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CO2 for newbie

justjason88

justjason88

Member
Joined
4 Dec 2011
Messages
108
Location
South London
Hi Guys

I'm looking for a CO2 kit, i've read the FE and DIY guides but i feel massively out of my depth. I'm looking for a CO2 kit which i can literally plug in and set up, hassle free. I've had a look at some online but i'm stuck as to which to pick. I have a 125L with about 8-10 plants (looking to buy about 4 more once i get rid of the internal filter).

It needs to be relatively cheap (but i can stretch my budget to £150 ish).

Questions
How often would i need to refill a 500g bottle TIC the make up of my tank above?
I've read about places that refill FE bottles, but what about branded bottles, eg, the bottles that come with the JBL set or the D-D set? They are mainly advertised as disposable, so why can't they be refilled?
Is there a noobs guide somewhere for me? I have no clue what a solenoid valve does or what pressure i should set it to or how many bubbles per second i should be aiming for

Thanks a lot guys and sorry for the questions, i have looked as much as i can in this section of the forum but can't find the answers

Jason
 
If you don't want to be messing about and want a plug and play I'd go for the jbl kit most places that sell these kits normally have a refilling service as for pressure on the needle valve they is a green area that you set the valve to as for a solenoid these should be plugged in to a timer to come on about a hour before the light comes on and about an hour before they go off


Sent from my miPhone using my fingers
 
Thank you very much

I was looking at the D-D Complete set for 130 quid
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/dd-comp ... cee376ecd2

How often do you think i would have to change that 500g bottle considering the size of my tank?
Can that bottle be re-filled? It is advertised as disposable
And lastly i read i need the CO2 at 30ppm during daylight operation, how do i measure that, is that with the bubble counter?

Thanks a lot

Jason
 
justjason88 said:
Thank you very much

I was looking at the D-D Complete set for 130 quid
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/dd-comp ... cee376ecd2

How often do you think i would have to change that 500g bottle considering the size of my tank?
Can that bottle be re-filled? It is advertised as disposable
And lastly i read i need the CO2 at 30ppm during daylight operation, how do i measure that, is that with the bubble counter?

Thanks a lot

Jason
Click to expand...
no you cant refill them but you can get the same bottles of e bay really cheap http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clarke-x-3-Co ... 812wt_1185 and I think you should get about 3-4 month out of them as for 30ppm you check this with a drop checker witch has been mentioned in one of the previous posts the 30ppm will be indicated by the solution used in it this will turn a green if you have 30ppm or yellow if lower or a really dark green if higher


Sent from my miPhone using my fingers
 
Jason[/quote]
no you cant refill them but you can get the same bottles of e bay really cheap http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clarke-x-3-Co ... 812wt_1185 and I think you should get about 3-4 month out of them as for 30ppm you check this with a drop checker witch has been mentioned in one of the previous posts the 30ppm will be indicated by the solution used in it this will turn a green if you have 30ppm or yellow if lower or a really dark green if higher

Sorry to hijack the thread but will any standard regulator fit on those welder gas bottles? I've been reading the sticky and wasnt sure if they would.

and jason definitely stay away from the little bottled ones. I have two TMC expert sets (got one v. cheap on ebay after splashing on the first one) and they are ok - they seem to work well etc apart from every one or two bottles I go through I'll have connection problems and I'll lose a whole bottle in a day - just happened to me on both my set ups so thats £25 gone - I have a 20l and a 30l and I must have wasted £70 odd so Im upgrading now - looking at buying the welders bottle and a decent regulator. hence my question...
 
