Can you looks over this co2 setup

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bracey87

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
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Ok so I'm new to co2 injection thing actually haven't even started yet love the plants in my 140l tank but they just don't seem to be growing just staying alive hence co2 this is what I want to give ago if you think it's safe enough:
2kg co2 fire extinguisher
Co2 simple gauge needle valve regulator with bubble counter ,will post a pic
Non return check valve
Co2 diffuser
All in will probably cost me around £50 does this seem ok to everyone or am I missing something ?

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Given that the regulator only has one valve, you will have to open and close the main knob daily. Of course, this will require resetting the bubble count rate which can be a big inconvenience. I'm thinking that the regulator has an internal valve that maintains a set working pressure (as opposed to one the can be set).
I don't know the monetary conversion rate to US dollars so I cannot comment on the value of the deal.
IMO I would get a single or two stage regulator with two knobs (working pressure adjustment and fine needle adjustment), two gauges (tank pressure and working pressure), and solenoid. The solenoid is a valve that, when connected to a timer and power source, will open and close at the selected times, thus regulating the availability of CO2 gas. This will automate the system and reduce the risk of over dosing the tank with CO2.


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Thanks for the reply I was planning on jst using the one knob to shut it on and of when needed, is reseting the bubble rate that much hard work then I thought it would be quite easy with jst a slight nudge to the knob to get the 1 bubble per second I'll be looking for ?

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And £50 is about $70 and I know what you mean about the two gauge with solenoid which I would prefer but looking to go cheapest I can to start of with to see how it gos and the regulators your on about would set me back about another £30 so about $42

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The fine adjustment knob is very sensitive on my Aquatek regulator. Even a slight nudge can send it from 1 to 5 bps. I killed off a school of Furcata rainbows by not watching it carefully. It has to be adjusted and monitored to make sure it is where I want it. Currently I am only adjusting it every few months at best.


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And £50 is about $70 and I know what you mean about the two gauge with solenoid which I would prefer but looking to go cheapest I can to start of with to see how it gos and the regulators your on about would set me back about another £30 so about $42

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Have a look on co2Art.co.uk

http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...regulator-dual-gauged-solenoid-magnetic-valve

The solenoid will allow you to put it on a timer so you can set the bubble rate and forget it. They also do an adaptor for soda steam co2 bottles that's what I use because of space restraints. You buy a soda stream bottle from Argos for £20 and when it runs out you take it back and swap it for a new one for a tenner.

The website also does full kits for a good price because you will need things like co2 tubing and the bubble counter has a check valve built in so two birds with one stone. You also get a drop checker with solution and a fine most diffuser for about £100. They don't supply suction cups though but they sell them separately.


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Here's the kit I bought

http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...uarium-co2-system-for-planted-tank-up-to-500l

Everything for an extra £50. It's only £80 total without the sodastream adaptor and you get free next day delivery on orders over £80.

If you do buy from here or any reg for that matter, make sure you leak test the regulator first. Plug solenoid in and allow gas in to the reg then switch the bottle off. If the contents gauge drops overnight you have a leak. My first reg had a leak and I spent a lot of money resolving it but co2art were pretty good about it and sent me a new one straight away. When you first pressurise open the needle valve to allow the gas to enter the system slowly as it can damage the regulator apparently.


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Have a look on co2Art.co.uk

http://www.co2art.co.uk/collections...regulator-dual-gauged-solenoid-magnetic-valve

The solenoid will allow you to put it on a timer so you can set the bubble rate and forget it. They also do an adaptor for soda steam co2 bottles that's what I use because of space restraints. You buy a soda stream bottle from Argos for £20 and when it runs out you take it back and swap it for a new one for a tenner.

The website also does full kits for a good price because you will need things like co2 tubing and the bubble counter has a check valve built in so two birds with one stone. You also get a drop checker with solution and a fine most diffuser for about £100. They don't supply suction cups though but they sell them separately.


