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I'm using an UP one now. It's not bad - it does the job. I used to have a JBL though which was much better and easier to use.

All re-fillable CO2 canisters (inc FE) are the same thread size. There is a smaller thread size for disposable canisters.

Does look very cheap indeed. I would worry about the quality though. I paid double that for my UP regulator from HK. The quality is nothing like my old JBL one, and the bubble rate is fairly erratic.

That's fairly average I would have thought. My local guy will charge £20 for a 2kg bottle swap

Tom or Clive, you there? lol This last week I've been getting a lot of Staghorn (every plant and rock surface) and a bit of BBA. My CO2 has been at 3bps for about a week, and this is in a 25liter tank. Surely that is mad? The bubbles are getting hit first by a powerhead, then moved into the...

Surely it's more difficult to lower pH in hard water due to more buffers being present. Does that have anything to do with CO2? If I reach 30ppm @2bps in hard water, I would expect to be able to reach the same ppm with less bps in soft water would I not? Assuming diffusion methods are the same.

Yes I realise this, however it is more difficult to dissolve CO2 in harder water. That is what I was asking, if anyone knows more details as to the correlation.

Our water is seriously hard. I'm struggling to get enough CO2 dissolved in the Mini M (pushing 2bps), and was wondering how much difference there would be if I cut it 50/50 with RO when I start the 60P. Has anyone looked into how hard it is to achieve a set CO2 concentration in different levels...

I'm using a cheap eBay 4.99 job, and it's great. Really small bubbles. I've got a more expensive chisel shape one, but that only works for a couple of days, then the bubbles get bigger.

I'd put it close to the filter, so it has more time do dissolve as it goes up the pipe. Mine was 2" from the filter. Tom

I used this combination for a while and it's worked fine, but recently I haven't been able to get the atomizer to work - the tubes just keep popping off under the pressure :/ The atomizer might just be blocked yet again though.

There's nothing stopping you injecting, but just be aware that you may encounter problems if you later decide to stop using it. Think drugs, with the side-effect being algae. It may appear during the period plants are adjusting to less carbon.

All I can say then is try it and see how you go in that case. You may not need to inject CO2 in the first place, or you could add a low amount.

You would likely encounter algae problems when backing off as the plants adjust, but that would probably depend on your light levels and how slowly you backed off. It's best to keep things as stable as possible. If you can afford to keep re-filling the Fluval 88 by all means go for it. What...

Yellow leaves is N I think. Pinholes is aparrently K, and new yellow leaves could be iron. Have a look at theplantedtank.co.uk

Yeah it's good enough for a little while, but won't last long and is fairly expensive. Liquid carbon would also work, but again would be expensive on a fair size tank. What were you planning to run long term? Can you wait until that is in place, and save the money?

I would say that could well be about right for your tank with 300w of halides and EI. I'm not sure how efficient that reactor is, but if it's anything like the JBL version I used, you may be better off getting a couple of inline atomisers on your filter outlets. Neater too. Have you got...

My UP Atomiser no longer works. The pipe just pops off now as the disk is dirty and I have no way of cleaning it without dismantling the filtration. I'm back to using in-tank glass diffusers. Half hour in bleach and it's perfect again.

I have had this problem with every valve I've ever used. I now just have a drip loop in my tubing in the hope that it doesn't go right to the reg :/

I'd say you either have a leak or the reg can't cope with the pressure. Does your regulator have gauges?

Hasnt arrived!

I shut the valve off completely yesterday while it was still running at the normal rate, but this morning it didn't start up again. I opened up the valve and it started up again, although it's going slower than yesterday! So something in the valve is able to block the CO2 - just not control it.

That's the one. They're sending me a new one out to try, and if that doesn't work I can return both. It's working at just under 2 bar apparently, so shouldn't be a pressure issue. Will see next week when it turns up.

Thanks Clive, I'm simply trying to go through each possibility changing one thing at a time, seeing if there is any difference. Trial and error. It was just my thought that if the water was jam packed with loads of solids, it might be harder to dissolve something into than if it had a very low...

I've just rigged it as a second needle valve on the Mini M for fine-tuning, but open or shut makes no difference to flow rate :/

I bought a needle valve from a company on eBay, along with a y splitter. It looks like pretty decent equipment, but I can't get the valve to shut off. I split the line from the FE I use for the Mini M, and set the valve up on my Do!aqua with a glass/ceramic diffuser. I completely shut the...

Thanks :) Has anyone got any other thoughts or explanations either way?

Is there a tap on the cylinder or is it disposable? Are there any max pressure figures for the cylinder? IIRC you need more than 1 bar with an UP atomizer.

