# Question on a DIY Co2 with an eclipse 6 system



## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

hey

so i have a 6 gallon eclipse system, and i wanted to add a DIY CO2 to it, i wanted to get a CO2 diffuser, but no local fish stores seem to have any, guess its out of date?? Anyways ive been reading posts about how people put the tube through thier intake and let the propeller chop up the large CO2 bubbles, i was wondering would this actually be an efficient way to distribute CO2 in this kind of set up or will it actually even provide enough co2 for my plants to be meaningful?

For those of you who are not familiar with the type of filter it sucks up water through the intake then kind of shoot its out over a filterpad, then from there gravity makes the water go through the pad, and then it is released past a biowheel, and then finally water falls into the tank.

To me this seems like ALOT of Co2 will be lost in this process. I also dont want to take out the wheel, since i just recently replaced the filter pad, and i know all the beneficial bacteria is mainly held in the wheel (haha dont wanna kill the fish!), and my tank is not very heavily planted :-/

thanks!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi kilfrg7864,

I have used that method for a 45 gallon and saw a noticable improvement in plant growth. I have a 6 gallon Eclipse also and actually you may have more CO2 than you need for it with DIY. Watch the fish for signs of distress until you know how much you actually need.


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## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

really? you just ran a tube from the intake a let it water fall into the filter and then through the bio wheel?? it sounds like that would dissolve TONS of Co2. right now i actually went out and got a power head filter(Hagen Elite mini) and am trying that method out, but i think it may be too much Co2 as well.


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## giypsy (Oct 6, 2009)

Are you using the standard 2L soda bottle? 
If so, you can try reducing the size of the bottle 
and the mixture proportionately. 
You can also let the fresh CO2 off-gas for a period of time 
until the rate of bubbles has slowed. [maybe an hour or more]

I have AquaClears; one has the intake drilled to receive
my CO2 outflow allowing me to count the bubbles.
The other has the CO2 outflow inserted directly into
the impeller box. There is not difference in performance.
I do not have experience with biowheel filter rigs; 
however for the description you gave, drilling the
filter intake sound like the way to go.
I just wrote about this mod on my blog last week:
aquagillie: Mods & Updates 
The jello solution has reliably put out a min 1-2 bubbles per second
this second week of use.

I have found that if you watch your tanks for the first
half hour and see the water looking like a blurry photograph,
you will be able to yank the CO2 long before your fish
show signs of distress. If you do not see the water phenomena
then you are good to go with all but the most sensitive fish.


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

sollie7 said:


> look up aquaticmagic on ebay and buy one of their diffusers there like $6 or something


hmmm... I've used those glass diffusers and CAN NOT recommend them for a DIY system... 
they clog. they build up pressure inside the co2 bottle.
and they don't actually diffuse co2 very well with the small amount of pressure in a DIY bottle.
at least they didn't work well for me.

I switched to the Hagen Mini Elite a couple months ago and it's been solid ever since.

heck, I've got a glass diffuser right here. 
want it? free.


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