I'm not too keen on the lily pipes or the intakes, having broken two sets doing routine maintenance 😳
They also get funky and loose tha nice appearance of a fresh cleaned one much faster than the disc.
Rhinox are cheap, and severla asian places make them, Acrylic DIY methods make them a bit tougher also.
ADA sells the metal versions which are not nice a glass clear etc, but a lot more durable.
I've had a long history using disc and testing them as we had a local guy pushing the Ehiem diffusers for years here in SF(Dave Gomberg) and suggested not using and needle valve. I made the case for using needle valve, after 7-8 dead tanks with end of gas tank dumps, folks steered away from disc. A few that kept them had no issues but used valves.
They give good results.
Asethetics aside...........they are fairly simple and easy to add.
But some might prefer a DIY in line reactor with a venturi loop, a mazzei venturi valve, or a needle wheel powerhead/mesh needle wheel.
CO2 diffusion is where most folks shuld be most focused, so it's not a worthless debate, even if things get personal.
CO2 tweaking is where you will get most of the gains in this hobby, reduce algae issues, improve plan health etc etc.....the most.
Light is the other, but it's pretty clear that low light + good high CO2 = the best results.
By best, I mean effective good growth, not not max growth rates, where management is easier for any hobbyists gardening their tank.
I'd say needle wheel mesh DIY modifications are some of the most efficient, followeed by mazzei venturis etc.
But disc can do a pretty good job as well and CO2 is cheap.
Not much a trade off really. Also, electric cost $ to run those methods some. Disc cost no electric other than solenoids which most have anyway.
Another good thing, the disc are out there to see and watch, that's sort of fun and keeps you thinking about the CO2, vs out of sight/out of mind.
Adding a disc is also a pretty simple addition.
In line systems and leaks are more daunting.
Regards,
Tom Barr
