Co2 diffuisers

[Cheesejawa]

which of these is better?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =141771890

that would allow you to measure how much C02 u are getting but dosent come with airline

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =142367041

this dosent but comes with airline and is cheaper and looks better

which is better?

[Faran]

I think you need to look again - neither of those auctions actually come with airline. Besides, silicone airline isn't designed for CO2 and should be avoided. There should be someone on TradeMe with CO2 airline for $3/m if memory serves.

I recommend the stairway over the ceramic disc as it takes a lot of pressure to get them working and you need some experience with a DIY bottle first. Ultimately your best option is a CO2 reactor, but they run a bit more dear and need to be connected to the output of a filter to work properly.

Good luck on the CO2 journey!

[Cheesejawa]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =141713125

is this what you mean?

I was think DIY because I dont want to spend much money.

My other option is just to use flourish excel.

[Faran]

Yup, that's the stuff. Should be made of polyurethane to prevent CO2 from leaking out and breaking down the plastic in normal air line.

Definitely recommend Flourish Excel to get started, then go on to CO2 if you like it. It's expensive stuff though - mainly because it requires daily dosage.

[Cheesejawa]

its only $20 for a 250ml at petplanet

[Naz_Nomad]

Definitely recommend Flourish Excel to get started, then go on to CO2 if you like it. It's expensive stuff though - mainly because it requires daily dosage.

I'd disagree with that. I dose once a week during water changes and use undersoil fertilisers and get some outrageous plant growth. Works out a lot cheaper than daily doses of Excel and a sight less fiddly than CO2

[Faran]

How large is your tank? I'll do the figures for an average aquarium of 200L.

Initial dosage 25ml

Daily dosage of 5ml / 225ml remaining = 45 days (or 90 days with dosing every other day)

Pressurized CO2 systems will cost about $3 for 90 days of CO2 at one bubble per second on a 200L aquarium.

DIY CO2 would cost about the same for ingredients initially but you'd only be using perhaps 50c worth in a couple of months.

Naz - if you're talking about stem plants you can get good growth without any CO2 at all, the fish create enough. My advice is meant for a proper planted tank with slow growing plants that won't reproduce and probably won't even survive without carbon supplements in some way.

[SpidersWeb]

Have to say, I'd recommend Flourish Excel too.

The expense of CO2 and the payoff for anything under about 400 litres isn't really worth it (my personal opinion).

Doing CO2 properly costs hundreds and easily over the thousand dollar mark at times, not to mention pH tests, then the timers, then checking for pH swings at night, reducing top current but then is there enough air? then finding a place that'll refil the bottle cheap, not to mention actually finding a bottle....... its ok for the indulgent enthusiast, but for a nice planted tank Excel and a little fert does the trick with magnificent results.

[alanmin4304]

Mrs Nature is not realy a silly old duck and still provides the cheapest,most atractive and easiest CO2 diffusers---fish. And if you don't aerate the hell out of the tank the CO2 will mostly remain in the water and be available to the plants along with the cheapest fertilizer---fish waste.

[tHEcONCH]

Mrs Nature is not realy a silly old duck and still provides the cheapest,most atractive and easiest CO2 diffusers---fish. And if you don't aerate the hell out of the tank the CO2 will mostly remain in the water and be available to the plants along with the cheapest fertilizer---fish waste.

Agreed.

[SpidersWeb]

Yep fish provide CO2, and the poop is fertiliser.

But you get much more intense growth with Flourish Excel or heavy CO2.

You dont NEED it but it does provide faster growth, leaves are larger and with stronger colouration. I'm not saying it because its what I heard, I'm saying it because I trialed CO2, the natural method, different levels of lighting, different tubes, Flourish Excel, Flourish, and underground fert.

Underground Fert ($8 bag is enough to do 3 or 4 200L aquariums) + Fish + Excel + 6500K lighting (just $7 T8 tubes)= breathtaking results with no beard algae.

[tHEcONCH]

I've actually ditched my fancy JBL auto-CO2-dosing-PH-measuring-valve-shutting-toast-making set-up because the plants grew too much - I was pulling hand fulls out every week just to make room for the fish. It certainly works, but sometimes a little too well :lol:

[je_suis_ketan]

Besides, silicone airline isn't designed for CO2 and should be avoided. There should be someone on TradeMe with CO2 airline for $3/m if memory serves.

Just wondering why silicone isn't good for CO2?

[reef]

ust wondering why silicone isn't good for CO2?

Because it will leak co2 .