Pressurised Co2: Bubbles Per Minute And Diffuser Watching...

[nry]

Just wondering here: I have just setup my D&D pressurised CO2 system. Slightly confused as mine came as the 'Turbo' kit which has a pump and nozzle which supposedly gives better CO2 distribution, however it is a bit bulky so for now I have just used my existing ceramic diffuser.

The kit has a bubbles counter which (until I can get better checks with my ordered 4dkh water from AE and the right bromo blue drops) for now I have set to ~4 bubbles per minute based on the rough calculation of (tank litres x kh)/50. Once the 4dkh water arrives then I can use this in my permanent test, my kh reading is guessed at '4' based on naff Tetra test strips, my tank is 54 litres.

I am not seeing anything from the diffuser which is what I am curious about. With the yeast-based setup I had before I was seeing a constant stream of bubbles, though not hundreds. The bubbles are certainly counting through the counter and there are no leaks in the tubing etc so it must be going somewhere. Should i expect to see anything from the diffuser? I am thinking it is too big for my tank anyhow at @ 1.5" diameter which may not help.

 

[SuperColey1]

When using pressurised CO2 I expect 4-6 bubbles per min through the bubble counter.

when using yeast based (I have run out of CO2 cannisters at the mo) I expect 1-2 bubbles per second.

I use the same ceramic diffusor for both perssurised and yeast based.

Therefore I would suggest 4 bubbles per min is far too low.

Andy

 

[cleekdaFish]

i have 1 sec per bubble

 

[nry]

I upped it gradually until I saw a similar result as I had with yeast-based through the diffuser. I'll know over the weekend once my 4dkh water arrives rather than go by the JBL permanent test liquid + tank water.

 

[SuperColey1]

You will find that 4-6 bubbles per minute will be plenty to match the 60+ bubbles per minute from the yeast and you may not get as much output to look at from the diffusor so the CO2 checker is going to be a vital tool for you.

When using the yeast my 60-90 bubbles per minute send a steady stream of micro bubbles like the pics on ebay when I bought the diffusor. and the checker went green.

When using pressurised there are hardly any bubbles coming out and the checker went green. Match the yeast output from the diffusor and the checker went bright yellow.

Therefore do not compare the output from the diffusor with yeast to pressurised.

Remember pressurised is using pure CO2 whereas the CO2 from the yeast kits is a by product of the fermentation and therefore will not be as pure!!!.

Believe me because to get the pressurised to send as many micro bubbles out of the diffusor means letting out 4-6 bar and really you should be requiring approx 1 bar or less.

Be very careful until you get the drop checker or like me when my needle valve for some reason broke you will have a tank of dead livestock.

I would try the 24 hour test method until then so that you can at least start very low and increase input daily until you get to your target.

Andy

 

[hunterm8]

I USUALLY NEED about 1 bubble/sec with pressurised, through a ceramic disk or ladder in a 180L.

 

[nry]

The 4dkh water should arrive tomorrow, and I have a mini diffuser (Rhinox 1000) ordered via eBay, both should be a substantial benefit. I have some bromo blue to use with the 4dkh water aswell.

I guess that even if I can't see any major bubbles from the diffuser, because I am seeing bubbles in the bubble counter, the CO2 must end up in the tank as there is nowhere else for it to go!

I would have thought that the bubbles from the DIY mix would be pretty pure CO2 though? Not much else it can be?