CO2 Injector?

[Burks]

Originally Posted by rich311k

My inline diffuser does a great job. I have never had better and more stable levels.

Is it a DIY job? I'd be interested in making one.

I've found a design that may suit my needs for a little bit: Design Not pretty but it should get the job done.

[SkullJug]

The best diffuser I've made ran from a power head. I have made a diagram but still have to get it hosted - Here is the instructions. If you do it right you can dissolve 100% of your c02. I'm pretty proud of it acutally.

1. Cut a small piece of UGF tubing(The clear uplift pipe) - about 3-5 cm long and silicon it to the under side of the lip of your tank. IT should be airtight and extend below the water line.

2. Attach the outlet from your c02 generator bottle so that it bubbles into the the UGF tubing.

3. Attach a venturi fitting to your Powerhead (This is the one used to blow bubbles) and have an airline tube running into the the UGF tubing. This will suck the CO2 into the power head without putting any pressure on the generator bottle.

By itself this will work pretty well, but if you want to disolve the CO2 completely....

4. Take two peices of UGF tubing about 6 cms and 10cms. Cut a hole in the middle of the 6 cm piece and round off(inverse) the top of the 10cm tube so you can join the two peices into a sealed T shape. The 6cm piece will form the cross peice and the 10cm the vertical. Seal one end of the cross piece (I found a sports drinks that had this clear plastic cap that fit perfectly - Nice drink too). Now attach the open end of the cross piece to the end of the powerhead.

You might need to play with the length of the vertical piece, or even pack it with foam to get the c02 to dissolve completely(Avoid foam if you can, it will harbour anoerobic bacteria) The power head will blow the C02 and water in the cross peice and literaly create a hurricane that dissolves c02 like you won't believe. This system has the added benefit of ensuring that you yeast/sugar mix cannot end up in your tank.

[Purrbox]

Originally Posted by Burks

Is it a DIY job? I'd be interested in making one.

Rich's Inline CO2 Reactor is DIY, however I'm the one that built it for him. For a picture check out this thread, it's the "Monster" CO2 Reactor about half way down. I used these plans with a slight modification so that the bottom has a flat spot that can be rested on a shelf. I'm using miniture versions of this same CO2 reactor on my Nano's. For pics and details check out this thread. They are fairly easy to build, the hardest thing is getting used to working with PVC if you never made anything with it before.

[Thebluyak]

Ive heard that if you run the CO2 into the inlet of your filter the impeller can be damaged and the ruber O rings will start to fall apart from all the excess carbon. Just a thought id pass along, no idea of the validity of it but better safe than sorry.

[dskidmore]

Carbonic acid (CO2 disolved in water) can cause some flexible plastics to get stiff and not function as well as they did. Carbonic acid can in high quantities (like in soda/pop) break down metals over time. That said, I've never heard anyone say that they broke thier filter by running a CO2 line into it. Probably because most of us either run minimal CO2, or upgrade to something better after a little while.

[SkullJug]

Originally Posted by dskidmore

Carbonic acid (CO2 disolved in water) can cause some flexible plastics to get stiff and not function as well as they did. .

You could get around this by setting your diffuser on you outlet instead of intake - Just make sure the current is dropping through the diffuser - not rising.

I really like your design purr - I'd put one together myself but I run a sponge filter with a power head anyway(It sits in front of the filter inlet - I just clean the sponge when I do my weekly pruning - Extends filter cleaning massively) so I don't really need inline. Awesome build though, I really like it. The only thing that would concern me is that doesn't this have the potential to end up with the yeast mix in your tank (not much of a chance but this happened to a friend of mine - not pretty at all)

[Purrbox]

To avoid having yeast mix make it to your tank you just need to place a separator bottle between the CO2 generator bottles and the CO2 Reactor. Another option is to use a yeast like Champagne Yeast which sinks instead of floating, minimizing the chances of it getting into the tubing. Or if you're really paranoid, you could do both. Of course this CO2 reactor can be used with pressurized CO2 which avoids the problem altogether.

[dskidmore]

I just put a handful of gravel in the bottom of the bottles, so the bottle has little chance of tipping over. I also in winter put the bottles inside a 10 gallon waterbath, further reducing the chance of tipping. Beoynd that, depend on your regular mix to foam about the same amount each time, and don't overfill the bottles.

[SkullJug]

I am using a wine yeast and it works really well. I strongly recommend it, I hadn't acutally thought of the fact that it is safer as well, I just use it because it lasts longer (Alcohol tollerant). I am actually about to post the beginings of a new idea in relation to this.

Once again purr- great diffuser, a friend of mine is just venturing from cichlids to planted and doesn't run a powerhead- I'll definately point him towards your design.

[Lonewolfblue]

How long does it take between the time you mix the batch and you see bubbles coming out of the airstone, if that's what it's run to? I currently set one up with 2 1G Apple cider bottles, as they have solid caps and a nice big flat bottom, so tipping isn't a factor.

Edit:
Took 30 minutes to start bubbling strong.