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For a 200l tank you maybe better off buying parts separately as opposed to a kit. A 2kg fire extinguisher along with a reg, solonoid and needle valve maybe the cheaper option. Throw in a bubble counter, drop checker and some co2 tubing and your ready. You'll just need to decide on your diffuser...

I've thought about this in the past and would switch output sides so if the left filter is running co2 then take the outflow from the left and return on the right. Same with heating side on the right, outflow from right and return on the left. That way heated and co2 enriched water should mix...

In the BB mix what is the other 99.96%? Would that possibly have any effect on results?

The tube is to allow rapid venting of contents under normal use. With a reg hooked up this is really restricting the flow from the cylinder. Not much to worry about imho.

Try this! Clean out and refill dropchecker with fresh solution when you have a day to yourself. Start early, fire up co2 leave light's off. Check DC colour hourly. This will help you find an injection rate that will saturate your water column in a given time. If it takes more than 3-4 hours...

What are the dimensions and volume of your tank?

A minute or so on some setups is normal due to pressure dropping in the pipework, I get this myself. Anything after a couple of minutes would suggest a faulty valve.

I've just had my 1st run dry and noticed I was getting less gas. You'll see the pressures go down. If you have a dual reg once the working pressure goes down you almost out. Next time, as I now have a spare, I would change just after a noticeable pressure drop instead of upping the injection...

That LFS sounds a bit pricey. I got my 3kg bottle from a homebrew shop for £45, with £10 refills. :thumbup:

I'm not 100% sure on paintball cylinders but your CGA 320 reg should fit the smaller homebrew cylinders, approx 600-800gms. Just another option you can consider. ;)

It may be best to reduce the lighting somehow if you do this, but again this depends on how much light you are using. The best policy would be gas out = lights out.

After moving house last year the homebrew shop I got my cylinder from is a good 30-35 miles away. May have to snag one to keep me going when I run out. :thumbup:

I think Clive or Tom scraped on this in another recent thread. I think the conclusion was the amounts were low in the given range. I try and do my WC's on my co2 enriched tank prior to co2 "on" time to keep things as stable as possible.

I think 2-3 weeks is the given time for recovery, adoption to new conditions. Only time will tell for your HC. I know the feeling of wanting to tweak. I almost gassed my livestock yesterday after replacing my bubble counter for one that doesn't lose water and tweaking it up a little. Bubbles in...

Re: Co2 & nutrients Light > Co2 > Nutrients. It will depend on your current dosing. More light will cause more demand for nutrients if sufficient co2 is available. A tank with a yellow drop checker would not need additional ferts if the lighting hasn't been increased. The demand is driven by...

3 bps means nothing at all. If your have 4dkh solution in your dropchecker and it's still blue you need to increase your injection rate.

Empty cylinder?

Hope i'm not stating the obvious but have you tried opening the needle valve a little? I find sometimes this can help the gas, "break the seal" as it were.

If you acclimatize them gradually prior to co2 on the should be fine, but then we don't know your levels of co2. If they show any bad signs cut co2 and raise inflow to gas off excess co2. I'm sure it would be fine if your other fish are fine and should adjust as the gas is injected.

Consider bubble rate a personal benchmark for you to adjust from. Same size tank could be 2bps on one and 10 bps on the other. There are way too many variables that affect it. Only on smaller tanks when your injecting 1bps could it be any use.

Ignore bubble rates. Some may run lower counts but it will vary from setup to setup depending on equipment used. I run with an Up Inline and about 8-10 bps on a rio 125. Also you will lose a lot of flow momentum the way you are setup. Check this thread for more details. viewtopic.php?f=37&t=20097

I'm using a TMC V2 reg and Up inline myself and have no problems with it. I would try it with an "in tank" diffuser if you have one. Maybe the up inline is clogged?

Fire extinguishers use a DIN 477 type fitting. As long as the reg is DIN 477 your fine. As to how long it will last, this will vary on how fast you have to inject gas to maintain levels. This comes down to what type of diffuser you use and your flow/distribution.

Good move. If you leave it in place for 2-3 weeks it will scrape off so much easier. ;)

Dont fancy oto's?

It looks fine. My flow was a little weak so I taped up every other hole to increase the velocity slightly. What I do is look down the tank from the side. With the co2 mist on I can see it going down the front glass then rolling to the back of the tank. Remember though, if all plants are gently...

Up inlines are good I love mine. As already posted, give it 2-3 weeks before making any assumptions or tweaks. Your plants need time to adjust to the new conditions.

