Got A New Toy. Fluval Co2

Ordered the Fluval CO2 kit from Fosters and Smith. Great price on sale.

 

Nice! Should be a fun project

 

I'm not quite sure how to use this kit. First canister was a dud. It says to fill up twice a day. ****? Almost blew the dang thing out of the water! Any advice on using this kit?

 

It must be like the Fluval 88g I once used....Expensive toy...
Attach the diffuser at one end of an airline and the "regulator" at the other end. Place the diffuser deep in the tank. Close the knob on the regulator (counter clock-wise). Screw in the regulator on the canister all the way. A pin will depress the valve on the cylinder and CO2 will enter the regulator, the needle on the guage will go up. Slowly open the knob. Half a turn. Wait 5-10 minutes. Look for bubbles out of the diffuser and adjust if needed.

 

It must be like the Fluval 88g I once used....Expensive toy...
Attach the diffuser at one end of an airline and the "regulator" at the other end. Place the diffuser deep in the tank. Close the knob on the regulator (counter clock-wise). Screw in the regulator on the canister all the way. A pin will depress the valve on the cylinder and CO2 will enter the regulator, the needle on the guage will go up. Slowly open the knob. Half a turn. Wait 5-10 minutes. Look for bubbles out of the diffuser and adjust if needed.

When I crack the valve it bubbles like crazy, just a crack is like 5 bubbles off the bat. How do you know when diffuser (plastic piece) is full of CO2?

 

When I crack the valve it bubbles like crazy, just a crack is like 5 bubbles off the bat. How do you know when diffuser (plastic piece) is full of CO2?

I have no idea what kind of diffuser that is...Can you take a picture and post it? What is the other diffuser for?

 

I have no idea what kind of diffuser that is...Can you take a picture and post it? What is the other diffuser for?

This is what came with the kit. I filled it with water. This time I see the gas fill up the chamber and it's bubbling slowly out the bottom. Tricky little thing!

 

So this is a passive co2 system... works by filling the bell diffuser and diffuse slowly.
Might help a bit, but I wouldn’t consider it the same as pressurized co2. This is a step down from the 88g kits.
If you have the patience, you can play with the knob for a low count (yes it’s touchy) and use a powerhead to diffuse/create current. It will start slowing up after a few hrs

 

I tried this system. Its horrible. I have no idea how this diffuser works and it takes up way too much room. I ended up using a regular ceramic diffuser with it. Those 20 gram cylinders only lasted 2 days. There expensive too. I ended up going back to my DIY set up on the 10 gallon.