# Aquaclear with glass diffuser



## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

I'm setting up a 10 gallon planted shrimp tank soon, and i was wondering if anyone has combined the aqua clear filter with a glass diffuser. I've read many instances where people will inject their co2 directly into the filter, but I want to stay away from that option.

The primary question that came to mind was, will the surface agitation drive off significantly more co2 through the glass diffuser method as opposed to injecting into the filter?

I know this question probably varies as a function of your flow rate, so your personal experiences with the filter and the flow rate setting you had would be extremely helpful information.

Thanks in advance


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## Jubs (Mar 24, 2006)

Are you talking about putting the diffuser in the filter itself ? If so I would assume you would be loosing most if not all of the CO2 as the diffuser is going to cause more turbulent conditions than the sponges as its going to break up the flow more than something designed to slow it and filter the water, since you are going to have to pull out the media to fit the diffuser in the filter. My personal opinion is that it wouldn't be worth it. I run my CO2 into the intake of my sponge filter and then it goes into the intake of the powerhead and it comes out in tiny tiny fine bubbles. I dont know if that was clear or not so I'll explain it better I have a hydro sponge 1, I cut down the lift tube and sat the intake cup for the aquaclear powerhead on the top of the lift tube just like you would if you were using the powerhead on an undergravel filter lift tube.Just below where the intake sits on the lift tube I drilled a hole and fed the CO2 line into the lift tube so it goes into the intake of powerhead and it gets "misted" into the tank.


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## upikabu (Sep 2, 2005)

Hi,

I am currently using a glass diffuser with an Aquaclear 200 in my 23g tank. I placed the diffuser underneath the filter outflow (flow rate on the highest setting) so that the flow pushes all the mist/bubbles down before they reach the surface. I do get very good CO2 diffusion rate this way (>40ppm) so I don't think the surface agitation causes any significant reduction in CO2 level.

On the flip side, at the end of the week the AC flow is visibly reduced due to the amount of gunk collected by the filter so some CO2 gas does reach the surface instead of being pushed back down by the flow. Also my glass diffuser gets visibly dirty and clogged up by the end of the week so the CO2 bubbles it produces are bigger and less effectively diffused. I have a feeling it might be because the AC is not a good enough mechanical filter in my situation that the output contains junk that then deposits on the diffuser plate. Fortunately the diffuser is easy to clean with a bleach dip.

All in all, I think the AC will work just fine with a glass diffuser, but you may have to clean the diffuser more often. HTH!


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## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

i have a ladder set right below the intake of my auqua 200 and the so what ever doesnt get disolved into the water through the ladder will be sucked through the filter and will finish in there. i have had it burp once i think but it didnt stall it just had a huge buble get sucked through the filter... it works really good and my levels are kinda of high... putting it under the filter like that increased 7ppm.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

thanks for your replies guys. yeah upikabu i was hoping to pair up the diffuser and filter like you, but was afraid of getting really low co2 readings. those fears are gone now though =]


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