Looks a lot better at substrate level now. I went back to your opening post and noticed you have twin T8's over 130l. I have the twin T5's over 125l . Will be interesting to see how things improve over the coming weeks. I have to agree with Clive about powerheads looking uglier than a...

I think it maybe whats bouncing off the left side and coming along the front glass higher up in the water column. That flow may push some along the bottom near the front, if you understand what I mean. Back to front will give best results though as it has a lot less distance to travel.

Exactly this. On my 125l the filter is rated at 1250lph so 10x rule is covered. Using inline atomiser which may reduce flow a little and using a spraybar the length of the tank I had to tape up every other hole as the velocity dropped off. Bouncing it from the back to the front you can watch...

You can see the co2 bubbles flying across the tank at around mid level. Flow looks good in the top half of the water column. Unfortunately, you want it like that at the substrate. Running the outlet across the length of the tank means by the time it hits the opposite wall it has lost a lot of...

What is the substrate? I have Oliver Knot in a nano and when I moved plants around everything gets covered in a similar fashion. Could the substrate be deteriorating and giving off this dust as it's an old setup?

Have another look at the shot of your dropchecker. I don't think it is pearling! :wink:

I was thinking as co2 bubbles rise it will show higher reading near the surface but 99% of you plant mass is in the lower water column. There could be a big difference in co2 levels. I remember another thread about this tank a while ago and think the outcome was lack of ferts. If I remember...

I would move the drop checker lower. You are getting readings near the surface when a few inches off the substrate co2 levels could be totally different.

Co2 uptake is capped by light. Light drives demand for co2 - nutrients. Adding more co2 allows you to use stronger lighting, which will then drive up demand for nutrients. Excess co2 won't cause more demand for light. Light is the overall driving force.

Noise first, You may hear a click when the solenoid goes on or off. As for electricity cost's, a timer unit and a solenoid valve won't be making a noticeable difference. If you are still running the internal filter then upgrading this area would also be a good move, especially with pressurized co2.

I would be more inclined to run the spraybar along the back of the tank, top of your picture. As it is now the flow has to travel the full width of the tank before hitting a wall and being pushed down and back. With the spraybar on the back, you will gain flow rate as the flow has less distance...

Re: Bottle of drop checker solution mysteriously changing co If this is the one from AE I've had a similar problem but mine went cloudy. I was sent a replacement, used a new pipette and within a week it happened again. I have no idea what was going on with it.

If it's the glass type I notice mine will shoot a jet of water up towards the diffuser when the gas comes on. I'm sure it gets lost in this way.

Within here lies the answer.

I would of thought bigger bubbles dissolve less into the water column and being more buoyant would tend to rise and gas off easier. I had this issue with an internal filter and a glass/ceramic diffuser by the intake. Increase gas, get bigger bubbles that rise too fast and miss the intake rise to...

Sorry I can't help more, I read this post earlier but have nothing else to offer. Just felt right to clear up any missunderstanding on pressures varying on capacity of cylinders. The gas is stored under pressure and that pressure is constant. temperature will affect pressures. On the other...

200gm bottle, 2kg bottle or even a 200kg bottle will all have co2 gas stored at the same pressure. That is what your missing. :thumbup:

If you are concerned about this how about, you start you co2 2 hours prior to lights on. Aim for lime green 2 hours into the photoperiod. As it's "2 hours behind" it will be telling you where you were 2 hours ago when the lights came on? :wink:

Plan A is good. Plan B. I've tried this, was the first pressurised injection method I tried. You have to keep fiddling with diffuser position and watch co2 bubbles rise past filter inlets and vent off to atmosphere. Plan C is also viable and sometimes used when multiple filters are used. The...

Plan A is far superior to plan B.

Was typing at work so, consider 2kg co2 fire extinguisher is discharged in around 12-15 seconds, that's how fast it gets dumped. If you've never seen one go off then I'm sure there's plenty of clips on youtube. :thumbup: Slightly off topic but one of my techs spotted a bin fire, well a bit of...

I believe the tube is to assist rapid dumping when used as an extinguisher so the contents can be dumped in seconds. Has no effect with a reg and drip feeding the gas.

That is a long time for it to get started. I get mist within a few minutes of the solenoid kicking in.

Ok, I have no water filling and flowing back, only a few ml. This could be down to check valves as mentioned above. I use only 1 check valve from needle valve to bubble counter. When I set it up I used a high injection rate for the first day or 2 (10-15 bps) then dialed the co2 down and it was...

