DIY simple Co2 for planted aquarium

**tara777** · 03-11-2011, 1:31 PM

Well, I'm thinking that you DIY geeks might have a simple way to build a Co2 diffuser for my tank

? I mean easy enough for a low tech person like myself?
Grateful thanks

**dbosman** · 03-11-2011, 4:04 PM

Break or cut off about an inch of a disposable chopstick. Shove that in the end of the CO2 line. That's your diffuser. You'll have to replace the stick in a few weeks to months so save the rest of the chopstick.

**fshfanatic** · 03-11-2011, 4:17 PM

Originally Posted by dbosman

Break or cut off about an inch of a disposable chopstick. Shove that in the end of the CO2 line. That's your diffuser. You'll have to replace the stick in a few weeks to months so save the rest of the chopstick.

I have done this and it works well..

Or

Just run the line into a small powerhead and the impeller will chop up the bubbles and then disperse the mist all over your tank..

**jimfaster** · 03-17-2011, 4:03 AM

Take the bottle and fill to near the top with water. In the tank place a small plastic container with the open end pointing downwards. Insert airhose from bottle to the inside top of the container.

**hage0245** · 03-17-2011, 4:13 AM

I actually do a combination of two of the above suggestions. I use a broken-off piece of chopstick and put it directly below my small powerhead. It seems to be doing very well. I searched high and low on the net and this is one of the best solutions I could find. The CO2 bubbles are basically invisible when they reach the surface.

**dorris** · 03-17-2011, 5:27 AM

I usually use the same method as fshfanatic and have my hose going into my filter's power head, which conveniently has a small hole just for a pipe to go into. This has worked well. I have tried other methods but this is by far the easiest and it works better than most also. I like the sound of the chopstick method though. I will have to try that.

**captmicha** · 03-18-2011, 1:11 PM

Break or cut off about an inch of a disposable chopstick. Shove that in the end of the CO2 line. That's your diffuser. You'll have to replace the stick in a few weeks to months so save the rest of the chopstick.

Couldn't you use a airstone instead? Sorry if the concept was lost on me.

**dorris** · 03-18-2011, 8:13 PM

Yeh well I guess the basic idea is to get really tiny bubbles, and have them stay under the water until they fully dissolve. I think people stay away from airstones because the Co2 quickly destroys an airstone. You really need to use special plastic pipe for it also otherwise it will dissolve normal aquarium type plastic pipes.

**captmicha** · 03-19-2011, 1:19 AM

Ohh. Good to know!

**LiveMermaid07** · 03-30-2011, 5:31 AM

Originally Posted by captmicha

Couldn't you use a airstone instead? Sorry if the concept was lost on me.

that's what I use...

Originally Posted by dorris

I think people stay away from airstones because the Co2 quickly destroys an airstone. You really need to use special plastic pipe for it also otherwise it will dissolve normal aquarium type plastic pipes.

oops.

I just use an airstone from walmart and an air adjuster valve that's nearly closed. With a 3L tub on a 29g I get a nearly steady stream of very tiny bubbles for nearly 2months. I placed it near the bottom but under the filter flow so it gets lobbed about the tank.
This was my first batch of diy co2 however, maybe I just got lucky. The plants LUVD it! Who knew anubias could grow so fast? LOL