That reg should be plenty up to the job I would have thought. Maybe a silly question, but is the main tap fully open? Is it properly attached to the cylinder? Is there a leak anywhere? Do you have a bubble counter?

Thanks Johno - It would make perfect sense for hardness to affect CO2 based on current problems, but then I have seen people adamant about it having nothing to do with it. What's the reasoning for it, do you know?

What are the factors (apart from temperature) that could possibly affect how easily CO2 will dissolve in water or lower the availability to plants? Some say hardness can be a factor, some say outright it's not. I do find it interesting though that I had no CO2 issues at a GH of 1, whereas now I...

Do you find it unstable and hard to adjust? I'm trying to increase the bps to say 2.5bps, but within an hour it's back to below 2. Would a second needle valve help this and just leave the UP one open? I'm a bit worried for my week's holiday if it drops like that. Tom

You can often exchange them for filled ones in shops that sell fire extinguishers. Or some people have done it at fire stations.

Mine lasted about 2 months at 1bps if I remember right, so that's about the same. Get a Fire Extinguisher, a 2kg or something. You can get it refilled so much cheaper than a JBL cylinder.

Is welding gas disposable and cheaper than a FE?

Thanks! Does anyone know if the Fluval/TMC/D-D/Colombo disposable cylinders are all the same screw-fit? Some seem much cheaper than others, and if they fit the same regulators it would be handy

I'm looking for a small CO2 system to run at maybe 1 bubble per 4 seconds 24/7 through a ceramic diffuser in the tank. I'm also on a tight budget, and I thought I'd see if anyone has any recommendations. I'd probably be looking at disposable canisters, but I want something that runs through a...

I used my JBL reg on the 2kg FE before I sold it. Don't JBL do disposable as well in their pressurised kits now?

Recommended by what's on the bottle (roughly), and the fact that it says not to overdose - My question really is how far can you push it before it becomes detrimental? It is also my point that it gives a recommendation, but then there are such a wide range of variables. Because it is 5x the...

Is the stability of Excel just as important as actual CO2? Also, how much Excel is too much? People talk about overdosing Excel, but never seem to give an amount. I've been dosing the recommended amount (about 0.2ml) in the cube but I started to get BBA on the Crypts. I've been increasing it...

George - they are assuming that if the pH still goes down while the plants are using the CO2, then there must be more than enough. As you and Matt both point out there are too many variables, especially with their substrates. But then surely the substrate won't have that acute an effect as to...

How true is this statement from the online AquaJournals? From this, I understand that if the pH of the water drops during photosynthesis then there must be enough CO2 as the level of CO2 being injected is greater than that which is being used by the plants. This is assuming it's the carbon...

Probably not, but it certainly won't hurt. Tom

It probably fits the disposable bottles doesn't it?

Don't be stupid :wink: :lol: You would need a hell of a lot of fizzy water, and would get pretty expensive. :) Tom

Yes, it's a direct fit.

I've got the 'UP' reg in the second link on my FE, and have been very pleased with it. Nice and easy to use and adjust. Tom

JBL pH reagent :) It's a couple of years old though, but I can't find a best before date on it.

Yes, bright red! It's now more or a pinky orange. I think a clean might be needed!

I changed the liquid in my drop checker yesterday, and all seemed to be fine. It went from Green to Yellow as normal after changing, which is probably about right. This morning, however, it is bright red. Personally I've never seen a red drop checker before, so I'm assuming something is wrong...

I'm sure some will suggest you might benefit from doubling your turnover to begin with. My EX1200 gives me roughly 650lph with media in and connected up, which if yours is the same would give you less than 2x actual turnover. An atomizer or reactor would still be the best bet for your tank...

It's the brand of atomizer. eBay it ;)

Inline any day

You would be having to "drip" a serious amount of fizzy water in!!

I have been very happy with my UP atomoizer. At 1-2bps there are no fine bubbles at all in my tank at all, and I get 100% CO2 dissolved. My drop checker is always yellow now :)

Best thing to do would be to try it. I'll stand by my guess for now, but if it works well through both then that's great. If not, you can always stick to the inline on it's own (or split between 2 inline diffusers). If it does work for you, then it would still be my guess that the ceramic...

It will still be very uneven, even if some does go through the ceramic. There is no backpressure from a ladder, so the CO2 will take the easiest route (as Paulo says in post 10!!). I think having it inline is just a way to dissolve the microbubbles easier, and keep equipment out of the tank itself.

If you used an inline ceramic and a ladder, wouldn't the majority of the CO2 come out of the ladder? It takes much more pressure to push CO2 through the ceramic disc, so it may just all come out of the ladder. I would think that if you were going to split it, each end would need the same back...

