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Do you turn your CO2 off when you go on holiday?

peaches

Member
Joined
29 Dec 2008
Messages
257
Location
Yorkshire - Gods own county
Do you turn your CO2 off when you go on holiday? Its running well at the moment and the plants look great, but I am scared for when I go away for 2 weeks. No one to come in to check. The cylinder has been running about 3 weeks so there should be plenty in it. I just have a worry about equipment failure and a load of CO2 being dumped to kill my fish. I have an autofeeder which I load with the absolute bear minimum of Prima. It will have been in place a month when I go away so I know its working. Sometimes in the past I have left no food at all when its only a week, but for 2 weeks I use an autofeeder. But I dont know what to do with the co2.
 
I just turn my lighting period and consequently CO2 period and ferts dosing down when I go away. Been away for over 5 weeks before without too many issues, other than plants didn't looks as green as they should be when I got back.

Originally I built a dosing pump to dose ferts whilst away in 2012, controlled by standard time switch.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/diy-dual-peristaltic-dosing-pump-with-alternate-switching.22332/

I now use a PLC to control the tank, so switching to holiday mode is just a setting. Job done.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/how-to-use-a-plc-to-control-your-fish-tank.42993/
 
Personally if I am away from more than a week or 2 i just reduce the lighting period / intensity and keep co2 the same, less than a week or two I just leave everything as is and try get someone to feed the fish and dont worry about ferts
 
Sitting beside the tank tonight after co2 solenoid went off I smelled a smell of gas. It smelt like an unlit gas ring. I have no gas in the living room only in the kitchen so I thought co2 and checked the tightness of connections etc but still smelled something beside the tank. When I stood up the smell went away. I turned it off as it's pretty late. Will have a look tomorrow. All searches say co2 doesn't have a smell. Is there a smell from a fire extinguisher co2 if it leaks?
 
I keep everything similar except reduce light by 20%. Give a good trim before I leave. I also have an 'auto' top up using my dosing pumps and estimation of evaporation(about 1L daily). Ferts and feeding is auto.
 
Is there a smell from a fire extinguisher co2 if it leaks?
No. I emptied a part empty FE with horn attached, into a cloth to deposit solid CO2, which I then lumped together to dropped into warm water to make masses of fog.... Don't remember any smell.
 
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