The co2 mist should be clearly visible moving around the tank I know mine is within a few minutes of the co2 kicking in. If you don't see the mist then that would explain the blue dc. What size is the tank? I'm upto around 5-6 bps now in a 125 using 16/22 atomizer.

I presume if it's not 4dkh then it would give a totally different reading. Only guessing though.

They are all the same. Gas is stored under pressure as liquid.

I was reffering to the Co2 cylinder itself, the gas. is it full? Do you have full one to test? If you have a spare reg it may also be worth trying it out.

Is this a new or old atomizer? If it's old it could be clogged. I had this on a new one for a day or two but it seems to be fine and stable now around 4bps. What you just described I had a while ago using one of those atomic in tank atomizers. Just could not get it to run right. I turn up the...

It's at the end of the photoperiod so not really important if at a slow rate. If you wish to save gas then you can try it off half hour earlier.

Having used an up attomizer for the 1st time for just over a week I kinda like it. Sure it's a little misty but the bubbles are so fine its not a big deal for me. My photoperiod being 4ish - 10:30ish with gas off at 9 means I get an hour to view without mist. I've not used a reactor so cannot...

Cheers Clive. Funny you should mention the "2 hours ago". Makes me wonder how someone can get lime green at lights on with 1 hr co2 injection. You would have to wait till 1 hour into photoperiod for the result. I notice I get a nice paler lime green a few hours into the photoperiod and I...

I have noticed on my new setup that my drop checker is an emerald green right now, the following day just before the gas kicks in again. Am I wrong assuming it should be blue or close to blue? I'm using an UP inline with Eheim 2075 on a Rio 125. Drop checker is around 4" from the substrate...

I've just noticed this on mine. Have reset to around 4bps yesterday, let's see how it goes when it kicks in today. :thumbup:

The link you gave uses sodastream co2 cylinders? These are smaller and generally cost more in the long run for refills. A fire extingusher or large pressurised cylinder build is not overkill, it just means your gas is going to last a lot longer between refills. Fermentation can also be used but...

This is where you can use your jubilee clips. ;)

The injection rate looks too fast on the 1st video as the bubbles are rather large. I had the same happen with one of those super diffusers. That or atomiser is shot.

TMC V2 Pro. The unadjustable one with solonoid and valve. I think it's considered average/budget end of the range. I'm sure I used to get around 3-3.5 bar in use but I just turned gas valve on to check before I posted 4 bar. Solonoid closed as it's not in use right now. 6 bar is red area on...

Thanks, my working pressure is showing 4 bar so should be good to go there. I was concerned with the different design and wondered if I had been sent an inferior product. I'll hang onto it for when I upgrade the 60l but will have to re order a 16/22mm version to get my long overdue 125 setup.

Ok took it out of the packet. The cap unscrews which has a rubber seal. There is a rubber seal in each end cap where the ceramic sits. The packaging states, "Adopt replacement or clean ceramic tube design for durable and safe use. Here it is in pieces.

Ok so I ordered this a while back for my 125 in 16/22mm although I've been sent a 12/16mm version it looks different to the inline UP atomisers i've seen. The listing showed the usual style of UP atomiser. Has anyone seen/used this version? I plan to get an Eheim for my 60l in the new year so...

Is there something about that in the forum terms and conditions. You can always use the links page of this very site and check the sponsors. Most of them stock Co2 equipment. Here ya go. http://www.ukaps.org/links.htm

This varies. There is no cut n dry answer though most use around an hour or two prior to lights on, I had poor diffusion in my 60l and went as high as 3-4 hours to get lime green at lights on. Water temperature along with diffusion and injection rates all vary. You need to make small...

It seems inline Up atomisers are popular and effective right now. I've not used 1 personally but I'm waiting for 1 to turn up for my next tank. :mrgreen:

The gas dissolves better at lower temperatures. That's why Soda Stream adivises to chill the bottles of water before use, to use less gas. Your diffusion sounds ok. So it's back to extra time and injection rate. This is where you need to find the balance. As already mentioned, the safest way...

It's a balancing act. Turning up the gas instead of increasing gas time prior to lights on and you could end up with toxic concentrations of co2 during the photo period. Increasing the pre gas time by half an hour would be the safer option although you may have to tweak both to get where you...

My photo periods tend to start around half 4 when I get in from work. I dose when I get in sometimes before lights on and sometimes just after. If i'm off work sometimes I will flick a tanks lights on a few hours early, when this happens I dose when flicking them on.

I've been using the premix from and AE and all is well. I bought 100ml in May and have plenty left. Only thing is it's gone kind of cloudy in the bottle although a quick shake and a few hours in the tank and it clears and colours back up.