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I like the sound of the soda stream set up but they are only 60l canisters which doesn't seem like alot is it ? How often would I need to exchange it my tanks 140l so about 38 gallons I think

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I like the sound of the soda stream set up but they are only 60l canisters which doesn't seem like alot is it ? How often would I need to exchange it my tanks 140l so about 38 gallons I think

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I've got a 180 litres but can't say for sure as I've been inconsistent with using it and I run a low light set up which means I don't need as much.


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I also bought two bottles so that when one runs out I can just swap it over with a full one which gives me time to get to Argos to swap the empty one out. You don't need to do this right away of course but something to consider. It might be better for you to use a fire extinguisher. If you can put up with a FE in your room and have the space, are OK tampering with it to get it to work and have somewhere close by that are not funny about refilling them then go for FE.


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I've got a 180 litres but can't say for sure as I've been inconsistent with using it and I run a low light set up which means I don't need as much.


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Thanks for the reply just wondering what is a low light setup I hear alot about them but not sure what counts as low light my tank runs 2x13w t5's is that what people mean by low light ? And I'll prob be using the co2 inconsistently cause I don't want a over the top heavily planted tank just a few ferns and abit of moss on the bogwood just want it too give the plants a boost and flourish nicely

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Here's the kit I bought

Advance Complete Sodastream Aquarium CO2 System for Planted Tank up to | CO2Art.co.uk

Everything for an extra £50. It's only £80 total without the sodastream adaptor and you get free next day delivery on orders over £80.

If you do buy from here or any reg for that matter, make sure you leak test the regulator first. Plug solenoid in and allow gas in to the reg then switch the bottle off. If the contents gauge drops overnight you have a leak. My first reg had a leak and I spent a lot of money resolving it but co2art were pretty good about it and sent me a new one straight away. When you first pressurise open the needle valve to allow the gas to enter the system slowly as it can damage the regulator apparently.


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This is encouraging!

I'm currently looking at co2art and co2supermarket for regulator, solenoid, and pressure adjustable system. Also any reviews/thoughts on the bazooka diffuser?
 
I also bought two bottles so that when one runs out I can just swap it over with a full one which gives me time to get to Argos to swap the empty one out. You don't need to do this right away of course but something to consider. It might be better for you to use a fire extinguisher. If you can put up with a FE in your room and have the space, are OK tampering with it to get it to work and have somewhere close by that are not funny about refilling them then go for FE.


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That was another thing I was worried about finding somewhere that would refill the fe as for storing it I would put it in aquarium cabinet but talking to you I'm turning more towards the sodastream route now thanks for the info ?

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Thanks for the reply just wondering what is a low light setup I hear alot about them but not sure what counts as low light my tank runs 2x13w t5's is that what people mean by low light ? And I'll prob be using the co2 inconsistently cause I don't want a over the top heavily planted tank just a few ferns and abit of moss on the bogwood just want it too give the plants a boost and flourish nicely

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No problem. Just to clarify, when I said inconsistent I mean I stopped using it altogether for a while. You don't want to keep switching it on and of every few days as this will lead to plant problems. You leave the co2 running while the lights are on so you will need a timer for the lights and a timer for the co2 Solenoid that both come on at the same time. Some people have co2 come on an hour before the lights to ensure there is a good amount of co2 when light comes on and photosynthesis begins.

For example. I have my lights and co2 come on at 12pm. And go off at 8pm. This means that co2 is off at night so it doesn't build up because the plants are not removing it at night.

Light depends on your tank dimensions, mainly depth but also width and your water turbidity/dissolved organics.

In short, we measure light intensity as PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) this is the light that is in the suitable wavelength to allow plants to photosynthesise. It's basically visible light. You don't need to worry about wavelengths because your tubes will have adequate wavelength output.

But we need to think about intensity. Have a look at this diagram.

