# Cleaning algae on ceramic disk diffusers



## leonroy (23 Nov 2011)

Saw this tip on Guitarfish's blog:



> Every time you do a water change, pull the glass diffuser above the surface of the water. Pour enough hydrogen peroxide onto the ceramic disk that it keeps the disk submerged in the H2O2. As you’re busy trimming, scraping the glass, and filling the tank back up, that H2O2 is busy oxidizing the algae from the surface of diffuser. By the time you’re done filling up your tank, the diffuser should be good as new.



How safe is this to do on the tank? Especially a nano (20 liters) with live inhabitants?


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## Orlando (23 Nov 2011)

Its fine, you can remove and rinse in fresh water afterwords if you like too. You can even use a mix of 50/50 bleach and water, followed with a thorough rinse in your favorite dechlorinator.


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## billy boy (23 Nov 2011)

I dont like the sound of that   Maybe that's me being to cautious!

I just have 2 diffusers, Once one get's dirty i swap them over and clean the dirty one with bleach, Once clean a wee rinse with water and then soak in  dechlorinator and it's all ready for when the other one get's dirty again


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (23 Nov 2011)

Guys

have a read at the attached:
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=7452
& 
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=9851
Regards
paul.


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## leonroy (23 Nov 2011)

Thanks for all the replies, think I'll try the peroxide trick with the diffuser in situ. Afraid it's gonna break at some point taking it in and out the tank.


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## stujo (24 Nov 2011)

You can also minimise risk by having a CO2 compatible plastic straight through connector in your CO2 tubing just above water line where it cant be seen.  To clean diffuser, "split" the tubing at this point, remove this section of tubing still attached to diffuser and clean diffuser with bleach as above.  AE do the connectors.  Very quick and very easy to do, no risk of breaking neck of diffuser that way. I also do exactly as Billy Boy suggests, have two diffusers which I "rotate", the only difference being that I keep each diffuser permanently attached to a suitable length of CO2 tubing.


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