"Bruce Butz" wrote in message
...
Phil: My first load was a dud,24 hours no bubbles.So I started over.This
time with half as much "stabilizer" (baking soda) as I have very hard
water. This time I got bubbles after three
hours.It's been five days and I am getting steady bubbles at the rate of
one every five seconds.
I also like the bubble counter/diffuser a lot.
After years of messing around with injecting into the filter
intake(noisy) Using cut off one ltr.
bottles with holes in them (ugly and inefficient)
I would recommend the diffuser by it's self
to others who use DIY Co2.
You can buy the diffuser by its self from Big Als.
I think it is $11.

Ditto. My first batch, nada. I remade a batch with half stabilser and within
2 hours nice regular bubbles.
I cleaned the diffuser under hot water , no detergent, and it flows nicely
now.
My bubbles dont seem to be getting any smaller as they reach the top though,
(as i observed at the LFS).
But they are in contact with the water for a decent amount of time. I might
still be pushing air out from the tube? It hasnt been runnig too long yet
This is the last stage of a real effort to keep some plants going properly.
I had some beard/hair algae before, which i have eliminated as well as i
can.
I have upgraded the lighting, switched to RO (i have high nitrates and
phosphates in my tap supply) and now added some CO2.
I just hope the algae doesnt come back ! I only kept two of my old plants
(Echnidorus Ozelot) and bought 20 new ones.
I also added some ProAqua plant food and halved the stocking density of
fish. Lets hope they thrive now.
I have certainly seen some growth even within the last few days.( I only
added plants on Wednesday)
And that was without CO2.

Plants have always been my weak point. Now fish, they are easy ! lol

Phil.