underdog5004
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2009
- Messages
- 150
I know, it's small of me, but I just can't help it. I received 2 co2 canisters and ladders from a friend, he said the pre-mixed packets from the company didn't last longer than a week, so he ended up dosing flourish excel as a source of carbon. Anyway, I mixed up some champagne yeast, sugar, and warm water, and within 10 minutes, I had my first co2 production. Now that's fast!
But wait! co2 generation doesn't help me if I can't diffuse it into the water!
For the first trial, I used a ladder, but there were multiple bubbles per shelf, and lots of escaped (wasted) co2. This isn't what I want! After some thinking, I made a cool diffuser for probably around 30-40 USD. I used a small (65gph) water pump, a 2" length of tubing, a gravel vac, and an airstone.
I have the pump attached to the top of the gravel vac through the 2" length of tube, pumping water downwards. At the same time, I've got an airline running from the co2 canister underneath my tank up through the bottom of the gravel vac, about 4" from the bottom, with the airstone on the end. The bottom of the gravel vac is buried in the substrate.
The way it works is this: The natural flow of the water is downward. The undissolved co2 bubbles want to go up (well, actually they are displaced by the denser water, but whatever). As long as the co2 is in bubble form, it gets pushed down by the water pump, but true to its nature, rises again, just to get blown down again. This happens over and over, causing 100% diffusion of co2. The co2-laden water gets to flow out the bottom of the gravel vac, into the rest of the aquarium. This system works so well that my plants are all pearling, they're literally covered in small bubbles of pure o2. This means that they are producing more oxygen than can be dissolved in the water.
I have no surface turbulence, so the co2 stays in the system. The tank is a 55G tank, and is moderately/heavily planted. In the last 2-3 days, my microswords have just boomed in terms of new (lateral) growth. I am so happy that this is working so nicely! I have extremely hard water, so I'm not too worried about the possibility of PH swings from the co2.
But wait! co2 generation doesn't help me if I can't diffuse it into the water!
For the first trial, I used a ladder, but there were multiple bubbles per shelf, and lots of escaped (wasted) co2. This isn't what I want! After some thinking, I made a cool diffuser for probably around 30-40 USD. I used a small (65gph) water pump, a 2" length of tubing, a gravel vac, and an airstone.
I have the pump attached to the top of the gravel vac through the 2" length of tube, pumping water downwards. At the same time, I've got an airline running from the co2 canister underneath my tank up through the bottom of the gravel vac, about 4" from the bottom, with the airstone on the end. The bottom of the gravel vac is buried in the substrate.
The way it works is this: The natural flow of the water is downward. The undissolved co2 bubbles want to go up (well, actually they are displaced by the denser water, but whatever). As long as the co2 is in bubble form, it gets pushed down by the water pump, but true to its nature, rises again, just to get blown down again. This happens over and over, causing 100% diffusion of co2. The co2-laden water gets to flow out the bottom of the gravel vac, into the rest of the aquarium. This system works so well that my plants are all pearling, they're literally covered in small bubbles of pure o2. This means that they are producing more oxygen than can be dissolved in the water.
I have no surface turbulence, so the co2 stays in the system. The tank is a 55G tank, and is moderately/heavily planted. In the last 2-3 days, my microswords have just boomed in terms of new (lateral) growth. I am so happy that this is working so nicely! I have extremely hard water, so I'm not too worried about the possibility of PH swings from the co2.
