Q: How do you clean glassware?
A: Our glassware can be cleaned by soaking in 1:1 mixture of bleach:water for 24 hours. Depending on the amount of build up on the glass surface, longer immersion times may be needed. After that, rinse thoroughly with clean water. Soft plastic brushes may be used to clean our Fluxus pipes. For diffusers, only soak in bleach:water solutions and never clean the diffuser disc with brushes or hard objects. Do not use acid to clean glassware.

Outflow: The outflow funnel was intentionally pointed slightly downwards. This improves water circulation to lower parts of the aquarium, where stagnation points often occur. The funnel, when completely submerged, creates less surface agitation to reduce CO2 loss to the atmosphere. At the same time, if turbulent surface aeration is desired, it can be done by raising the funnel halfway above the water line.

Inflow: CAL's inflow contains narrow slits throughout the stem spanning from near the bottom end, to quite high up. The placement of the slits were intentionally designed to cover more vertical area than existing designs. To us, there really isn't a good reason to place the slits just at the bottom. In fact, while they are much easier to manufacture, we found that having slit(s) just at the bottom strains the circulation, as water can only enter at the bottom. Since our outflow moves water across the depth of the tank, we needed an inflow that can take water in at various depth of the column, not just the bottom. Our flowfield tests also shows that they create a more uniform circulation pattern.

The slits on our inflow are also slightly wider and more in number. We want to make sure that enough water can pass through to the pump, and small blockages due to leaves or debris will not choke the pump.

Q: Can shrimps get through the inflow slits?
A: Occasionally, people report that their little shrimps get through the pipes. That is something to consider. No matter how small the slits are, there will always be shrimps at the right size that can go through.

Q: Does the outflow create a vortex at the water surface?
A: In contrary to some beliefs, we found that vortices generated by certain outflow designs are not effective in eliminating surface film. Because of this, we focused our outflow design on improving circulation to lower parts of the aquarium. While our outflows generate vortices under certain flow conditions, they are not optimized to do so. To eliminate surface film or aerate, simply raise the outflow funnel halfway above the water line.

Q: How do you clean the diffuser?
A: The diffusers can be cleaned by soaking in 1:1 mixture of bleach:water for 24 hours. Depending on the amount of build up on the glass surface, longer immersion times may be needed. After that, rinse thoroughly with clean water. Do not scrub the diffuser disc or it may damage the fine pores.

Q: How do CO2 checkers work?
A: CO2 checkers work on the concept of equilibrium gas solubility. An excellent explanation on how CO2 checkers work can be found here.

Q: Do I need to prepare the solutions before filling?
A: No preparation of the solutions is needed. All the solutions are supplied and used as-is. Simply fill the indicator chamber halfway with the indicator solution, and fill the reference chamber halfway with the reference solution.

Q: What is in the Indicator solution?
A: The Indicator solution is a mixture of 4dKH solution, pH indicator, and stabilizers.

Q: Can I use a 4dKH solution in place of the Indicator Solution?
A: Yes. You can use a 4dKH solution in place of the Indicator solution. However, unless you put in similar amounts of pH indicator to the Reference solution, the color intensity of the two may be different.

Q:What is in the Reference Solution?
A: The Reference solution is a mixture of buffer, pH indicator, and stabilizers. The solution is calibrated to 30 ppm CO2 - a level which is accepted by many as a good level for CO2 injection in planted tanks. The Reference solution color does not change color (within practical limits of CO2 concentration).

Q: What is the best way to store the solutions?
A: To best prolong the life of the solutions, cap unused solutions tightly and keep in refrigerator. Do no freeze.

Q: What does a bubble counter do?
A: Bubble counters are used to monitor the CO2 injection rate into your aquarium. When installed within the CO2 line, the CO2 emerages as a series of bubbles raising up the device, allowing easy monitoring of the CO2 rate. It also gives you a visual observation to help you make fine adjustments in your CO2 rate.

Q: How is the Double Counter different from other bubble counters?
A: All bubble counters currently on the market allows the user to monitor flowrates up to 4-5 bubbles per second. At flow rates higher than that, the bubbles rise very quickly and monitoring becomes very difficult and highly inaccurate. The Double Counter is the first bubble counter that generates two different bubble sizes. In the normal configuration, the counter produces regular-size bubbles for rate up to ~3 bubbles per second. In the high-flow configuration, the bubbles are larger, effectively slowing down the bubble rate and making it easier to monitor.

Q: What is the appropriate bubble rate for my aquarium?
A: Determining the appropriate amount of CO2 based solely on the bubble rate is not recommended. This is because there are numerous factors that eventually determine how much CO2 gas actually gets dissolved inside your aquarium. It is recommended that the counter be used to monitor the rate of CO2 injection into the tank, while a CO2 checker be used to determine the appropiate amount of CO2.

Q: When I set up the counter in normal-flow mode, why do I sometimes get irregular bubble rates?
A: At high CO2 flow rates, you may see irregular bubble rates with the normal-flow configuration. To solve this, switch to the high-flow configuration.

Q: How to convert the high-flow bubble rate to the normal-flow bubble rate?
A: Converting the high-flow bubble rate to the normal-flow bubble rate can be done by doing the following:
1) Measure the rate in normal-flow mode. (A bubbles per second)
2) At the same CO2 rate, measure the rate in high-flow mode: (B bubbles per second)
3) Divide A by B

Example:

1) In the normal-flow mode, the rate is 2 bubbles per second = A
2) In the high-flow mode, the rate is 1 bubble every 2 seconds (or 0.5 bubbles per second = B)
3) A/B = 2/0.5 = 4 So 1 bubble in the high-flow mode = 4 bubbles in the normal flow mode.

Therefore, if you count 2 bubbles per second in the high-flow mode, the normal-flow bubble rate is 4x2 = 8 bubbles per second.