Eboeagles said:
Jason
Click to expand...
no you cant refill them but you can get the same bottles of e bay really cheap http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clarke-x-3-Co ... 812wt_1185 and I think you should get about 3-4 month out of them as for 30ppm you check this with a drop checker witch has been mentioned in one of the previous posts the 30ppm will be indicated by the solution used in it this will turn a green if you have 30ppm or yellow if lower or a really dark green if higher

Sorry to hijack the thread but will any standard regulator fit on those welder gas bottles? I've been reading the sticky and wasnt sure if they would.

and jason definitely stay away from the little bottled ones. I have two TMC expert sets (got one v. cheap on ebay after splashing on the first one) and they are ok - they seem to work well etc apart from every one or two bottles I go through I'll have connection problems and I'll lose a whole bottle in a day - just happened to me on both my set ups so thats £25 gone - I have a 20l and a 30l and I must have wasted £70 odd so Im upgrading now - looking at buying the welders bottle and a decent regulator. hence my question...[/quote]

No they are different size threads as long as you use plumbers tape you should be ok with the d-d
 
So basically the FE way is the cheapest and most efficient by buying all the kit myself and putting it together and can easily be refilled. The branded sets i will have to either get the bottles refilled at a high price or pay for another bottle and use plumbers tape to secure the leaks. I think i may have to seriously look into the FE method then.

I already have a drop checker, so the only way to judge if you have the right amount of CO2 in the tank is by watching the colour of the drop checker? Doesn't that seem a little dangerous to livestock as it has the potential of fluctuating CO2 levels?

Jason
 
You really should read up on the whole planted tank C02 system scene & see how it all works!

Nobody can abbreviate all you need to know in a couple of post.

To answer your question - you need to watch your tank while over a period you gradually increase the bubble rate from one bubble every two seconds to whatever it takes to get the drop checker the right colour.
While you do this you study your fish to look for any signs of stress, if you notice any behavioral changes then you immediately back off on the gas regardless of the colour of the drop checker.
 
malawistu said:
as for 30ppm you check this with a drop checker witch has been mentioned in one of the previous posts the 30ppm will be indicated by the solution used in it this will turn a green if you have 30ppm or yellow if lower or a really dark green if higher

Sent from my miPhone using my fingers
Click to expand...

This is the wrong way round.
Drop checker is 4dkh solution with bromothymol blue, co2 should come on early enough to turn the drop checker from blue to lime green at lights on. If your co2 is too high the drop checker will turn yellow and regularly fish will show visible signs of co2 poisoning.. ie gasping at surface.
If co2 levels are low then the DC will be dark green/blue.
You should also turn your co2 off an hour or so before your lights as your plants will be shutting down by then.

More detail on clives sticky
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=467

Ill second foxfish though, take the time to read through all the tutorials and sticky's in each sub forum. Single posts will never cover everything.
 
foxfish said:
You really should read up on the whole planted tank C02 system scene & see how it all works!

Nobody can abbreviate all you need to know in a couple of post.

To answer your question - you need to watch your tank while over a period you gradually increase the bubble rate from one bubble every two seconds to whatever it takes to get the drop checker the right colour.
While you do this you study your fish to look for any signs of stress, if you notice any behavioral changes then you immediately back off on the gas regardless of the colour of the drop checker.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot

I have read quite a lot but there is no extensive guide i can find which explains what every single part of a CO2 system does or what it's used for or how it even works. The only guides i have read is that you need to buy this, this and this and then put it all together by following a tutorial.
 
justjason88 said:
So basically the FE way is the cheapest and most efficient by buying all the kit myself and putting it together and can easily be refilled. The branded sets i will have to either get the bottles refilled at a high price or pay for another bottle and use plumbers tape to secure the leaks. I think i may have to seriously look into the FE method then.
Click to expand...
Do what I did, phone up the support number on the CO2 fire extinguishers at work. Found out the guy that services ours at work lives in the same road as my work and was at home between jobs, so 10 minutes later and £10 I had a brand new 2Kg CO2 fire extinguisher. I have his business card to call him when I want a refill.

I got a regulator, bubble counter, diffuser and piping from UK, CO2 supermarket....job done.

Last weekend moved to an inline UP diffuser (from Ebay shop in Hong Kong) and is much better, appears to use less CO2 to achieve the same colour green on drop checker.
 
I've nearly bought all the bits for the FE set up, just need to buy the extinguisher (found a supplier in croydon who does it fairly cheap, about 25 quid for a bottle although refills are 20 quid so a little dear when it needs replacing). Will hopefully set it up soon but i'm waiting for a bubble counter on AE to be restocked.

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/easy-aq ... -5667.html

I went with the TMC V2 regulator, AE sells it for 90 quid but i found a site which does it for 68!
 
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