Help, I have cloudy water.

[LittleMossHead84]

So today I woke up, tested my tank and now my parameters are:

PH- 6.8
NO2-.25 ppm
Ammonia-0ppm
NO3-0ppm

My water is crystal clear. I need help on the Co2. Id like to have Co2 in my tank but I need help with the regulator valves and controlling it from getting into my tank. Advice please.

[Blueiz]

A check valve is a must, the ones that you buy to put on airline tubing from your air pump to the tank to prevent water back flow will do.

Making a bubble counter will stop the problem of any that makes it past the check valve by making the co2 flow through water before going into your tank. Here are two links on how to make them yourself.

Bubble Counter for CO2

DIY CO2 bubble counter and checkvalve - AquaticQuotient.com

[timwag2001]

the only thing a check valve does is stop water from flowing from the tank when you're changing your batches. otherwise it does nothing.


here is a better picture of what a bubble counter is.
CO2 Generator and Reactor
like blueiz said the water filters everything going into your tank. (like a water bong)

[fort384]

Here is a pic of the DIY setup I used to use... the bubble counter/gas separator is in the middle... just a rigid airline tube running from the co2 container side, and another bulkhead at the top with the airline running to the diffuser. This setup will separate out any floccuated yeast and mix that might creep up, keeping it out of your tank, as well as offer a nifty way to measure the "bubbles per second" to judge how well your mix is doing.

I never used a checkvalve on my setup and didn't have any problems, but it couldn't hurt. The only thing is you will need to change the check valve out every 6-12 months as CO2 is corrosive to the plastic, and the check valve will eventually fail.