Dear Santa...

[Madame_X]

My family won't quit hounding me with, "What do you what for Christmas?" and I can't think of a thing I really want, so I've decided to put a pressurized CO2 system on my list.

I'd like to know what regulators people here are using, where they got them and approximately how much. All price ranges will be considered!

Thanks!

 

[Allivymar]

LOL I was going to ask for a protien skimmer LOL Its gonna be a fishy Xmas I think

Dunno bout the CO2 systems tho. Not ready to go there yet; would be a bit much for the 10g planted *grin*

 

[Guest]

The Milwaukee combo unit is a great unit if you are only going to run one tank and it's under $75 at www.aquatic-store.com right now.

 

[justDIY]

I too have the milwaukee combo, and the milwaukee sms 122 PH controller. nothing better than being able to dial in the desired PH and have the computer do the rest

also when my bottle was badly drained (due to a reactor failure), after correcting the problem, I did not notice any 'end of tank' dump scenarios often described as a pressurized co2 horror story.

 

[Madame_X]

Can someone explain the end of tank dump problem? I've heard a few references to it and don't quite understand what happens. Also, what's the best way to avoid this? Buy two cylinders (yeah, I know its a pricey option, but...)?

Sorry for my ignorance... still trying to figure this stuff out!

 

[justDIY]

supposedly "end of tank dump" occurs when all the liquid CO2 in the bottle is used up and all that remains is a low pressure gas. the regulator cannot handle the low pressure, so it just lets it all go in a final finale, spiking your ph drasticly down.

I think end of tank dump results in people increasing the low pressure aperature as the high pressure drops, to maintain a certain bubble per min that you need without a computerized controller. as they adjust the low pressure side higher and higher, they open themselves up to the grand finale.

suggested ways around it are having two tanks, using a controller, or getting a fast refill. my refill took all of 5 min, took the empty bottle back, they gave me a filled bottle, $10.50 - or I could send my bottle away for 2 weeks to get filled for $8.50.

 

[djlen3]

The end-of-tank dump can be avoided by getting a re-fill when the psi reaches 600lbs. I have found that at that pressure I only have, in the neighborhood of 1lb. of gas left in the tank, so it's worth it to me to do it at that time and avoid the stress of a possible dump.
Your pressure should stay at close to 850psi for most of the tank's life. When you see it start to drop you're getting close to empty. When it reaches 600lbs., get it filled.

Len

 

[BrianNY]

Well Madame X (luv the nic). It looks like Santa will be delivering one of those on Long Island as well. It's 1st on my list.

 

[Robert H]

The milwaukee regultor is only one part of the system. You need some type of reactor that mixes the gas with water.

http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/en-us/dept_3.html

 

[Madame_X]

Thanks... I think I'm going to use the bubble ladder that came with my Hagen system for the time being. I know its not supposed to be the greatest but I have noticed the bubbles are VERY small by the time they get to the top and escape through the vent.

 

[justDIY]

and that's with yeast based co2, which still has a lot of other stuff in it, not just carbon dioxide... the bubble ramp will probably work well, as long as you're just looking to provide a slow steady co2 suppliment.

if you want to control your PH with percision using co2, you need a powered reactor to force a total dissolution of co2 into the water, one that is responsive enough to offset loss of co2 due to evaporation, water movement and plant usage

power filter injection is my recommended method ... reactors get clogged just like anything else that is 'powered' in an aquarium - why add another device to get clogged and need cleaning. both my fluval 404 canister and whisper hob filter both worked real well with co2 injection into the water intake.

 

[betowess]

BTW, I noticed my bubbles are alot larger when I used an extra (leftover) airline hose and cap which came with my mini vortex reactor I bought from www.aquabotanic.com.

I had bought a tank and the milwaukee all in one regulator to use with the mini vortex reactor, thus the leftover airline and 2 liter cap from the mini vortex reactor which comes with those (which allows one to use it with a DIY setup). So I bought an extra ladder to rig another tank and used CC's recipe for a two liter 7-up bottle. This airline probably has a little wider diameter and boy oh boy, it puts out a bubble a whole lot larger than the hagen unit. I assume I'm getting greater CO2 saturation with it. Food for thought.