Inline diffuser mist dangerous to fish?

1531 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Axelrodi202, Dec 25, 2016

Rinfish

Discussion Starter · Dec 24, 2016

Hey guys!

I recently purchased a GLA inline diffuser for my 15g aquarium. I read about there being a fine mist (someone even equated it to their tank looking like sprite), but I didn't fully understand what they were saying until I hooked it up!

I have 1-2 BPS going right now, and my outtake spray bar pointing to the front of the tank (so the co2 hits the front and cascades down). Right now, it looks like my tank has a light fog there are so many micro bubbles. I have some cories, a betta, and some amano shrimp in my tank. I just changed out my drop checker solution and its still in the blue range, but are the bubbles dangerous to my fish? I can only imagine getting pelted with tiny co2 bubbles is not a fun existence.

Additionally, do you guys have any suggestions to balance the bubbles out? shutting co2 off for 30 minutes a day for a rest period? I suppose I could get a reactor in addition to my inline diffuser, but i was hoping this would solve some algae issues i think are caused by glass diffusers not introducing enough co2 into the water column.

Thanks for your help. Happy Holidays. =)

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Econde

· #2 · Dec 24, 2016

Measure your PH before and after you run your c02. I'm still getting mine tuned in, I have mine diffusing through a powerhead and I too have the sprite look. I don't use a drop checker, but I do check my PH with the API ph tester. I run my c02 24/7 with a full 1 point drop in PH from 7.8 down to 6.8 with no problems. I have read up that drop checkers are not as reliable as checking your PH values.

I don't think that the micro bubbles are dangerous for the fish.

Do you happen to have a solenoid on your c02 system? You can set yours on a timer if you want a longer rest period.

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Rinfish

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 24, 2016 (Edited)

I do!

I have my co2 on for 8 hours - an hour before the lights turn on and off an hour before the lights shut off. The PH checker is usually a dark green by the end of the day (unfortunately) so im hoping i can boost it to a light green with the inline, and then have it recede back to a dark blue by the time the co2 starts back up again.

I think this usually indicates around a .4-.5 difference in ph, but i'll definitely measure it out like you suggest!

EDIT: Something strange keeps happening, i think the inline diffuser is getting clogged?

My bubble counter will slow down and read less than 1bps, so i increased it back up to two. Well...I just went back over to my tank and it was on about 6 BPS and there was an insane amount of bubbles in the tank. Has anyone else had this issue? I pushed my spray bar to the top to get some oxygen into the tank.

I have pressurized co2 at 30 PSI.

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Axelrodi202

· #4 · Dec 25, 2016

Rinfish said:
EDIT: Something strange keeps happening, i think the inline diffuser is getting clogged?

My bubble counter will slow down and read less than 1bps, so i increased it back up to two. Well...I just went back over to my tank and it was on about 6 BPS and there was an insane amount of bubbles in the tank. Has anyone else had this issue? I pushed my spray bar to the top to get some oxygen into the tank.

I'm guessing you have a cheap regulator. Low quality needle valves are prone to 'floating' - spontaneously shifting their position and thus the CO2 flow rate. Of course I only found this out after gradually losing >$100 in CRS from too high of a CO2 rate left unnoticed. After that, the cheap price you pay for a regulator seems like a lot less of a good deal...

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