Fluval Plant 3.0

[REDSTEVEO]

I find my ADA Beetle that I am using for the first time great, but at a price :/

Also these have great reviews, I have one to test when my diffusor is due a clean:

https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/twinstar-diffusor-co2---medium-2315-p.asp

There are 3 sizes!

I watched the video in the link. Looks good at first glance, but there must be at least 120 bubbles per minute going through that drop checker. My suspicion is that it needs that much to create enough pressure for the CO2 to break through the disc. Very similar to the problems with the UP Inline and JBL Inline diffusers.

I would imagine that with a reduction in pressure this diffuser won't work as efficiently as it appears to do in the video. Or at a reduced bubble count, the pressure will build up slowly inside the diffuser then expend itself quickly in ine blast causing instabilities in CO2 levels in the tank.

I hope I'm wrong but would like to hear the results once tested.

 

[LondonDragon]

I watched the video in the link. Looks good at first glance, but there must be at least 120 bubbles per minute going through that drop checker.

When I set mine up I will let you know, but that could be just for display purposes as the guy just ramps up the CO2 very hard to show what it can do!

 

[jaypeecee]

Hi @LondonDragon / Paulo

Also these have great reviews, I have one to test when my diffusor is due a clean:

https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/twinstar-diffusor-co2---medium-2315-p.asp

Pore size on the above looks larger than those on the Bazooka, so that's likely to mean larger bubbles. And this, in turn, is likely to result in less efficient CO2 diffusion. Aesthetically, it may not look as good either as the bubbles swirling around the tank may be more visible. Those are my thoughts but you may well prove me wrong.

JPC

 

[jaypeecee]

I watched the video in the link. Looks good at first glance, but there must be at least 120 bubbles per minute going through that drop checker. My suspicion is that it needs that much to create enough pressure for the CO2 to break through the disc. Very similar to the problems with the UP Inline and JBL Inline diffusers.

Hi @REDSTEVEO

It's not necessary to run the CO2 at 120 bubbles per minute. Far from it. I was running mine as low as 18 bubbles per minute (bpm). This is at a working pressure* of 2.0 bar. It's the pressure that's key here, not the bubble rate. Once the pressure is set, then use the needle valve to get the desired bpm. It is true that the ceramic/porous diffusers do present resistance to the flow of CO2 but, once a critical pressure is reached, then the CO2 flows. I have fitted a pressure gauge on the CO2 line that goes to the diffuser. Between the pressure gauge and the diffuser, I have a non-return valve to prevent any water backflowing into the pressure gauge itself. So, when the CO2 solenoid switches ON, the additional gauge immediately shows that the CO2 pressure to the diffuser is starting to build up. And, I can predict within a minute when the CO2 will start to flow into the tank. This is where a diagram would help. So, if you're interested and when I get a moment, I'll draw a sketch, which might make things clearer.

*As opposed to the actual cylinder pressure

JPC

 

[REDSTEVEO]

I have now been dosing fertilisers using EI for a week and reduced the lighting period to 7 hours, and adjusted the lighting settings on the Fluval Plant 3.0 as advised. There is green and brown algae present on leaves of the plants, so I decided to start introducing CO2 again to see if things improve.

I bought a new JBL Pro Flora Taufun CO2 Diffuser and fitted it yesterday. It is supposed to take 48 hours for it to start working effectively or at optimum level.

The first thing I have noticed is that in order to get any CO2 travelling through the reactor, I have had to crank up the bubble rate through the bubble counter to a rate so high and fast I can't even count the bubbles.

In the past if I had turned up the rate to this level using an in tank glass diffuser with a ceramic disc, the tank would have overdosed in CO2 within an hour. So not sure if this is going to be successful or not.

Update to follow.

 

[hypnogogia]

The first thing I have noticed is that in order to get any CO2 travelling through the reactor, I have had to crank up the bubble rate through the bubble counter to a rate so high and fast I can't even count the bubbles.

You should just have single bubbles slowly travelling up the spiral inside the Taifun reactor at pretty much the same rate as your bubble counter. Having said that, I’d don’t have much luck with mine as it’s ugly and just another piece of kit that needs to be cleaned, and is not easy to clean.

 

[REDSTEVEO]

You should just have single bubbles slowly travelling up the spiral inside the Taifun reactor at pretty much the same rate as your bubble counter. Having said that, I’d don’t have much luck with mine as it’s ugly and just another piece of kit that needs to be cleaned, and is not easy to clean.

Agreed so far. It would be great to have the bubble counter set to 60 bubbles per minute and see the same travelling up the reactor. But if I lower the rate to something I can actually count, nothing travels up the Reactor at all.

I have done checks for leaks on all the attachments and not found any, so I have no idea where all the CO2 is going if it's not getting to the Reactor. Very frustrating indeed.

 

[REDSTEVEO]

You should just have single bubbles slowly travelling up the spiral inside the Taifun reactor at pretty much the same rate as your bubble counter. Having said that, I’d don’t have much luck with mine as it’s ugly and just another piece of kit that needs to be cleaned, and is not easy to clean.

I think I have solved the mystery. The non return valve I was using was an extreme high pressure type, a large black one. I've swapped it out with another one with less resistance, and now I've got the same amount of bubbles in bubble counter and the reactor.

If I had continued with the other one the CO2 Bottle would be empty in 24 hours.

Now, I'll just wait and see. Not sure whether to leave it on for 24/7 or on a timer to come on an hour before lights on and off an hour before lights out.

 

[hypnogogia]

I think I have solved the mystery.

Glad you’ve got,it sorted.