Need help with CO2 bubble ladder....

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Lonewolfblue

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
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Location
Wenatchee, WA
Two things come to mind:

Is it level?
And is there any kind of obstruction for the bubbles to get hung up on?

I would suggest to play a little bit with the level issue. it may need a tilt one way or the other. Does it come apart so that you can make sure there is nothing in the way? I doubt it would take much more than a speed bump in the right place to stop the bubbles.
 
i had the same problem.

I just ran my finger over the ladder parts and made sure it was level with the top of the tank and it fixed it for me.
 
I'll have to try that. I've adjusted the levelling, and it made no difference. Will try running a brush along the ramps to see of it helps.
 
Once your nitrifying bacteria start growing on it seems like that little "slime" for lack of a better word helps lubricate it. I only used mine until I went pressurised and never was very impressed with its functionality anyway. It was always kinda sticky when perfectly clean, very prone to becoming tipped so bubbles gathered and wouldn't diffuse enough CO2 in a 29 to keep BBA at bay.

A wash in a mild detergent would remove any manufacturing residues that might be gumming the works though.
 
ya there is an initial break in period. after about a week it usually flows smooth. i prefer mine on a small tilt. this casues the bubbles to travel slower up one side and it stays in the water longer. the best result for these is to place them under a filter so the escaping bubble gets sucked up by the filter. i did this in my 20 gal and got extreamly good results. i still prefer the mist method though.
 
My ladders did the same thing. The bubbles get stuck at first, it takes a couple of days for the bubbles to travel properly. As mr funk said, once you get the bubbles to flow you can tilt the ladder slightly to one side so they travel up the ladder slower. Those ladders work pretty good once you get them to go.
 
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