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First CO2 Setup - Cannister Questions

Joined
5 Aug 2015
Messages
28
Location
Shipston-on-Stour
I've recently bought my first CO2 kit and went for a Pro-Elite Series Complete Aquarium CO2 System, which I have yet to set up.

The trouble I'm having is that I don't know where to start with regards to the cannister. My LFS has confirmed they sell the following sizes.

0.5L - £49.50
1L - £67.75
2L - £104.50
3L - £146.75
The re-fills start from £9.95

The questions I have are:
Are these good prices?
What size would I need to serve a 240l?
Are there any restriction on size to fit in my Roma 240 cabinet?

Many thanks!
 
You are better to seek out a Fire Extinguisher, I pay £10 for 2Kg, probably the 3L size in your above prices.

With 240litres and this being your first time at CO2, you will be looking at possibly 2Kg of CO2 lasting maybe 2 months (or less) if you are lucky, thus source of cheap refills is a necessity. I get about 100days from 2Kg FE on my 180litre tank, but has taken years to get usage this low and optimal CO2 levels.

Locate as many fire extinguishers as you can, work, library, shops etc and phone the companies numbers on them and see what they will supply you. Nearly out of date extinguishers will be fine (they have the manufacture date stamped on the neck), the cylinders have a 10 year life before they must be pressure tested, so ones with 1-2 years to go are not suitable for commercial use but fine for fish.

Another source of CO2 is pub gas. Again use "yellow pages" (hmm doesn't exist anymore) and phone round pub gas suppliers and see what they can do. Typically a 3.15KG filled cylinder will cost £70 with refills for £15 odd. Often they will collect and deliver at that price, though worth finding someone local you can take the empty to, to be refilled. Also do smaller at 1.1Kg and bigger at 6.3Kg.
 
Yes this is suitable, albeit a tad expensive. Cheaper available on Ebay.

Again find someone local who you can collect (or will deliver) and will be much cheaper. Just phone the company phone numbers on other peoples extinguishers, that's what I did.

Also try and find local pub gas supplier, again cheaper.
6.3Kg for £55 cylinder deposit and £15 for refill. Careful 6.3Kg cylinder is big..
https://www.adamsgas.co.uk/product/carbon-dioxide-3-15kg-new-cylinder-for-home-bar/
 
I'm new to the CO2 scene also, and if yours is the pro elite..... would it be by CO2 art, the same as mine?
I rang round a couple of CO2 suppliers, and I hired a 6.35 kg bottle for £50.
It's £16.20 to get it filled.
 
I'm new to the CO2 scene also, and if yours is the pro elite..... would it be by CO2 art, the same as mine?

Yes, that's the same one as mine. Can't wait to get it set up!

the cylinders have a 10 year life before they must be pressure tested, so ones with 1-2 years to go are not suitable for commercial use but fine for fish.

Does this mean I'm looking for fire extinguishers roughly 8 years old? If they arn't pressure tested, are they safe?
 
So there are two CO2 FEs in my office which have just expired being over 10 years old. Are these okay to use?
Aquatic use yes, as commercial fire extinguishers no.

Only issue is old ones might have leaked and contain less than 2Kg CO2. Easy to check, the filled weight is stamped on the neck, normally around 5.8Kg.

I have used numerous "expired" fire extinguishers, all were still full weight CO2 and plants didn't complain.

You won't be able to get them refilled, without getting them tested, but you may have issues disposing of the empty cylinders. Round my way only one or two local tips take old fire extinguishers, as you can't just bung an empty one in the bin, they have to be disposed properly.
 
I now have the CO2 kit set up which has been running since Saturday with an inline diffuser. I am running it for 10 hours from 11am to 9pm, with the lights coming on/off an hour after each time.

Intially I had the bubble counter going like the clappers, probably in excess of 100/minute and the drop checker turned a lovely shade of green. Having done more reading, I turned it down to 35/minute, but now find that the drop checker is always dark green/almost blue. Should I turn the bubbles up again?

The tank is a Roma 240 and I have a Fluval Aquasky 1.0 which I find quite shite. Will be swapping it for a Fluval Planted 3.0 in the near future.
 
Most folk will turn the C02 on 2-3 hours before the lights and have it go off 1-2 hours before lights out.
I use around 5-6 bps on my 200l tank but quoting the bubble count is a little irrelevant and only a guid for your personal set up. However don’t be surprised to be using over 200 - 400 bubbles per minute!

A very popular experiment is to form a PH chart using a cheap (or expensive) PH pen.
This will tell you a lot about the stability of the system.
If you don’t have any fish, it is safe to experiment with the C02 but otherwise be very careful.
 
I've been running CO2 for a few months now and having good results with fast growing plants, but all my anubias' melted so not sure I have the balance right yet.

I've noticed that my fire extinguisher is nearing the red area on the pressure guage. When should I replace it? Is it safe when it's in the red zone?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
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