Which co2 diffuser is better?

[maxwellag]

this one looks a lot nicer, but i don't know if it works better or not...
CO2 Bubble Counter Diffuser Plant Aquarium Fish Tank | eBay
this one is cheeper.
CO2 Nano Glass Diffuser for Plant Aquarium Tank NEW | eBay
also, in the pictures of the first one, it shows a water level line. does that mean how far it is submerged in the tank, or how much water is put in the diffuser/bubble counter?
I am going to do a diy co2 system with yeast and sugar in a bottle for my ten and five gallon tanks, so i can put some live plants in there.
if the first one's water line thing is for how far it is submerged in the tank, then i cant get that one, because i am having a custom acrylic lid cut out for my five gallon tank. it is a fluval chi, so it doesn't have a lid right now. i will also be adding better lighting for it, because the little led lights on it aren't very good.

 

[maxwellag]

these are some pictures of both of them. the one with the black top and two tubes coming out is the one i talked about first.

 

[maxwellag]

Somebody please tell me your opinion... I need diffusers for diy systems... so that's why they aren't all fancy like the ones that come with expensive kits.

 

[kc2ped]

For my heavily planted BioCUBE 14 with DIY CO2 I use a plain old foam air stone. I put it on top of the substrate under the filter return and the bubbles get blown all over the tank and are mostly absorbed before they reach the surface. My drop checker turns yellow for about a week after a recharge then gradually shifts to blue in the second week.

I was concerned about the light output of the LEDs in my Chi (the short one) but the Crispus I put in the central planter went crazy under them. The leaves are almost as large as those of an older plant in the BioCUBE. My Banana plant kept putting up new leaves. I have been so impressed with the LEDs that I would convert the BioCUBE if it weren't so expensive.

 

[maxwellag]

I am just going to get rid of the chi's filter and light thing.... the filter doesn't help much at all, and I would rather be able to put the light on a timer... and, I can get a CFL bulb or something better than those tiny little LEDs...

 

[maxwellag]

For my heavily planted BioCUBE 14 with DIY CO2 I use a plain old foam air stone. I put it on top of the substrate under the filter return and the bubbles get blown all over the tank and are mostly absorbed before they reach the surface. My drop checker turns yellow for about a week after a recharge then gradually shifts to blue in the second week.

I was concerned about the light output of the LEDs in my Chi (the short one) but the Crispus I put in the central planter went crazy under them. The leaves are almost as large as those of an older plant in the BioCUBE. My Banana plant kept putting up new leaves. I have been so impressed with the LEDs that I would convert the BioCUBE if it weren't so expensive.

what do you mean by drop checker? do you mean like a psi gauge or something?

 

[hippy guy]

I think you want the drop checker to be green, blue would indicate too much c02

 

[maxwellag]

I think you want the drop checker to be green, blue would indicate too much c02

Oh... will I need a psi gauge like for a car?

 

[Sparky74]

Oh... will I need a psi gauge like for a car?

No, a drop checker is a bulb that contains a reference solution(plus indicator drops) and holds a pocket of air. You place it inside the aquarium so the co2 can out-gas within this pocket of air. The reference solution will absorb the co2 due to the difference in concentration(always travels from high concentrations to low). This changes(lowers the ph of the solution), which in turn changes it's color.

At night, when co2 is off, the opposite will occur. It will out-gas from solution back into the air pocket and back into aquarium(when co2 levels drop). This again changes the ph(and color).

Blue means not enough co2, green to greenish yellow is within the "good" zone and yellow means too much co2.


Also, the items you mention above are 2 different things. The first is a bubble counter and the second is a diffuser. The bubble counter gives you a rough estimate on how much co2 is going into the aquarium. The diffuser allows the co2 to be dissolved more readily and the drop checker is an indicator of the actual co2 concentration.

 

[maxwellag]

Do I need a drop checker if I am able to shut off the co2 at night?

 

[Sparky74]

Do I need a drop checker if I am able to shut off the co2 at night?

It has nothing to do with whether you turn off co2 at night.....

The drop checker is a visual indicator of how much co2 is in the aquarium.

You can find out co2 concentration via water testing and a chart, but I find it a hassle. And for how cheap the drop checkers are, it's worth having a constant reading off co2 levels.

With DIY, you shouldn't have to worry about too much co2, but you may not be adding enough. Without either a drop checker or testing, you won't know.



Usually leaving the co2 on with DIY co2 is not a problem, but I turned mine off at night anyway to be safe.

 

[maxwellag]

I can always buy a co2 indicator or test kit too...

 

[maxwellag]

Ok. I need to decide which option to go with. I could do diy for both tanks, but I think it would be easier to have a pressurized system. I found a fluval mini co2 20 gram system for 23$. I just need to know how long the little canisters it comes with last...
Here is a link to what im looking at: http://www.kensfish.com/product2843.html

 

[kc2ped]

A drop checker is a clear, inverted cup that sits on top of an inverted funnel and is attached to the inside of the tank below the waterline
When you recharge the CO2 system you put a small quantity of tank water and indicator solution in the device
As CO2 concentration in the tank water changes the color of the water in the checker changes
Yellow=too much CO2, blue=not enough, green=just right, like the three bears
No chemicals get into the tank water
It isn't a perfect way of determining O2 concentration but neither are any of the other methods home aquarists use

 

[maxwellag]

A drop checker is a clear, inverted cup that sits on top of an inverted funnel and is attached to the inside of the tank below the waterline
When you recharge the CO2 system you put a small quantity of tank water and indicator solution in the device
As CO2 concentration in the tank water changes the color of the water in the checker changes
Yellow=too much CO2, blue=not enough, green=just right, like the three bears
No chemicals get into the tank water
It isn't a perfect way of determining O2 concentration but neither are any of the other methods home aquarists use

I know what a drop checker is. I need to know what kind of diffuser I should use for my five gallon tank. I am going to put the air line up the ten gallons filter intake... I can't do that for the 5.5 gallon though.