From what I remember reading. Gas out = lights out. Perfect time for a blackout if you fancy it.

Just checked the link, looks like the one I had which I presumed was fixed working pressure. If you find it is adjustable could you please update here as it would be of interest to me. My instructions were vague with no mention of adjustment. Cheers.

Not checked link, at work on smoke break. If it's the tmc with solonoid and needle valve then it is fixed working pressure. Mine is at around 2.5 bar. Din477 is UK standard. Fe's, pub cylinders etc. Cga320 is Usa, paintball and small homebrew cylinders. These have no valve to open - close. The...

The gas will take the path of less resistance. This sounds like it could be a faulty atomiser. Are the co2 bubbles coming out this corner rather large? Have you tried turning the gas up and down? Does this change anything?

The "rush" is most likely due to differing pressures when it starts flowing. Once the gas has pressurised in the line things should be stable.

I am failing to get my head around this conclusion. Your plants appetite for Co2 is driven by light levels therefore supplying more Co2 than their uptake rate wouldn't give any more growth.

Each system will differ on injection rate. I've had to go 4 hours to get lime green at lights on. I could increase injection rate but then waste a lot of gas due to my injection technique. Glass diffuser + internal.

I'm running around the same amount in a 60l tank. Only using a glass diffuser by internal filter intake. Not ideal but until I get an external filter it'll have to do. I have to run 4 hours before photoperiod to get limey green DC.

That one should as it's listed as a "Din 477" connection. I'm using the same unit myself. Some prefer the "seperates" route for higher quality parts but I've had no issues with my unit as yet. The (CGA 320?) version is for USA bottles, paintball and small homebrew cylinders with a central pin.

I was thinking a 5kg co2 extinguisher would euthanise and freeze in 1 process :mrgreen:

I will list it all out and why you need it. Needle valve to control low pressure side of gas injection. Bubble counter. Not needed but gives a visual indication of injection rate. A diffuser. This diffuses co2 gas into small bubbles. Can be in tank glass type or external reactor type for...

Tempted to go post a link on there to see how rude they are.

I should of said I'm only 3 weeks into using pressurized co2 and sharing my experience. I find check valves are slow to respond so if a better quality check valve is available then it would help. I recall reading about a 2nd check valve between bubble counter and diffuser which may help, but I...

When the pressure in the line drops the water falls back till the check valve stops it. When co2 kicks in the line is low pressure and rapid bubbling can force water from counter up and push through diffuser. It's a lose lose situation. Had to top mine up last night. Some water stays in co2...

Going for a larger cylinder just means you will have to buy a regulator that fits it. This is a cheaper option for smaller tanks. Maybe the fire extinguisher threads would be up your street. viewtopic.php?f=37&t=7776 viewtopic.php?f=34&t=266

I've considered dilutiung EC with water to dose nano aquariums to avoid the 0.3ml doses and such. Interested too.

cheers. My logic was telling me but I had to get it confirmed.

Ok, maybe a silly question but would like to make sure before I call this company up. Thanks to anyone who confirms my logic. :oops: I ordered a TMC V2 Pro reg from a UK based aquatics company. They only had 1 version of this reg listed as EU Din 477 type and suitable to fit FE's. The reg...

Disposable yes. Cheaper than Fe, dunno. It's a sticky thread right here in the co2 forums. I bet you've found it now ;)

If you want to go pressurized then I think the welding co2 maybe best for you on a budget. I think there is a sticky on it somewhere around here or did I read it on another board? On phone on lunch at work. Can't hunt it down for you.

Well a quick google search led me back here. viewtopic.php?f=37&t=15435 Seems it should be fine.

Ok scraping the bits together now in preperation of firing up my Rio 125 project. I've been looking at this reg and was curious to if anyone has used/is using this. Looked around for best price. http://www.h2oaquatics.co.uk/saltwater- ... ulator-pro I was going to use an inline UP atomizer and...

Oooh the size of it. I'm getting used to the little gushes and micro bubbles whizzing around in my nano but that may change. It's like an indication that the gas is still going in and help show flow. It sure looks like a beast but a little over my planned budget for this setup. Maybe a contender...

Found and bookmarked. Cheers. :thumbup:

I'm grabbing a Fluval 305 for my 125 tank and was going with an in tank glass diffuser but now I'm pondering over an inline reactor. Apart from keeping more "bits" out of the tank does the inline reactor method have any other benefits over other injection methods? As all this is kinda new to me...