CO2 Diffuser - part 2!

[An t-iasg]

I have had trouble with Red Sea diffusers. One works wonderfully, and another one just seemed to give out after about a month. I think the seal gave out because many larger bubbles are leaking out of one place in the seal. I have tried to re-assemble it MANY times.

So I tried something different just now. I put an airstone that I had onto the end of the [acronym:662860071a="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:662860071a] tubing. It is not leaking between the tubing and the airstone port. I thought it might. It only took about 5 minutes to start bubbling. I'll check [acronym:662860071a="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:662860071a] levels tonight. Right now, some bubbles are big and rise to the surface and break. Some are small enough that they vanish before getting to the surface! I was glad to see it bubbling. I was also concerned that no bubbles would get through and the pressure would build up.

I realize this airstone is not made for [acronym:662860071a="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:662860071a], but I had to try something. That Red Sea has tested my patience (I don't have any left ) for a month! If this works fairly well, I will look at a sintered glass or wooden airstone. Thanks to everyone who provided a link in one of my other airstone topics. Now that I'm not looking for one to specifically fit the Red Sea, one of the sites linked before should give me a good choice of airstones.

Here's a picture of the stone bubbling away. Kylie had to check it out!

[czcz]

If that bubbler ends up giving you good [acronym:c5f413bed9="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:c5f413bed9] we can help you build a gas separator bottle to keep the airstone free of film. You could also use plants around it as a sort of bell/bubble trap. Only a few minutes and very inexpensive. Just a thought.

[azn_fishy55]

question...what is a gas separator for,I thought the only gas that come out is [acronym:de1681a091="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:de1681a091].

[czcz]

Separator bottles provide some saftey from back siphon and can be bubble counters. Some people get a whitish film from the exit pipe of their [acronym:8c54dfc7e7="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:8c54dfc7e7] canister, and a separator prevents that from ruining an airstone in the tank. I have read of people using glycerin instead of water in bubble counters to lower evaporation top-off/cleaning/etc.

[TankGirl]

This kind of bubble wand is going to clog even more quickly than the stone type, so keep your eye on it, and it may need a quick rinse in very hot water once a week. I'd also recommend something directly over the wand (like the soap dish you have in Kloey's tank - this is not Kloey, right?), or even plant leaves over the wand will help, as czcz suggested.

[An t-iasg]

I took the above picture this afternoon. We went out tonight and when we got back, the larger bubbles were gone and there was one stream of very tiny bubbles, streaming out pretty fast, just like the Red Sea diffuser used to do. I checked the [acronym:31714697fa="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:31714697fa] level and it is 15 [acronym:31714697fa="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:31714697fa]! Yay! My bacopa is pearling. I don't think it has done that before. Even the crypt had one little tiny bubble on the tip.

So maybe this will work! I'll check out some different airstones, though. Are most airstones hollow? I suspect that this one works because it is hollow and the pressure can build a little bit in there to force the bubbles out. Any airstone I get will be cheap enough, I think, to keep a number of them on hand to switch out/clean and keep the bubbles running smoothly.

I know what you mean about the white film - I use a toothbrush to scrub the Red Sea stone that works in the other tank. If I don't, the film does keep the bubbles from escaping. When I had the Hagen ladder set up for a short time, the rung of the ladder that the bubble appeared on had that film. I guess it's a byproduct of the yeast. How can I make the separator bottle? Now that I don't have the Red Sea, I lost my bubble counter.

TankGirl, you're correct - this isn't Kloey's tank. This is Kylie - Kloey is in the other 5 gallon tank on the kitchen counter. Kylie has his own soap dish bed too! The Red Sea diffuser in Kloey's tank is running perfectly so far.

[czcz]

Here is a good diagram from down the page of http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#6

The cap does not need those fittings/bulkheads, and instead can have the airline from the Hagen canister through it and superglued to place. Water or glycerin just has to be over the exit point of that line to function as a bubble counter. Higher up you have entry for the exit line the better but this is not critical.

The fittings/bulkheads make it nice for quick disconnect. I prefer to glue fittings to the cap, then hold the cap and turn the bottle when I need to disconnect it.

I have a [acronym:297830e1d8="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:297830e1d8] bubble counter cap somewhere you can have if you want. I can find it or make a new one and take pics if you prefer.