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How much do you spend on CO2?

£20 for a 6kg bottle & £10 refills. This is my first and only been using a couple of months so lots left.
 
Recently, I've been getting though a 2kg bottle every month! That's on a 125 litre aquarium. Something's very wrong here but can't find any leaks using the usual methods...

P
 
pepedopolous said:
Recently, I've been getting though a 2kg bottle every month! That's on a 125 litre aquarium
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Its a leak or a leak but could be a leak. I get my drop checker yellow all over my 180l tank with 2kg lasting over 100 days.
 
pepedopolous said:
Recently, I've been getting though a 2kg bottle every month! That's on a 125 litre aquarium.
Click to expand...

I've had a similar thing, no leaks found painting water with washing up liquid on every joint of entire co2 system so... any recommendations for more reliable methods?
 
Crossocheilus said:
I've had a similar thing, no leaks found painting water with washing up liquid on every joint of entire co2 system so... any recommendations for more reliable methods?
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Put everything in a large airtight refuse sack and draw all the air out, seal it up having only the solenoid power cable and co2 tubing coming out the top and then try and seal it up around the tubing with blue tack or plasticine to get an air tight seal, if there's any leaks the bag will inflate. If the bag inflates when the solenoid is closed then check the seals from the bottle end first and work your way towards the solenoid, if the bag inflates when the solenoid is open you then work through the connections starting at the co2 tubing connection back towards the solenoid until you find the leak.

Check an inline diffuser for leaks by wrapping it loosely in cling film but ensuring its a tight seal on the hoses, if it balloons there's a leak.

:)
 
X3NiTH said:
Put everything in a large airtight refuse sack and draw all the air out, seal it up having only the solenoid power cable and co2 tubing coming out the top and then try and seal it up around the tubing with blue tack or plasticine to get an air tight seal, if there's any leaks the bag will inflate. If the bag inflates when the solenoid is closed then check the seals from the bottle end first and work your way towards the solenoid, if the bag inflates when the solenoid is open you then work through the connections starting at the co2 tubing connection back towards the solenoid until you find the leak.

Check an inline diffuser for leaks by wrapping it loosely in cling film but ensuring its a tight seal on the hoses, if it balloons there's a leak.

:)
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Thanks, I'm gonna try this.

P
 
Is the solenoid (CO2 Art, from dualstage + smc needle valve) at all water proof? I assume not, if so I cannot submerge the whole system as I would like. My problem with the clingfilm/bin bag idea is that there is still a joint that could leak, and it doesn't tell you where the leak is...
 
I really wouldnt think its waterproof. Soap and water is the best Ive found so far.
 
I know it can't tell you exactly where the leak is but it can tell you there is a leak by inflating the bag. Absolutely no way would I submerge the regulator and electrics, that's a guaranteed recipe for disaster.

I'm also convinced I have no leaks using the soap bubble method but my gas usage says otherwise. I've been swapping regulators around and testing for leaks and not found any but I'm convinced I have them, so I'll get the bag out and report back.
 
Don't worry found the/a leak- the atomizer I am just emailing CO2 Art now. Does anyone know if the intense one (can't be opened) is less leaky than the up diffuser?
 
Christos Ioannou said:
I think its about time I did another check...
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Last time I did the check for a leak, I found nothing. I am using the up inline atomizer.
This time, I will remove the electromagnetic part of the solenoid and deep the FE with the non electronic parts of the solenoid in a bucket of water and see if the solenoid leaks.
I think its about time I replaced my solenoid anyway, since when the valve is off (ie no power on the electromagnetic solenoid) I can still see bubbles coming out in the bubble counter.
This is how a (my) solenoid looks when "broken apart". Only the far left part (electromagnet) is getting the power, to pull the piston and open the diaphragm, so that CO2 can travel in the tank.
Without that part, the system should still be an airtight fit. Maybe I need to replace the O-ring on the brass part where the piston component is screwed in.
14pc3b.jpg
 
Jose said:
It could be a 1/2 efficient difuser or flow ian m.
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Could be. Have you go too much surface agitation ? I know after cleaning and I have left my spray bar pointing too far up the surface is very "wibbly" and drop checker doesn't go as green as it should be.

Below is my CO2 usage for 10bottles. Ignore no.10 as when I printed this (21/01/2015) number 10 hadn't run out, in fact is still going.
FEtable_zpsa3c39aa6.png
 
Where are people getting 2KG FE's for £10 please? Up here in Aberdeen, finding anyone interested in filling things at a reasonable price seems impossible, they are all geared up for dealing with the big companies using gas offshore and not interested in filling things for me. The only place I found is Chubb who want over £25 to fill a 2Kg FE. I'm finding FE's online are £25-£30 plus shipping, so would be keen to hear where people are picking them up for a tenner!
 
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