Just added my diy CO2 injector..

**Ozonelayr345** · 12-10-2009, 03:23 AM

Lets hope for the best!

I am using an air stone to help dissolve the CO2. The fish seem to be okay right now but I am going to monitor them to make sure they are doing alright. My pH was like 8 or something before so the pH should be ideal after the CO2 dissolves. Any further suggestions anyone?

**ricardo48** · 12-10-2009, 02:50 PM

Do you mean you are running the co2 tubing into an airstone so it bubbles into the tank?

**Ozonelayr345** · 12-11-2009, 12:23 PM

Yeah..I know its pretty ineffective but I havent gotten around to looking for more efficient ways. I read that with the airstone I will still get noticeable growth.

**ricardo48** · 12-11-2009, 03:31 PM

You will get next to no results doing that.

You want co2 concentration to be at least 15ppm for plants. If you are just bubbling it in the almost all of your co2 will escape at the surface of the tank before it has time to dissolve into your water column.

You will need to find a way to make the bubbles alot smaller so they take longer to reach the surface of your tank which increases time they have to dissolve into water. Also smaller bubbles have greater surface area compared to one bubble which greatly enhances dissolving rates.

Do simple search on google for co2 reactors. Most can be made fairly easily for under $20

**Ozonelayr345** · 12-11-2009, 04:11 PM

The bubbles are really tiny. I have the smallest size of air stone I could find and I also have it next to the filter intake so most of the CO2 doesnt even make it to the surface...

**ricardo48** · 12-11-2009, 04:25 PM

Ahh! So you are misting the co2 into your filter intake. Is this an internal filter and if so is it spraying the co2 mist out around the tank?

**Ozonelayr345** · 12-12-2009, 01:11 AM

Yeah it is. I have a before pic of my tank right now as my profile picture and I will update it in a couple weeks to see the difference..hopefylly the co2 will get the job done!!

**-Lp** · 12-12-2009, 04:36 PM

That's what I was going to suggest. I have the air tube on my DIY fed directly into the filter intake. The impeller 'chops' the bubbles, if you will, and they're discharged into the tank. Albeit not the best method for c02 absorption, it's been working for me.

**Wild Turkey** · 12-12-2009, 05:37 PM

I use the method the OP uses and it is most certainly effective.
I base this on my results for co2 testing, not on plant growth alone.

You will get excellent results on a small to medium size tank with it.

I would spend the 10$ on a drop checker to find out what the co2 levels were long before i spent 20$ on a diffusion reactor, which is almost never needed for the average DIY applications IME.

Running the bubbles into the intake is a cheap way to aid in diffusion but its effects are minimal if you are already running an airstone, and I have heard of it slowly causing cavitation of the impeller blades so Ive stopped recommending it.

Note: never run the bubbles into the intake of your canister filter.