CO2 mesh bell...Eureka!!!! A perfect simple solution?

[ThatNewGuy]

How about an unbleached coffee filter? those a re cheap

[fedge]

UPDATES????

Most of mine seem to be working well.. seeminly. I sometimes neglect to change my DIY yeast and the ph crashes (the other way --UP)... but I have not seen anything visibly going wrong with the mesh and etc since I started... other than one in my 10 gallon had a little hair algae entangled in it (to be expected).

[zapus]

I was having troubles with CO2 production and crashed my pH after switching yeasts. Fleishmann's doesn't seem to work very well for me when the room temp gets below 75 degrees and I killed off half my fish when I added some champagne yeast to the mix. Cherry barbs and serveral shrimp survived a drop below the 6.0 bottom peg on the test kit. Gelled media has slowed production to a more reasonable output for a 12 gallon tank.

[skela]

hi fedge!
any pix we could see as it is installed in your 10g?

my tribe belongs to the big-time cheapo on this earth and
i am also into experimenting CO2 diffusers...right now i have 2 DIY CO2 bottles in my 30g..one diffuses thru an airstone (my control) right in the mouth of my hob filter and the other one diffuses thru an airstone and thru a mesh siliconed at the bottom of a 'bottomless' 3" planting clay pot (my latest experiment)...the mesh is a recycled bag from the AC mini carbon insert..just one layer...siliconed at the inside of the pot...lucky me, i found a stainless steel ring that is bigger than the hole at the bottom of the pot that could hold the mesh snugly before i applied silicone...drilled a hole 3/4" close to the top of the pot for the hose to come in and plugged the hose with a stone diffuser (it also kinda locked the hose in its place)...inverted the whole assembly at the bottom of my 30g and it still seems to be working fine after 5 weeks...ph 7.2 during photosynthesis period

many thanks for your info about the epoxy coated window screen...i will try to make my second diffuser replacing the mesh with that kind of screen...and oh btw, attaching the mesh from the inside wall of your cylinder might solve the problem of sharpness and esthetics especially if you use silicone...the only odd thing with claypots is i can't see thru it unlike your clear cylinder

[skela]

hi fedge!
any pix we could see as it is installed in your 10g?

my tribe belongs to the big-time cheapo on this earth and
i am also into experimenting CO2 diffusers...right now i have 2 DIY CO2 bottles in my 30g..one diffuses thru an airstone (my control) right in the mouth of my hob filter and the other one diffuses thru an airstone and thru a mesh siliconed at the bottom of a 'bottomless' (i sawed it off!) 3" planting clay pot (my latest experiment)...the mesh is a recycled bag from the AC mini carbon insert..just one layer...siliconed at the inside of the pot...lucky me, i found a stainless steel ring that is bigger than the hole at the bottom of the pot that could hold the mesh snugly before i applied silicone...drilled a hole 3/4" close to the top of the pot for the hose to come in and plugged the hose with a stone diffuser (it also kinda locked the hose in its place)...inverted the whole assembly at the bottom of my 30g and it still seems to be working fine after 5 weeks...ph 7.2 during photosynthesis period

many thanks for your info about the epoxy coated window screen...i will try to make my second diffuser replacing the mesh with that kind of screen...and oh btw, attaching the mesh from the inside wall of your cylinder might solve the problem of sharpness and esthetics especially if you use silicone...the only odd thing with claypots is i can't see thru it unlike your clear cylinder

[fedge]

I need to have updates on this "project", it definitly has been quite awhile now and if you are still using it successfully then I need to know. If you have abandoned the idea then tell about why.

I personally feel that this setup will work for almost any tank, but the size of the dispertion area has to be increased greatly for any tank over 20gallons. I would recomend using a cube (longer than it is deep) for such tanks. I think the limit for this system is anything over 30 gallons, however, I do not posses the means to test this (all my tanks are 29 gallon or under).

I am going to do a write up article about this design so that it can be posted here and elsewhere. I really need feedback to draw the proper conclusions about the co2 system. Thank you

[zapus]

I'm still using it on the nanocube, which has built-in filtration behind a partition that provides good flow around the "bell". I gave up on the stainless steel coffee filter, though. I think the mesh on it is so fine that it restricts water flow. I'm currently using a mesh bag that holds the ceramic noodles that came with the 'cube as a bell, but have been thinking about switching to a fish net or something similar. Since it's out of sight, appearance is not a big issue.

[fedge]

Good to hear.. but how well is it working.?

Have you changed anything from my "basic" design?


details....

[motoman]

Hey Fedge, love the idea and I'm going to try it. What size screening are you using? Just plain good ol run down to the hardware store screen or is it really fine? Also where in your tank to you have your diffuser placed. I'm using an Aquaclear on my 20 gal and just wondering where I could place mine? It should be where lots of water flows right? thanks.

[Badcopnofishtank]

Alternative to window screen: garden variety panty hose...they come in an assortment of colors too. I clamped some around my airstone and it works great...great thread by the way!