Diffuser Maintenance

[The Rockster]

Hi,
We have a couple new Rhinox 5000 glass diffusers. We are wondering which is the best way to clean them. I have read of several different ways of doing this, and the simplest seems to be soaking them in Excel. This method negates the need to rinse in Prime, or the hassle of getting the diffusers Tilex or bleach, free.

We had a little trouble getting the airline to stay attached to the diffusers, originally, and resorted to nuking some water and softening the tygon tubing, so we could push it on the glass stem far enough so that it stayed.

So, to clean the glass bases of the diffusers we put them in small tupperware and remove them from the tank, leaving the airtube intact, and then pour Excel onto the base, (which is partial full of tank water). Letting them soak, while we do the water change.
Then take them out of the tupperware, pour any Excel in the tank, and reinstall the diffusers back in the tank.

We are wondering if this sounds like a feasible way of cleaning the Rhinox Diffusers?
Is there a way of scrubbing the algae on the white micro plate, in the base, with a toothbrush, without damaging it?

Being new to them, and realizing they are easily breakable, we thought we shouldn't be constantly removing and reattaching the airlines, but we have noticed that tank water stays in the base and dilutes the Excel (app. 5ml per disc) that we are pouring in each diffuser.

Thanks for any input!

 

[The Rockster]

any ideas?

 

[mr_convitbau]

As previously suggested by Tom, I use Tilex to clean the diffuser. It works wonderfully, far better than bleach.

Soak the diffuser in Tilex for 15-20 minutes, and you will see the difference.

If you have trouble attaching the airline tube to the diffuser, I would suggest you to soak the tube in hot water for a few minutes. This will make the attachment much easier.

If after CO2 is introduced to the diffuser for a while, and the tube detaches, then it means there is more pressure inside the diffuser than it can support. If that is the case, you should switch to a larger diffuser or simply reduce the amount of CO2.

Hope that helps,

Regards,
TL