birdwoman Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Hi , I have just rigged up a diy co2 system. I have read on some sites that you should not run the bubble through your filter uplift tube as this can damage your impeller etc. Is this true or not as running the bubble in my filter uptake is by far the easiest solution for a diffuser? I have an aqua one 850 with the filter running along the top of the tank Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 i beleive the co2 eats away at rubber parts? i know it slowly eats away at something :lol: i have wondered if the co2 would suffocate bacteria also? those inline co2 diffusers like blue has are good, they hook up to your outlet which still gives you great diffusion without bothering the insides of your filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdwoman Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 ,thanks for your reply Sharn. I'm just trying a new method. I have an old Fluval which I have taken the filter chamber off. Replaced it with a large piece of rubber hose which has a protective gauze attached to the end(so fish don't get sucked up), then I have fed the co2 tube into the rubber hose, that way the bubble gets sucked into the rubber hose, then the filter head, goes through the impeller, chomp chomp and is spat out the oulet in its new thousand bubble shape. Do you think this would be ok? :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 wouldnt the churning of the impellar release the CO2 in the water like the CO2 to O2 exchange that happens when you agetate the water? Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 When the water surface is aggitated the CO2 dissipates in to the atmosphere, at the same time O2 gets dissolved in to the water. Its important to note that the CO2 doesn't become O2, they're independant of each other, its just that one floats away and another dissolves. The impellar churning underwater will dissolve the CO2 in to the water, which is exactly what we want 8) What we dont want is to dissolve it in to the atmosphere (air) 8) So good idea to keep the outlet away from the surface, and only aggetate the surface just enough to prevent stale areas and to let the fish breathe. While I doubt a DIY CO2 setup would kill a filter, I still stayed on the safe side and got diffuser. You can buy a JBL or Nutrafin diffuser for $20-30, but they wont work as good as using a filter to munch the CO2 up. I have my filter outlet pushing water directly at my diffuser which helps, but I still see bubbles overflowing and going to the top Also buying a cheap $20 filter to do the task is another good idea. If it dies, then its no big deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdwoman Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Thanks for all your help guys. I think I will go out and buy a cheap filter just in case. I there any risk of over filtering with two filters running. My aqua one filter that came with the tank does around 1000ph and the new one will do 400lph. My tank is only 165 litres. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 you cant really over filter but you can 'over current' :lol: if there is ALOT of current coming from your big filters, enough to upset your fish then that is too much. just turn the spray bars back facing the glass to diffuse it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdwoman Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Thats what I was worried about to, especially having angles ( one of which has gone awol tonight,( must have the Burmuda Triangle in my tank!!) What I have done is faced the outlet directly into a resin log so there is minimal "disturbance in the force Luke. lol :lol: I am hoping this works sometimes I think it would have been easier to just go and buya bottle of flourish but I enjoy making things myself. Wish me luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Flourish and CO2 aren't the same thing Flourish is a fertiliser, carbon dioxide is what it 'breathes'. Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdwoman Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Sorry about that confusion! :oops: My brother inlaw is is a self professed fish expert (NOT!!) says he has this stuff that is liquid co2 and is called flourish or something similar. Is he correct or does he just think he knows what he is talking about? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted August 11, 2006 Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 Birdwoman are you any relation to Catwoman? Flourish Excel does say on the bottle "organic carbon source for the planted aquarium" To sum up SW, the impellor does mix the CO2 into the water. It has no contact with outside air so has nowhere to dissipate too. Instead it is mixed in to the water forming carbonic acid. This acid is mild but over time can wear away internal parts of your filter like rubber rings and the plastic impellor. Depends how much is going through though, I've never heard of anyone first hand that has had it happen to them, but good to be aware of. How many degrees are your angles BW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Sorry about that confusion! :oops: My brother inlaw is is a self professed fish expert (NOT!!) says he has this stuff that is liquid co2 and is called flourish or something similar. Is he correct or does he just think he knows what he is talking about? :-? Flourish Excel is an 'organic source of carbon' (as above) but isnt liquid carbon dioxide, it contains trace elements tho, still good, like $30 a bottle tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted August 12, 2006 Report Share Posted August 12, 2006 Plants need carbon (among other things) to grow and they can get it from flourish excel or CO2 or both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdwoman Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 This is what I have ended up using. A power head with an old canister out of and old internal fluval. I am seeing very small bubbles at the far end of the tank so am assuming that I have enough circulation to carry the co2 around the tank. Unfortunately because I have an aqua one everything has to go on one corner of the tank hence the heater and filter inlet tube next to my diy masterpiece! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicB Posted August 19, 2006 Report Share Posted August 19, 2006 I have an AR850 Tank and am presently just started injecting co2 from soda stream into it after trying many others systems. Firstly you do not want to inject co2 into the ar uptake as the co2 will dissapate out in the top of the filter. I am injecting mine on the outlet end of the tank near the front of the tank on the side. I am using a sera reactor with about 1 bubble \sec and have increase to about 30 bubbles /20 secs as a trial. Flurish excel does a reasonable job to keep plants alive. I have also used the sera co2 tablets. I am testing to see the cost difference betwwen the three and benefits and will post soon hopefully Cheers Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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