sure what your filling. If the bubble counter is what you mean, yes a bubble should release and float to the top of the water level. It will then go into the tube that runs into the tank and release from the diffuser when enough pressure has built in the line, after running a few minutes it will be a consistent stream of bubbles into the water.

 

[Hulka9]

The clear piece in this video

 

[Hulka9]

Also in that video he is using a bubble counter. I dont have that part. Its hooked up straight from the regulator to the defuser.

 

[Plantaholic]

Gotcha, I was looking at the 88g kit... Wow, not sure what to do with that piece. It is pretty big and I wouldn't want it in a 10 either! The sound wasn't great on the video and I couldn't hear the description he was giving about that piece of it. I would guess it does combination of things, that parts from a cylinder set-up would use seperate parts for..?

 

[Hulka9]

Yeah i have no clue how to use it. Gonna try calling customer support tomorrow.

 

[Plantaholic]

Ok just read up a bit on your kit. 1st like 1 in 3 reviews on amazon had the same questions as you! And many said they switched to the 88 gram kit and were much happier... From what I could tell your suppose to fill the 2 "cups" on the plastic thing with Co2 by opening the regulator, then once they are full you close the regulator(maybe the water line going down in the cup means its filling and waterline going up means it releasing???). I guess the Co2 in the cups is suppose to then time-release into the water, and once empty needs to be manually refilled... sounds pretty inconsistent to me, and when using a small Co2 cartridge like it does it will be a pretty expensive trial and error! Hopefully the customer service folks can clear it up for you! Good luck