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540 Posts
I agree with Tony that a bell diffuser is very inefficient.
However I don't understand why so many people trash the sintered glass diffusers as compared to a little 12 long reactor. They claim that since the reactor is in a closed system 100% of the co2 goes into the water, while with a sintered glass diffuser the co2 bubbles just get released into the air.
I have compared sintered glass diffusers against reactors and the former come out very favorable. Two Eheim diffusers are much more effective than my 3 inch diameter 3 foot long reactor for my 125 gallon tank. What people don't understand is that the bubbles coming out of a diffuser are smaller and have a total surface area as much as 10 times greater than a large bubble fed to a reactor with a simple nozzle fitting for its CO2 feed. Also as the bubbles rise I would think they would get bigger due to less pressure. They might also get bigger due to absorption of O and N.
Right know I estimate that one Eheim diffuser is about 75% as effective as the large reactor referenced above. Two of the Eheims would blow the doors off of the reactor.
One thing I must try is Tom Barr's recommendation of feeding the CO2 directly into the input of a filter, where the pressure is less and the co2 should be absorbed easier.
Regards,
Steve Pituch
However I don't understand why so many people trash the sintered glass diffusers as compared to a little 12 long reactor. They claim that since the reactor is in a closed system 100% of the co2 goes into the water, while with a sintered glass diffuser the co2 bubbles just get released into the air.
I have compared sintered glass diffusers against reactors and the former come out very favorable. Two Eheim diffusers are much more effective than my 3 inch diameter 3 foot long reactor for my 125 gallon tank. What people don't understand is that the bubbles coming out of a diffuser are smaller and have a total surface area as much as 10 times greater than a large bubble fed to a reactor with a simple nozzle fitting for its CO2 feed. Also as the bubbles rise I would think they would get bigger due to less pressure. They might also get bigger due to absorption of O and N.
Right know I estimate that one Eheim diffuser is about 75% as effective as the large reactor referenced above. Two of the Eheims would blow the doors off of the reactor.
One thing I must try is Tom Barr's recommendation of feeding the CO2 directly into the input of a filter, where the pressure is less and the co2 should be absorbed easier.
Regards,
Steve Pituch