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1460190687.716016.jpg

The S is your source your t5 bulb. You can see that the closest square to the light has the smallest area and so the photons emitted from the source are closer together. If you had plants in this square they would be receiving more photons. But look at the last square. Now we have moved further away from the light or deeper down into the aquarium for our purpose, the photons have spread out. Therefore if we had plants planted in the last square they will not be receiving the same amount of photons. A light that is high light puts out more red lines and covers more area over a greater depth.

The more photons hitting the plant leaves the faster the rate of photosynthesis and so the plant has to take up more carbon and more nutrients to match the rate of photosynthesis which means that if you have high PAR and don't supply carbon and nutrients the plants will die. However if you have low PAR the plants don't need as much carbon or nutrients and so some people get away without using any additional carbon at all. I have chosen to supply it even though it's not needed in large quantities. Therefore I have it entering the tank at a low setting or 'bubble rate' so in my current system, the only limiting factor is light. As long as there is enough of it for the plants to grow they will just grow more slowly but still healthy.

You can't measure PAR without a special PAR meter. T5 bulbs come as high output or normal output. High output drastically increased PAR. You need to know which ones you have and your tank depth before we can even begin to estimate your current PAR.

Hope this makes sense.


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Last edited:
This is encouraging!

I'm currently looking at co2art and co2supermarket for regulator, solenoid, and pressure adjustable system. Also any reviews/thoughts on the bazooka diffuser?


Seems ok thrills but I'm not an expert on hardware. Very fine mist. I find that if you have the mist low the bubbles are carried further around the tank and stay in the water longer.


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No problem. Just to clarify, when I said inconsistent I mean I stopped using it altogether for a while. You don't want to keep switching it on and of every few days as this will lead to plant problems. You leave the co2 running while the lights are on so you will need a timer for the lights and a timer for the co2 Solenoid that both come on at the same time. Some people have co2 come on an hour before the lights to ensure there is a good amount of co2 when light comes on and photosynthesis begins.

For example. I have my lights and co2 come on at 12pm. And go off at 8pm. This means that co2 is off at night so it doesn't build up because the plants are not removing it at night.

Light depends on your tank dimensions, mainly depth but also width and your water turbidity/dissolved organics.

In short, we measure light intensity as PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) this is the light that is in the suitable wavelength to allow plants to photosynthesise. It's basically visible light. You don't need to worry about wavelengths because your tubes will have adequate wavelength output.

But we need to think about intensity. Have a look at this diagram.

View attachment 286067

The S is your source your t5 bulb. You can see that the closest square to the light has the smallest area and so the photons emitted from the source are closer together. If you had plants in this square they would be receiving more photons. But look at the last square. Now we have moved further away from the light or deeper down into the aquarium for our purpose, the photons have spread out. Therefore if we had plants planted in the last square they will not be receiving the same amount of photons. A light that is high light puts out more red lines and covers more area over a greater depth.

The more photons hitting the plant leaves the faster the rate of photosynthesis and so the plant has to take up more carbon and more nutrients to match the rate of photosynthesis which means that if you have high PAR and don't supply carbon and nutrients the plants will die. However if you have low PAR the plants don't need as much carbon or nutrients and so some people get away without using any additional carbon at all. I have chosen to supply it even though it's not needed in large quantities. Therefore I have it entering the tank at a low setting or 'bubble rate' so in my current system, the only limiting factor is light. As long as there is enough of it for the plants to grow they will just grow more slowly but still healthy.

You can't measure PAR without a special PAR meter. T5 bulbs come as high output or normal output. High output drastically increased PAR. You need to know which ones you have and your tank depth before we can even begin to estimate your current PAR.

Hope this makes sense.


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Seems pretty straight forward, so you wouldn't recomend using the co2 say like every other month to cut back on the cost of the co2 I know it's only £10 a time but all adds up in the long run ?

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Some good advice here. The only thing I can add is now I have gone to co2 I'd never go back. And that it is worth getting a kit that gives you control and stability as that will help prevent algae problems.
 
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