Would you get an even supply through each side if you did that? I've been wondering about it.

How efficient are these Sam? It says it can get "complete dissolved rate", but I'm not confident...!

I'm also thinking about one for the Mini M. I don't want a diffuser in the tank, and I'm fed up of just feeding it into the inlet and having the filter fill up with CO2!

I just squirt mine with the daily dose of Excel and leave the filter off for a couple of minutes :p

Yep, they will state an acceptable pH but to be honest, fish will tolerate a pretty wide range of pHs. If you think about fish imports, if you measure the pH in a bag of 1000 guppies that come in from Singapore, it's a good bet it would be around 4 - 5.5. The problem comes when the pH swings too...

Don't worry about the pH! The CO2 concentration is more important. If you use 4KH water in your drop checker with pH test kit, it won't matter at all what pH or KH your tank water is (within reason obviously). The fish really won't be all that bothered either.

Agreed with above :)

Yeah that's more what I would expect, but the way it was going with this valve, I don't think it would ever have got up to speed! Each morning I've had to give it a blast of CO2 then settle it back down to the rate I wanted. Should be better now.

I tried this test this morning, and found no difference in pH whatsoever, but my drop checker is showing green. Is one of them wrong? My pH is showing 7.5-8 Tom

I've sorted the problem why it took so long to build up again. One of the non-return valves was so stiff that it was backing up the pressure. The CO2 had supposedly been on for 3 hours already this morning (lights not on till 11) but I was still lucky to get 2 bubbles per minute. I removed...

I've just started using this reg on my nano with a 2kg FE Tom

Probably an external reactor

Cheers, it's the cheapy non return valve I'm most worried about, so might swap it to the JBL one

Well it kept popping off my diffuser, however it is very slightly harder and less stretchy than my JBL black CO2 tubing. I'm having to use the JBL tube to connect the bubble counter and the diffuser so it stays attached, which is annoying as it's black whereas the Chinese stuff is...

The packet just says Aquarium Accessories and then some Chinese writing, but it was definitely labelled as CO2

This is from AE - I can't remember the brand but it was Chinese - Maybe Boyu Silicon "CO2" tubing, but it definitely said for CO2. I can't get the AE website to work at the moment to check. If that's all it is it's not a massive problem as I will just turn the CO2 on an hour earlier than I am...

Hi all, I've recently started using the 2 gauge UP regulator with solenoid valve on my FE at about 1 bubble per 3 seconds (20bpm). I've noticed that overnight when the solenoid switches on, the pressure in the silicon tubing completely drops and it takes a couple of hours to build up again in...

As long as the water can't enter the regulator, it should be OK. Do you have any non-return valves? Tom

There's a way by testing the kH, but it's not accurate as there are too many variables. Drop checker is the best way I know of, provided you use 4kH water in it. As for how many bubbles... how big is the tank?

Just extract Clive's entire post history and publish it :p It would be a bit more like Jeremy Clarkson's books compiled of chronological newspaper columns, only it would make sense and have some use...

But surely large shifts in pH won't be great, right?

It will not harm fish as long as you keep it stable. So a solenoid to turn it off at night is a good idea. [EDIT] by the way I'm selling my reg/solenoid valve on eBay item number 220468736530 [Mod edit - no direct links ;)] Tom

I am currently using 1 bps on my 40cm. Have previously had it at 2 bps for "At Forest's Gate". Turn it up a bit and see how you get on Tom

I think FE's in the USA have a different thread. Sorry, can't help more though. Tom

Ah, think Ive sorted it! Non return valve was going both ways and water was syphoning down :shock: Fixed now I hope Tom

Just now, I changed my normal airline for CO2 tubing. Before I had a solid 1bps, now I'm getting nothing for a few seconds, then about 10 bubbles in a go. I can't find it leaking anywhere. What have I missed? Tom

Could there have been a leak anywhere? Have you got a solenoid that could be cutting the CO2 flow off?(but then it still shouldnt show 0 pressure I suppose) Tom

I'd imagine you would lose quite a bit of flow from the splits in the pipe. Rejoining the pipes might slow it down further though. Looks like a good plan otherwise. EDIT: as Ed says, putting them in series would make it more efficient Tom

Couldn't you soak it in bleach like any other diffuser? It shouldn't get as dirty either, as it shouldn't be in direct light Tom

I might just get one for when I set up my DIY 60p and DIY cabinet that I'm making between now and christmas. Now where's that christmas list gone ......... Oh well its ONLY money, and everyone knows us students are rich! :lol: Might get some lily pipes while I'm at it :shock:

Does anyone have one?? Do they work better than the normal ceramic diffusers? They look pretty good from the description http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... ts_id=1370 Tom