"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..
"Eric Schreiber" wrote in message
...
I purchased a Hagen Natural Plant System CO2 diffuser/bubble counter a
few days ago, to attach to my DIY system.

I didn't really figure it would be an improvement over the simple bell
I had been using - I mostly got it because I thought it was kind of
cool, with the bubbles zig-zagging up through the diffuser.

I was surprised to find that you can actually see this thing working,
and I don't mean just the movement of the CO2 bubbles through the
diffuser. You can actually see the bubbles *shrink* as they travel to
the top of the path.

When the bubbles enter the diffuser, they are perhaps 5mm in diameter
(eye-balling it), and start moving along the track pretty fast. By the
time the bubbles reach the top, they've shrunk to as small as 2mm, and
are moving much more slowly.

It's very obvious that the CO2 must be dissolving into the water. If
anyone was debating if they should get one of these diffusers, I'd
certainly recommend it.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

Thanks for the feedback. I sell these in the store and I was a bit
sceptical (as I am for all new products). They rate it for 20g which I
thought was conservative, so either the generation chamber is small, or
Hagen wants the effects to be really obvious. I hope others can attach
their feedback as well, plus a better estimate of the tank size it would
operate. Wouldn't plant quantity or surface area be more relevant than
water volume?

NetMax


Netmax,
Slight copy from my post in a different thread

I have been using it for a while now.
I have one on a 75 UK gal tank. A bit of an experiment I guess.
I have noticed better plant growth, and a nice drop in pH as a result.
I actually bought another today, and now have two on my tank with 1
diffuser.
They each take 100g of sugar and 400ml of tepid water, about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
of yeast and some baking soda. The system doesn't give you these quantities,
I decided to measure
The system has a series of marks in the chamber. Fill with sugar until you
get to mark one. Add the contents of the Activator ( yeast ) and Stabilizer
(baking soda) sachets and then fill to second mark with lukewarm water.

This is quite small compared to the 2L pop bottle DIY plan most people seem
to favour.
But the bubble rate is good, and the diffuser does seem to do a good job.

I the UK it costs 15.99 GBP. Hardly worth going to the trouble of drilling,
sealing, getting CO2 friendly tubing and then finding a good way to diffuse
the CO2. Netmax, I am sure that your customers will benefit from using this
system. It is a very easy, and gentle introduction to CO2.
It may even lead to sales of bigger CO2 kits later down the line.
My LFS actually set on up on their plant holding tank. I got to see the
diffuser in action, and it made me reach into my pocket.

HTTH


Phil.