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I changed my mind...

Dominic

Dominic

Member
Joined
11 Nov 2013
Messages
319
Location
High Wycombe
I was originally going to use liquid CO2 but then changed my mind, as people have been telling me that pressurized co2 is cheaper.

It is all going into my 55g tank at the start of christmas break (20th december or so) and i wanted to ask some questions.

What do you guys use as co2 refills? As the co2 refills i know of are the tropica ones which are 25 quid for 3 small cans that will last me a couple of weeks in my tank...

Would two 38watt t8 lights be okay on a co2 tank?

And can you explain to me how a co2 system works and what i am looking for? As i hardly even know how it works, just the aesthetics haha :p
 
Hello,

Many people here, myself included use a co2 fire extinguisher, I use 2kg bottle brought via eBay refills cost about £5-8 locally, I found this to be the cheapest method, typically last me 6 months providing you switch of a night (plants don't need co2 at night)

You'll need to get yourself a regulator with a solonoid, and a timer.

My whole set cost me less that £70

There's a guide somewhere on this forum that tells you how to set one up.
 
Justin85 had/has full CO2 system for sale might be worth asking him! I used pub gas 14lb bottles when I ran CO2 on my marine tank but I had room for the tall bottles. If you are needing bottle to fit in your tank cabinet then go for FE bottle I guess.
 
Thank you very much guys! A couple of questions still because i dont know much about co2 systems yet haha,

What sort of stores should i be looking for to refill my FE?

How do you adjust the amount of co2 injection?

How long should i expect 2kg to last me on a 250 litre tank?

Also, one massive favour, could someone link to me all the cheapest things to buy on ebay? Like co2 regulator etc? Because i dont want to end up buying the wrong sort of regulator or whatever haha
 
and how essential are solenoids and timers? As by looking on ebay there are loads without solenoids and timers for much cheaper?

What do the solenoids and timers actually do?

And how do you turn off a co2 system?
 
Dominic said:
and how essential are solenoids and timers? As by looking on ebay there are loads without solenoids and timers for much cheaper?

What do the solenoids and timers actually do?

And how do you turn off a co2 system?
Click to expand...
They turn the gas on & off!
It is possible to turn it on manually if you are available every day at the appropriate times but to be honest they are pretty much essential.
If you go for pressurised Co2 then it is important to keep it regular and consistent.
 
Dominic said:
Also, one massive favour, could someone link to me all the cheapest things to buy on ebay? Like co2 regulator etc? Because i dont want to end up buying the wrong sort of regulator or whatever haha
Click to expand...

I brought my regulator with solenoid from C02 supermarket, cost just under £50... pretty basic & control of C02 isn't as easy as i would like but working fine since i brought... best thing thou is they are shipped from uk, many of the cheaper one from ebay are shipped from over seas, just not worth the risk if you ask me, but it up to you.:)

Further to Foxfish response the timer just cuts the power to the solenoid, you want to time so that the C02 come on 1-2 hours before your light come on and an 1 before your light go off.

you also will need to get your self a drop checker, and some 4dkh solution and bromo blue, you will also need to get a bubble counter.

Bubble counter allows to measure the amount of c02 that enter into your tank, I aim for around 3-4 bubble per second but it different for every one, enough to make you drop checker green (not yellow if you got livestock), but if you don't have livestock the more C02 the better, 9 out of 10 plant issues relate to insufficient levels of C02, note that the drop checker take about a hour to get a reading so you want to start low and work your way, just youtube it you'll see what i mean.

Also your lighting will effect the amount of C02 you add, the more light the more co2 required, its a fine balance, too much light and insufficient C02 equals algae:arghh:

Hope this helps...
 
I just contacted justin85 and i should be buying his co2 system off him soon. :)

Whats the difference between normal tubing and co2 proof? does normal tubing deteriorate or something? :)

And can someone come up with a guide of what dosage to use? I have two 42in t8 38watt flourescent tube lights and my tank is a 55g with the dimensions 48in x 18in x 18in

And also how long should i expect a 5kg to last me?

Sorry if im asking stupid questions guys i just want to get a good understanding :)
 
Hello Dominic,

C02 will make tubing brittle if it's isn't co2 proof...

5kg would last me longer than a year, but as suggested it will depends how much you used, my tank is half the size of yours at 25g.

As suggest you'll want add enough c02 to make your drop checker green. Start around 3-4 bubble per second and wait an hour to see if it changes from blue to green.

You also need to consider whether you want to use a diffuser, reactor or inline. I started witha glass diffuser but found diffuser very quickly got covered in algea. So now use an inline diffuser as also provided finer bubbles, which means easier to dissolve in to water.

The placement of diffuser is importante as you want to ensure that co2 is dissolving in water and not just evaporating into surface. Some people suggest locating diffuse directly next to or under intake which allows co2 bubble to be sucked into filter which help dissolve co2 in to your water.

Also your water flow is important, not only do you want good dissolved co2 you need very good flow to reach everywhere in you tank. A good rule of thumb is 10x water changes (your tank size) per hour. But even then you may need to supplement flow to ensure good distrbuption.

Don't worry about asking question, it's better to ask than not to know....
 
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