Thanks for looking over this, Tom.
The issue of the Mazzei sucking co2 vs. backpressure building up with a glass diffuser is something that I did notice. The low pressure gage is not as responsive on my regulator, and the bubbles in the bubble counter dont seem to respond to minute changes very much either. The injector can create a fine mist up to the point that the gas is being actively pushed into the injector faster than the injector can suck it.

The bubble count I'm using with the Mazzei is almost exactly the same as the bubble count I used with my RhinoX diffuser. Which is odd, because I thought the Mazzei might be more efficient, and that I could achieve higher co2 levels with a lower bubble rate. But, the drop checker indicates that I really need about the same amount of co2 regardless of how it's delivered -- at least regarding the Mazzei vs. glass diffuser. -- Maybe because both are mist-type co2 delivery systems.

I'm starting to see really good pearling again, and I think that the reason for the sudden disappearance of it was the big trim that I did. Somehow I stunted everything and after about a week the plants are starting to grow normally again. I trimmed all the plants back and had to pull up my HC foreground and replant it - stem by stem - as it was starting to die underneath. I dont know why, and I could surely be wrong, but I think the sudden loss of a large % of biomass along with the foreground removal/replanting disrupted the tank's stability.

As for the bubbles making the water look cloudy, I'm totally wrong. The water really IS cloudy. I stupidly had already taken out a lot of the water so I could easily take out and replant the HC. I gravel vac'd the aquasoil and replanted the HC. Then I took out a little more water and then refilled. (I trimmed before I took out any water) I should have done ALL of this before taking out ANY water, and since I didn't, I think I caused an ammonia spike resulting in the beginning of green water, and/or a bacterial bloom due to the loss of the biomass & substrate disruption.

That is really for a different thread, but the point HERE is that the mist the Mazzei creates is really not distracting or detracting from tank asthetics. The mist can be seen close up, but the water still looks clear, and the whole tank looks clear if viewed from a distance of about 4 feet or more.

I'm going to try to post a few pictures soon.

-Mike B-