New (First) CO2 setup!

[Marnol D]

Hello,

 

After what shouldve been less than thrity minutes (may have taken me 6 hours... was a real kick to the ego) I managed to make my CO2 regulator work and now have CO2 pumping into the tank. I have a few questions.

 

I have one of those glass bulb CO2 checkers. What color should it be and how long should it take to turn that color once CO2 is being pumped into the tank. (if it doesnt get to the right color , which i think is green correct me if im wrong) do i just up the bubble counter?

 

Also i have the neo diffuser that aquarium coop sales. I also have one bought off of amazon that my 20L is using with a DIY kit. THe neo diffuser in my opinion looks better and is easier to hide and also doesnt grow algae on it as bad. 

If i dont run a canister filter is the normal diffuser the only one i can use or is their more options that may diffuse co2 better?

 

Thank you!

[gardenman]

You're correct, the color should be green for an optimal level. Blue is too little, yellow too much. And the bubble count is how you adjust the level. As to diffusers, there are many, many options. A diffuser's job is to expose as much surface area of co2 to the water for as long as possible to give the water the most time to absorb as much co2 as possible.The simplest is an inverted jar type diffuser. Your co2 goes into the inverted jar and then the water absorbs the co2 where the two meet. The amount of water surface area exposed to the co2 controls the concentration. There are ball diffusers where the co2 has to pass through balls where the co2 bubbles collide with the balls, slowing their rise. There are spiral diffusers where the co2 has to spin its way upward to the surface. There are zig zag type diffusers where the co2 has to traverse a series of slightly diagonal obstacles to reach the surface. The diffusers that create the smallest bubble possible are typically what's used these days as the small bubbles tend to give you the best result. A whole lot of very small bubbles gives you a lot of surface area.