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CO2 and manifolds for nano tanks: newbie

Yes, but that’s GLA (high quality/standards etc)

I don’t see any reason not to run a multi-manifold
(and you can try splitters after the manifold - I think you have a 2way at present? ... just check very carefully for leaks Snoop is worth the small investment ;))

Ta for that. Especially for the link to Snoop, which my son swore up and down was not a real thing: "The pros use soapy water, Mum, I promise you that there is no such thing as specialised leak detector fluid." :rolleyes: Of course, locating some in rural Ireland is not going to be easy- there's one distributor in Dublin, and Dublin is on lockdown right now.

I have two manifolds at present- the one that came with the regulator, plus one more. I don't really fancy trying a splitter- each manifold has its own bubble counter, and as my tanks are all over my living room, it's good to have some kind of central visual feedback, which I imagine would be a little more awkward with a splitter (I know inline bubble counters are a thing, but I don't fancy having an octopus of CO2 line with inline bubble counters- the manifolds would make a far neater job of it).

I'm still wanting a good understanding of what I'm doing here. It's frustrating to ask "can I use a bunch of manifolds?" and have people suggest that I simply buy another regulator without really answering my question. I may well buy a second regulator eventually, but that doesn't mean I don't want an answer to my original question.

So, again: what are the potential drawbacks running several manifolds, beyond the obvious "you will drain the CO2 cannister more quickly"?
 
“The pros use soapy water, Mum, I promise you that there is no such thing as specialised leak detector fluid."
No idea which pros those might be ;)
I’ve used soapy water too when I couldn’t find the Snoop - for bigger leaks, it doesn’t matter; for slow leaks, the viscosity of Snoop makes the difference

I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of running long CO2 lines, if you do this, buy proper CO2 tubing and fittings and monitor your CO2 usage so you can pick up on leaks (not just at the joins but leaks that can occur in the length of tubing)

Maybe post some photos of your current setup
 
So, again: what are the potential drawbacks running several manifolds, beyond the obvious "you will drain the CO2 cannister more quickly"?
I would have thought that the main challenge will be adjusting the bubble count in each. You change one and it’s likely to affect the others.
 
No idea which pros those might be ;)
I’ve used soapy water too when I couldn’t find the Snoop - for bigger leaks, it doesn’t matter; for slow leaks, the viscosity of Snoop makes the difference.

Well, my son is not a pro, for sure (he's an adult, in case someone thinks I was leaving it in the hands of a child/teen). He acts as my handyman, though in this case I said "would you please tighten this one bit for me, I'm not strong enough" and instead he took it away and put the whole thing together, thinking I'd be pleased, even though it's my equipment, I've done all the research on it, and he never even looked at the instructions. :rolleyes: There were definitely a load of problems that had to be fixed after that, starting with his "that's just a small leak, it shouldn't matter" resulting in a cannister lasting exactly six days. :banghead:

I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of running long CO2 lines, if you do this, buy proper CO2 tubing and fittings and monitor your CO2 usage so you can pick up on leaks (not just at the joins but leaks that can occur in the length of tubing)

See, this is the kind of info I need, that is extremely hard to find. I have indeed run one long piece of line, of about 10 feet- it is proper CO2 tubing, run carefully around the underside of our marble hearth. At the aquarium end, I have a check valve and about 6 inches of silicone line attached to the glass diffuser- this was recommended on the Aquasabi site, so that I would not break the glass whilst putting on or taking off hard CO2 line- but I'm going to replace that diffuser with a J-pipe soon and then I won't need to use silicone at all. All but 2 inches of the silicone is currently submerged, and I leak tested it from the check valve by submerging the lot in the tank. I am aware that the silicone will deteriorate, which is why I intend to replace the diffuser to make it unnecessary.

I don't know if it's possible that the CO2 line could start to leak along its length rather than at a join. If/when I get a second regulator, the line running along the hearth will be the first bit to go.

Maybe post some photos of your current setup

I will do that later- it'll involve a bit of crawling around on the floor, and there's a Tesco delivery due any moment, so this isn't a great time to do it.

I would have thought that the main challenge will be adjusting the bubble count in each. You change one and it’s likely to affect the others.

Thank you! I appreciate everyone's patience with my "but why?" questions. I have noticed with the current two that they both need to be adjusted at the same time, and I can imagine it will be more difficult/annoying with the addition of more.
 
Just because I hate it when people start a thread then never follow up to see how it turned out:

I fully understand the drawback of using several manifolds now. Even with just two, I'm having to adjust them both every single day when the solenoid flips on (I assume this is normal, and is what everyone was trying to warn me about?).

At the moment we can detect no leaks, but I bought a 5kg canister anyway, which arrived today. Hopefully it'll last me six months or more, which would be ideal if "rolling lockdowns" are going to be a thing for a year or two. Have not yet worked out where to get said canister refilled, but I have one lead locally- currently shut due to lockdown, will consult next month when they re-open. If all else fails, I can have it refilled by the guy who sold it to me (several counties over) which will cost me a fortune in shipping. If that fails, I know someone in Dublin. And if even that fails, I can fall back on SodaStream from Argos, as I have the adapter for it.
 
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