[chiguy]

Just wanted to let anyone know who might be thinking about purchasing a cheap made-in-China glass CO2 diffuser on ebay to save your money. I put this on in my nano tank and connected it to my DIY setup. The diffused bubble flow was very weak and my CO2 drop tester changed to a deep blue-green.

I decided to re-connect the air stone that I was using before. When I opened the valve back up after connecting the air stone, there was a huge release of pressure. Apparently the ceramic disk in the Chinese diffuser is not porous enough and caused a backup of pressure. It was only a couple of bucks so not a big deal, but frustrating nonetheless. I'm sticking w/my air stone for now.

 

[patfat]

Just wanted to let anyone know who might be thinking about purchasing a cheap made-in-China glass CO2 diffuser on ebay to save your money. I put this on in my nano tank and connected it to my DIY setup. The diffused bubble flow was very weak and my CO2 drop tester changed to a deep blue-green.

I decided to re-connect the air stone that I was using before. When I opened the valve back up after connecting the air stone, there was a huge release of pressure. Apparently the ceramic disk in the Chinese diffuser is not porous enough and caused a backup of pressure. It was only a couple of bucks so not a big deal, but frustrating nonetheless. I'm sticking w/my air stone for now.

each one always comes up different. I bought one off of [Ebay Link Removed] the same but from china none the less and it worked awesome..then I decided I wanted to inline my co2 instead and that's just better...but when you get the chance upgrading from DIY will be the best in the long run

 

[WaterLife]

Maybe the check valve was installed backwards? Stuck?
Or your co2 unit did not put out enough pressure to pass through the diffuser?

 

[Nlewis]

As noted above you are probably not producing enough pressure from your DIY set up.

 

[chiguy]

Maybe the check valve was installed backwards? Stuck?
Or your co2 unit did not put out enough pressure to pass through the diffuser?

As noted above you are probably not producing enough pressure from your DIY set up.

I've been running my DIY setup for a few months now, check valve was not touched when I switched over to the glass diffuser. I'm using a common DIY yeast/sugar/baking soda ratio recipe and had been having great success w/the air stone. I initially thought that maybe I had a leak somewhere in the line, but that was not it.

When I disconnected the glass diffuser and reopened the valve, there was a big burst of bubbles that lasted for a good 20 to 30 secs so there was definitely a significant amount of pressure built up in the bottles. I've heard of the DIY setups exploding if too much pressure builds up with no way to diffuse, so I doubt there was a lack of pressure here.

Me thinks the ceramic disc in my diffuser is not porous enough. My bubble counter is now producing approx 1 bubble per second and the air stone is now bubbling a good amount. I wanted the glass diffuser primarily for aesthetics. I wish I could put a ladder diffuser in my tank, but its too big for my nano.

 

[Nordic]

Contact the seller....

 

[AlanLe]

Which regulator are you using?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jrill]

Many folks in the past have reported that diy sugar and yeast does not produce enough pressure for a lot of the diffusers out there. I agree with the other who say that could be the problem here.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[chiguy]

Which regulator are you using?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Attached pic of valve that I'm using.

Bump:

Many folks in the past have reported that diy sugar and yeast does not produce enough pressure for a lot of the diffusers out there. I agree with the other who say that could be the problem here.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Ok, so maybe the DIY setup IS the issue after all. I'm not going to invest in a non-DIY system for a 5 gal nano. I'll just stick w/the air stone and the DIY setup.

Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[Clinton Parsons]

If you look at those cheap ones the wrong way, they will break.

 

[Nordic]

How much do those mini gas bottle systems go for?
Should last ages on a small tank like that. And be worth it in terms of not having to have your house smell like a brewery.

 

[GrampsGrunge]

How much do those mini gas bottle systems go for?
Should last ages on a small tank like that. And be worth it in terms of not having to have your house smell like a brewery.

Having run 3, 2 liter DIY CO2 systems years back, it didn't seem like our house smelled like a brewery, maybe I was doing it wrong? :nerd:

 

[Lonestarbandit]

Having run 3, 2 liter DIY CO2 systems years back, it didn't seem like our house smelled like a brewery, maybe I was doing it wrong? :nerd:

Or maybe you enjoy breweries?
:wink2:

 

[GrampsGrunge]

Or maybe you enjoy breweries?
:wink2:

I will not deny that I like a good red Bock or tasty Pilsner. And I would probably do home brewing if I wasn't also keeping fish tanks.

 

[Lonestarbandit]

😄

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[AndreyT]

The diffused bubble flow was very weak and my CO2 drop tester changed to a deep blue-green.

Maybe the diffuser is simply too small for your tank? Also, your working pressure could be be too low for this kind of atomizer membrane.

I decided to re-connect the air stone that I was using before. When I opened the valve back up after connecting the air stone, there was a huge release of pressure. Apparently the ceramic disk in the Chinese diffuser is not porous enough and caused a backup of pressure.

Er... But that's how it is supposed to be. A denser membrane (with all else being equal) will indeed result in higher pressure on the incoming side of the membrane. A sudden transition to a less restrictive airstone will invariably result in "release of pressure". Nothing unusual here.

 

[chiguy]

Er... But that's how it is supposed to be. A denser membrane (with all else being equal) will indeed result in higher pressure on the incoming side of the membrane. A sudden transition to a less restrictive airstone will invariably result in "release of pressure". Nothing unusual here.

Yes, my point was that it seemed like a significant amount of pressure built up that I thought it would be enough to put out a good flow through the ceramic diffuser. Based on the input of others, I've learned that a non-DIY system has a higher pressure output - I did not know this.

Bump:

How much do those mini gas bottle systems go for?
Should last ages on a small tank like that. And be worth it in terms of not having to have your house smell like a brewery.

No brewery smell here, except when I dump the old sugar water. Smells and tastes like cheap wine cooler. :laugh2:

I'm curious to know how long a non-DIY setup like the one in the image below would last on a 5 gal; or is this one too big of a setup for a nano tank? I'm using brewers yeast and I get about 4 weeks of output with one 2 liter bottle. $160 doesn't seem justifiable in my case.

 

[Nordic]

@chiguy There is an even smaller kit, that comes with a cute cartridge that stands next to the tank. Here is another...

25 bucks on amazon and comes with a cartridge, so you can get more cartridges next month or so.

$18 for 3. Each cartridge should last about 2 months on that size according to reviews.

 

[Lonestarbandit]

Do these tiny things actually work

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[houseofcards]

I bought this version of the one for $164.99. It's a 90 gram refillable. I'm using it on my 1.5G. I would say this will last around 2.5-3 months. That one with the 20 gram is ridiculous. You'll be buying refills every week.

http://www.amazon.com/System-Complete-Regulator-Cylinder-Diffuser/dp/B00MKK52OC