# Glass Diffusers



## apc789 (Jan 7, 2010)

Hi all. I have seen some people mention that their glass diffusers get clogged up. I just got my pressurized co2 unit and I was wondering how do I clean these things? And is it recommended to have more then 1 on hand?


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## Shad0w (Nov 13, 2006)

Normally clogged up due to green spot algae. Just remove it and soak it in bleach. It is better to have more than 1, in case you broke it . Also you can use it to replace the one that still inside the bleach.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

I believe the mixture to clean it is a 50/50 bleach:water mix. Not sure though. Just like airstones, glass ceramic diffusers clog over time, thus cleaning is needed. I just got one, and was trying to pull a piece of airline tubing off, and it broke off the input stem. So, after thinking about it, i just shoved the airline hose into the opening, and viola, it still worked!


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## Sugar Cone (Jan 2, 2010)

I wouldnt use bleach, personally. Hydrogen peroxide works great. It takes a little longer than bleach, but no harmful residues as it breaks down into water and oxygen. Just my .02


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Another little trick for keeping it clean longer is during a water change or weekly raise the diffusor above the water line and pour some Excel into it. Let it soak in the excel for a while.


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## apc789 (Jan 7, 2010)

Intersting. Thanks for the tips. I think I will try out the hydrogen peroxide first.


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

houseofcards said:


> Another little trick for keeping it clean longer is during a water change or weekly raise the diffusor above the water line and pour some Excel into it. Let it soak in the excel for a while.


Exactly what I do but using $0.99 a bottle H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) from the drug store rather than much, much more expensive excel.


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## Brilliant (Jun 25, 2006)

I also use hydrogen peroxide and like the others I keep two. When cleaning its hooked up to check valve, I pour a little peroxide on top and create a vacuum...sucking the peroxide into the disk. This seems to work faster and no more soaking 2-3 times.


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## The Rockster (Jun 20, 2007)

Hi,
Having two glass diffusers (Rhinox 5000), I need to clean them regularly too. 

Its a hassle to pull off the tygon tubing, so I don't.

I did search the net for different methods of cleaning the diffuser pads.
One suggestion, (don't remember which forum it was) was to put a small amount of Seachem Acid Buffer on the ceramic disc, and soaking that for about a half an hour, then flushing with tank water, before, reattaching to the tank wall. Seems to work fairly well............

Does anyone else have any experience cleaning the ceramic discs this way?


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## apc789 (Jan 7, 2010)

Ok my diffuser is brand spankin new and it only has bubbles coming out of like 1/8 of the surface area. Is this normal or should it be coming out of the whole thing?


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

tigerbarb420 said:


> Ok my diffuser is brand spankin new and it only has bubbles coming out of like 1/8 of the surface area. Is this normal or should it be coming out of the whole thing?


That's normal. Point of least resistance. I have a Rhinnox 5000 on my 72g and the same thing happens and I still have plenty of co2.


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

tigerbarb420 said:


> Ok my diffuser is brand spankin new and it only has bubbles coming out of like 1/8 of the surface area. Is this normal or should it be coming out of the whole thing?


I have two 2-inch ones. An ADA one and a cheaper knock-off Chinese one. Both only have bubbles coming from about 1/8th to maybe 1/4 of the disc. If you crank up the CO2 more of the surface emits bubbles but then I'm way over my 4 bps level. The cheap one has finer bubbles (go figure). Both seem to do the job even without the whole disc emitting bubbles.....


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## apc789 (Jan 7, 2010)

Ok thank you so much! 

I was wondering if I got a defective one and if I shoulda went with the ADA instead of no namers LOL.


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

tigerbarb420 said:


> Ok thank you so much!
> 
> I was wondering if I got a defective one and if I shoulda went with the ADA instead of no namers LOL.


Sure. When I was first in the market for one of these I asked around online about the differences. The replies ranged from "One makes your wallet lighter, otherwise no difference" to "The ADA has finer bubbles, defintiely worth the extra money". I went with the cheaper one and it seemed to work well enough with decently fine bubbles as far as I could tell. Later on a used but good shape ADA came available and I bought it as a back up. Came cleaning time and I switched them out without paying much attention. Few months later I decided to do a deep clean of the ADA one and took the cheap one from the drawer and hooked it up in it's place. For the first time I noticed the cheap one had much finer bubbles than the ADA one. But again, my plants grow fine with either one.....

Another thing: I've always been a real stickler for getting the mist of bubbles dispersed around the tank by putting the diffuser under one of my Koralia 2 powerheads. Then I go to the local ADA store (Aquaforest San Francisco) about a month ago and they have no power head over their glass diffusers they just let the bubbles mist up from the bottom and to the top with nothing swishing the bubbles around the tank at all. It was a gorgeous planted tank too with a rich, emerald foreground plant, mosses, stems, etc. Go figure. Sometimes we may over think things in the hobby....


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