CO2 diffuser questions

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lanceuppercut

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
56
I recently got a CO2 diffuser that is pretty much the same thing as this:

http://www.myfishtank.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/c02diffuser.jpg

it didn't have any directions or anything, so I hooked it up to my DIY system and put it in the tank. The gas goes up into the diffuser, but then bypasses the curly q glass pipe and goes out the top ceramic piece. The whole thing is filled with air, or C02 I assume now, and I thought that was strange too. I tried to get the air out, but it doesn't really seem to want to, no matter what I try. It also makes quite a bit of annoying noise as it diffuses gas. Am I missing something? is mine just broken or defective? What might be the deal here?
 
I've been messing with DIY and diffusers since April and it is a pain in the you-know-where.

I'm no expert by any means, but have had a lot of recent experience trying to knock out noises from the various diffusers I now have.

If yours is the type that is supposed to act as a drop checker and diffuser, you have to add water into it before you attach the CO2 tubing.

You do this by squirting water into the glass neck where the tubing connects using a dropper. If you don't have a dropper, you have to patiently add the water from the tap using a small stream of water. Just be patient.

After its attached, if it still makes noise, sometimes repositioning it at different angles helps. I've had to do it over a dozen times before it would quiet down. Sometimes it would just make a different, but equally annoying noise. But trial and error will USUALLY work.

If you are lucky, somebody else will post better solutions, but I have yet to see one that worked on my DIY system.
 
One more thing :)

I found it helps if you do this during a PWC, for obvious reasons.
 
You will have to disconnect it and fill it with water. Once it is fall of water, the noises should subside. You can't fill it while it is hooked up though because of the pressure.
 
well, i have tried and tried and tried, and I can't get the dumb thing to take in water. i can get it maybe 1/4 of the way full, but it just wont let any more in. It's pretty irritating. Water will go in the pipe part, but will not go into the “main chamber” part. I even filled the pipe part up and hooked it up to pressure. I will push it in there, but it will push it right back out if the pressure is taken off. I'd really like this thing to work properly. Thanks for you're advice so far
 
hmmm. I would try 2 things:

soak the whole thing in the bottom of a bowl of water (Water will eventually go through the ceramic and fill it up maybe... I have done this with regular glass diffusers that started off empty and came out full in the process of cleaning them).

2. Email whoever you purchased it from and ask them how you are supposed to get water in it.
 
Ok, I figured it out. I got a cheap syringe that's end fits on airline, and filled it up that way. It takes a lot of pressure to push the air out, and let water in, so I had to hold the plunger down for a couple minutes after every time I injected water into it.

It still makes a bit of noise, but not as bad. I'm sure a little noise is to be expected.
 
awesome. Good resourcefulness. Glad you got it figured out. I had a similar bubble counter, but it did not have the glass ceramic diffuser built in and it was kind of a pain to fill. I imagine that the addition of the ceramic on the end causes the requirement for a lot of pressure to get it filled. Good to know a method that works!
 
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