# What is an appropriate bubble rate for DIY CO2?



## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

I've gone back to freshwater with a 20G long tank. I have Seachem flora and mini pebble river stone and only really sparsely planted, but high light LED and DIY co2. What is a good flow of bubbles from a nano diffuser? and do I have to compensate for the shorter water column and the amount of co2 that will actually dissolve into the water?


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

BettaBeats said:


> I've gone back to freshwater with a 20G long tank. I have Seachem flora and mini pebble river stone and only really sparsely planted, but high light LED and DIY co2. What is a good flow of bubbles from a nano diffuser? and do I have to compensate for the shorter water column and the amount of co2 that will actually dissolve into the water?


I don't think BPM matters as much as the actual saturation of CO2 in the tank. If you ain't using a CO2 indicator, I'd aim for a bubble every two seconds, as a starting point, and then observe the effect on the tank.

Al.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

OK, it just appears that the diffuser is only allowing out two or three streams of bubbles from its ceramic pores, as opposed to the entire pore field releasing bubbles as I've witnessed in pictures.



I will have to pick up a drop-checker I guess.


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

BettaBeats said:


> OK, it just appears that the diffuser is only allowing out two or three streams of bubbles from its ceramic pores, as opposed to the entire pore field releasing bubbles as I've witnessed in pictures.


What you've witnessed, is most probably a result of pressurized CO2. Most diffusers will not even work correctly with DIY CO2 due to not enough pressure.

Al.


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## GAT (Oct 8, 2011)

for DIY CO2 I don'tuse any diffuser. I put the other end of the airline tube under the filter intake. The bubble will be sucked into the filter and mixed with the water there. If i leave the light on for 8hrs I can see pearling under the amazon sword, hygropolysperma and few other plants. Don't make it too complicated when you are using DIY CO2. 

What kind of LED fixture do you have?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I have a couple little pumps that I use, put end of tube under an pump and it grabs it and breaks it up nicely


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

My reasoning for the bell diffuser is specifically aesthetics. I've added a second CO2 bottle and the pressure is more constant and the bubble rate is one per second. This is even with a week old initial bottle.

MOPS.ca order going in tonight sometimes, drop checker is already in the cart.

*ALSO*...
Is there any reasoning not to put in a powerhead? I have a koralia nano PH, and I am wondering if the added current would be any benefit to homogenizing the water chemistry in the elongated 20G Long tank? I have the AC30 in the near-middle of the back of the tank so the downpour spills over the highest point in my scape, with the diffuser off to the back right of the tank. If the bubbles don't dissolve before the surface then that CO2 is wasted. Thoughts?


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

*Here's the actual bubble rate now..*

I posted a video of my bubble rate here: 




I moved it next to the filter intake and the dissolution of the bubbles seems good!


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

BettaBeats said:


> I posted a video of my bubble rate here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great!

Keep us posted on how it turns out.

Al.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

From what I have read and researched, though a bell style diffuser does look nice, it is entirely passive and not very efficient at diffusing C02.

Using an impeller to break up bubbles is a common solution that works reasonably well but it may wear out the impeller well ahead of its expected life span.

If you do decide to get a drop checker, it will always tell you just what your C02 levels are, and the only maintenance is to periodically refresh the solution in it, as it will 'wear out' with use. But it need not be placed in an obvious location.. just where you can peek at it to see the colour. Having a circulation pump running, like the Koralia, does help prevent 'dead' spots in the tank, and mixes up the water and any nutrients or other additives you put in quickly. If you have any fish or shrimp [ such as fan shrimp ] that like a current, it provides that too.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

I've found drop checkers at Southwestern Pets here in London, Ontario. $12.99 and that's the cheapest I've found online and within a decent distance. I will be purchasing it tomorrow.

The bell diffuser does look good, but like many know, within a week the ceramic pores were clogged. I will hide the CO2 line and direct it into my diffuser. However, saturation was happening as I did see some pearling later in the day yesterday.


Dealing with NTS - I seeded the tank from my dad's filter media, which was heavily established on a tank that has been running (same substrate, same tank) for over 12 years. Everything registered correct in tests, and I purchased 6 rummynose tetras yesterday. Today one is missing, and the other 5 are belly-bottoming and 'resting' but two have been listing and going belly-up. 
This is the part I hate about a new tank when everything was planned and tested- I'm losing fish I waited so long to buy. My dad asked why I didn't get the cory-cats I wanted with the rummys, and I said i didn't want to add too much bioload. I was right.

I've put Prime in the tank and am really hoping the remaining 5 can get better. Water change tonight, and although the CO2 is working (probably not as well as it should), the filter is putting a lot of air bubbles into the tank, so I don't think it's CO2 gassing because of the amount of exchange going on.

Will start a tank thread soon, my lights were for a reef, but my ludwigia repens seems to be enjoying it.. SUPER red tips!


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