Krystofer,
You have missed the point. I am a DIYer and have been from the start. I love doing these projects as well. The diffuser Vertex sells is an engineered device. I use them in my setups. I built my own weighted bases, but I used the better heads from Vertex. Do the math. How much water are you moving? How much water movement are you loosing do to your design? Do you understand fluid dynamics? Do you understand the losses because of the interference you designed in? Just because yours is cheep, does not mean it is better or worse. I have tested several diffusers and setups. I do understand fluid dynamics and the interference patterns. While yours does move water, what is the gallons per minute yours moves? How fast does you setup completely circulate your pool or pond? I know to the minute how well my setups work. I know the electricity cost to operate my system and I know the gallons per KWH used. Do you?
My total cost is my real value. Yes DIY can be cheeper, but it also can be way more expensive in the long run. And like Scott said, when yours brakes, who are you going to call?
Do you know how much O2 your setup is adding to you water?
Finally, if you are looking for praise about your design, make it stand out for something you do better and have proof. Anyone can glue stuff together, the data does not lie and neither does the math. Do your math.
I DIY because I want to, not to impress anyone else. I share my successes and failures so others can learn.
