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CO2 Kit for My OSAKA 320

browning IRL

Member
Joined
15 Dec 2008
Messages
42
Location
Naas, Ireland.
Looking for direction for my OSAKA 320 on the most straight forward pressurised CO2 Kit with Solenoid or if not with one can you please recommend a solenoid to purchase. Do want to get into messing around with FE. Safe, reliable, does the job and not costing the earth. Not asking for much am I ?
 
aaronnorth said:
JBL 2kg could cost you around £70!

and the rest... a 500gm cost 70.

just buy a FE of ebay. £18 then just get it refilled. i got 2 FE's and 2 jbl 500g running 2 at a time and 2 for when 1 runs out...so i NEVER get caught out ;)
 
Thanks Guys. Quick question on the solenoid ? Is turning the CO2 Flow off at the regulator a realistic alternative to having a solenoid fitted ??
 
browning IRL said:
Thanks Guys. Quick question on the solenoid ? Is turning the CO2 Flow off at the regulator a realistic alternative to having a solenoid fitted ??
Switching the flow on/off is the same as having a solenoid do this for you. The only problem is are you going to be there to do this one hour before lights on/off every day? This is why most prefer the solenoid approach.

Some just leave the CO2 on 24/7. I would highly recommend the investment in a solinoid if you can. Better for the fauna and saves CO2. Depending on your setup you could save money in the long run (against the 24/7 CO2 injection).

Hope this helps!
 
I personally wouldn't want to turn the reg on and off each day to avoid wear on the parts/seals of the reg. If you really want to avoid getting a solenoid, you could put an in-line valve on the CO2 hose. This would essentially act as a solenoid, as a solenoid is just an electronic valve.

I've been using a Lunapet reg and solenoid on a fire extinguisher for the last couple of weeks and they have been spot on; easy to adjust the flow rate.
 
Thanks Zed, Do you have a link for where I could get my hands on the Lunapet gear you bought. Anything thing I need to look out for as I plan to use a 2kg FE.
 
I bought my gear from this place http://lunapet.de

They also sell via ebay: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Aquarianerversand

Lunapet is quite popular on this forum and others, and gets good feedback. This is the equipment used in the following guide: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=266

I got this regulator: http://www.lunapet.de/co2doppelmanomete ... c8bb5746e0

Solenoid: http://www.lunapet.de/co2-magnetventil- ... c8bb5746e0

Bubble counter: http://www.lunapet.de/co2blasenzähler-p-79.html?osCsid=ec60e38f78795de7692ab3c8bb5746e0

Hose: http://www.lunapet.de/co2schlauch-20-m- ... c8bb5746e0

2 x Check valves: http://www.lunapet.de/co2rückschlagventil-p-84.html?osCsid=ec60e38f78795de7692ab3c8bb5746e0

You need to decide how you want to diffuse the CO2 into the tank ( i.e. glass diffuser in the tank or external reactor)

Using an FE is pretty straight forward with this set up - no need for any adaptors.

Hope that helps. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask. Off to bed now so will check in the morning ;)
 
Hi Zed, Thanks for that. Is there anything else I will need. I managed to navigate the Lunapets website using my Irish understanding of the German Language I managed to order solednoid, regulator, check Valve, piping and bubble counter.
With regard to diffusion , which type do you recommend or do you use ? What are the pros and cons of each type ? Is there any other gear I will need eg needle valves whatever they are ? The prices on Lunapet were good in comparison to what I have seen elsewhere.
 
My GCSE German is long-forgotten, so I just used Google translate ;)

The Lunapet regulator I linked to comes supplied with a needle-valve, so you won't need to order one.
The needle valve is attached to the regulator and provides us with a stream of bubbled co2 from our supply.


I'm just learning the game and don't have enough experience of the internal diffuser v external reactor choice to give advice, but I did my research before obtaining my hardware, and I ordered one of these Rhinox 5000 diffusers, for my 350 litre tank) from Aquaticmagic: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rhinox-5000-Glass ... m153.l1262

...however, I decided to go down the external reactor route to simply minimise the equipment in the tank.

You can see the external reactors (reacktoren) on the lunapet website http://www.lunapet.de/co2aktivaussenrea ... p-147.html but decided to build my own. There are a few pics on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=3871

I don't regret getting the Rhinox 5000 as it will act as a reserve/back-up, just in case I have a problem with my external reactor.

You'll also need a drop-checker. Have a read of this really good article http://www.ukaps.org/higher-tech-tank.htm

Again, I got my drop-checker from Aquaticmagic, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Chameleon-Drop-Ch ... m153.l1262

......... and 4 dkh solution from aquaessentials: http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... ts_id=1977

That's all I can think of in terms of CO2 hardware, but speaking as a newcomer to the 'high-tech' part of the hobby, I would recommend you read the excellent articles here http://www.ukaps.org/articles.htm

Don't worry if you don't take all the info in after the first read. I had to read each one a couple of times to get the concepts right in my head.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you want any clarification.
 
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