Best type of diffuser for a DIY co2 system?

I have tested the ladder, ceramic diffuser, feeding c02 line into strainer of my HOB filter strainer, and a modified Hagen mini submersible modified to act as a c02 diffuser as per
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...s/44053-tiny-super-efficient-co2-reactor.html

In each and every case, my drop checker in my 10 gallon turned yellow, forcing me to run a airstone 24/7 to keep the c02 levels in the safe 30 ppm green range. This suggests that all diffusers worked equally well. Now the problem, unless you clean the diffusers each and every week you are going to get snot plugs forming, which will clog up your diffuser and reduce the flow of c02 over time. This snot plug is a clear snot like gel that develops every 3-5 days where the c02 bubbles discharge from the tube. The snot plug phenomenon IME seems to be an issue with only DIY C02 systems and not pressurized. So whatever method you choose, I would suggest that you use a check valve and bubble counter to help seperate the snot before it plugs up your diffuser.

Mad78 said:

i use the ceramic, the ladder does well also but it is kinda ugly and big, you can hide the glass ceramic one easier. But the snot is a biproduct of yeast fermentation and should be cleaned when it is visible. a toothbrsh works well.

Click to expand...

If you use a bubble counter like this in between the C02 ferment bottle(after check valve) and before your diffuser, it should catch the snot before it hits your diffuser,making clean up easy. Instead of scrubbing the diffuser to get rid of the snot build up, you just rinse the bubble counter bottle and put in new water.

Source: http://www.coloradoaquarium.org/pics/co2.html