Aquarium CO2 distribution

Today I shifted the location of the CO₂ diffuser from the left wall of the tank to behind the moutain and underneath the powerhead.  The atomised CO₂ gets sucked up directly into the flow and actively pushed around the tank.  Previously I had the diffuser on the opposite side of the tank hidden under the plants and whilst it seems sensible to put the CO₂ where the plants are, because the flow pattern is circular, that puts the plants “upstream” of the diffuser last in the queue – the water has to do a full circuit to get back to them and by that time all the microbubbles have already reached the surface.  Those plants can still benefit from the dissolved CO₂ of course, but they won’t get any microbubbles trapped under their leaves.  The diffuser is also now hidden behind the mountain, which is good, and is shaded by the powerhead to reduce algae growth on the diffuser, also good.

While I was moving things around and doing a cleanout I also took the opportunity to clean the diffuser by removing it from the tank while still active, layering on a few drops of liquid carbon, and letting that go for 10 minutes or so.  Back in the tank this increased the CO₂ flow rate from 120 bubbles per minute to 130 bubbles per minute, so that worked well.

The fish seemed pretty happy about the whole thing but it will take a few weeks to get an opinion from the plants and algae.

Notes:  Cute video of a 5-banded barb swimming through the tunnel under the mountain.  The plant growing on the mountain is Bucephalandra caterina.  The carpeting plant at the base of the mountain is Marsilea hirsuta.