SamH

Today I made my own CO2 diffuser adapted from the 100% diffuser method. Although the CO2 doesn't completely dissolve into the water, only very small bubbles escape. This costs very little to make from things you probably have lying around the house. Materials needed 1x plastic bottle 1x filter with an outlet tube/pipe 1x length of airline 1x DIY CO2 setup Tools needed Drill and/or soldering iron Pliers Scissors Method 1. Find a plastic bottle (preferably clear) and cut the bottom off it. 2. Remove the lid and make a hole slightly smaller than your filter outlet pipe with a drill or soldering iron. Also make one either in the lid or by the curve of the bottle slightly smaller than your airline tubing. 3. Make one hole near the top and one hole near the bottom of the bottle that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the clips of the suction cups. 4. Push the clips through from the inside so they attach to the suction cups on the outside. 5. Cut the end of your airline tubing (coming from your DIY CO2 bottle) on a 45° angle or steeper and push it into the hole made for the airline tubing. Thread it through as much as possible, pull the rest through with pliers until you have around 3cm of solid airline tubing in the bottle. Cut off extra if necessary. 6. Also cut the end of your filter outlet if possible on a 45° angle or steeper and push it into the hole made for the filter outlet in the lid of the bottle. Pull it through with the pliers as you did in step 5. 7. Attach the bottle to the side of the aquarium and get rid of any air trapped in it. Tilt on an angle if necessary, try to have it as close to vertical as possible. This will stop more bubbles from escaping, providing better diffusion. 8. Turn on filter and watch as your CO2 builds up inside the bottle. Eventually the trapped CO2 will come into contact with the flow from the filter outlet and be churned in with the water. Some micro bubbles may escape, this is fine. If any larger bubbles are escaping then your diffuser isn't on a steep enough angle or you have too much CO2 in your diffuser, the latter is nothing to worry about. Here are some pictures of the CO2 diffuser and setup I made earlier today. CO2 from two 3L juice bottles built up very quickly, around 3bps+. Two 3L bottle filled with 2 cups sugar, 1 tsp of yeast and the rest (up to the curve in the bottle) with warm water next to an Eheim 2213 canister filter The airline and filter outlet attached to the diffuser Diffuser above Jager 100w heater. Note the small bubbles on the right escaping

Neat layout, should look wicked when the hairgrass fills in 8)

Really? That's different, good thing you're not an architect then

Yes, I would not purchase it. It's similar to CS2 IMO. There's a colour histogram in Picasa :-?

saw

Which version do you have? (Ninja'd by Ryan) In CS4 you can just press CTRL + U (Image>Adjustments>Hues/Saturation) to bring up Hues, Saturation and Lightness. Also Image>Adjustments has alot of usefull correctional tools. If needed just email the pics to me. HTH

chops

We have 3x 3 foot T8s in the older buildings and 3x T5's in the newer ones. I'm thinking they use 4000k tubes, certainly not 2400k or 6500k. In the Theatre they use MH's, 7000k+ I think but not sure what wattage.

Ahh, so that's why Mystic hasn't posted :lol:

T8s or T5s? :lol:

Agreed. Maybe go for a smaller fish with a big personality? Like a Betta?

You spend class time staring at the lights and wondering if they could be used over your tank.

Single usually means 1 The biggest cichlid I'd put in an AquaOne850 would be a firemouth but even that's pushing it. A pair or harem of dwarf cichlids might be nice? I think oscars need 4'x2'x2' minimum. HTH

Ditto. I can't work without a clear design brief I can't wait to see it! I tried again but mm's at this time of night does not compute.

Ditto

Brief: Tank size is 600mm long x 300mm wide, height is 300mm but irrelevant. Must be made from a single 2400x600mm 18mm sheet of MDF using only MDF. Cutting instructions must be simple and use as few cuts as possible. Aesthetics are also very important. :lol:

So the tank overhangs by 20mm on the front but the doors sit on top of the base?

Thanks I'm getting Bunnings to cut it, how do I tell them that? In the plan?

Can anyone understand that? If so, will it work?

Excellent, just the sort of response I need If all goes to plan then I should have it all done by this weekend

I'd go for a 150w MH as a spotlight, maybe double T8s for the rest? HTH

Is that for structural reasons or for aesthetics? Made from?

As the name suggests, a filter used quickly for a brief period of time. Perhaps for clearing cloudy water, ridding the water of unwanted food particles and removing chemicals. HTH

blue

The covering on their eye makes them look blind until the light hits it an the blue comes out :-?