Looking into co2

[DeathclawRowe1]

At my local petco they have a co2 system called

Gulfstream Tropical AGU00672 Ista Disposable Cartridge Co2 Supply Set for Aquarium, 45gm

Is this product good? It's 50$ and if I decided to buy it I want it to be good. Has anyone had experience with this product?

 

[Oohitsae]

Never heard of it, but what size tank is it going into an what kind of lighting do you have? It may not even be necessary.

Personally, I think you'd be much better going DIY or pressurized since you'll be buying cartridges for that system constantly. DIY is much cheaper up front but does take a decent amount of work since you'll have to mix ingredients quite a bit. Pressurized is my preferred way, it gets expensive up front but in the long run it's much less time consuming and after the initial investment you'd only have to refill the tank 1-2x/month if it is a paintball tank and it'd only cost like $4 each time.

 

[jetajockey]

I agree with that, definitely go with paintball if it's a small tank or a full size setup if it's a bigger tank.

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

Yea it's a fluval spec 3 so it's 2.6 gallons and I have 13 watts of light (800 lumens compact flourescense DIY from lowes)

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

I'm just looking into co2 for my baby tears

 

[Oohitsae]

Oh yeah, that cartridge you're looking at wouldn't be too bad for that, but would still be cheaper doing DIY if you wanted to put the work into maintaining it.

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

I can put in the work don't worry. Where can I get all this stuff? The only options I have are Walmart petco target etc. I don't have any paint stores near me and I'd prefer not to use amazon if possible but if it's a must I can.

 

[Fishman007]

At my local petco they have a co2 system called

Gulfstream Tropical AGU00672 Ista Disposable Cartridge Co2 Supply Set for Aquarium, 45gm

Is this product good? It's 50$ and if I decided to buy it I want it to be good. Has anyone had experience with this product?

Here is a vid on how to make your own co2 system that only cost 8$ to make and 2$ to maintain a week i use it and it works really well!!

http://youtu.be/zHy4CtmnzeA

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

The only bad thing about that is this is a desk aquarium so I have limited space :/

 

[Fishman007]

The only bad thing about that is this is a desk aquarium so I have limited space :/

Oh... Didnt think about that.

 

[Fishman007]

I can put in the work don't worry. Where can I get all this stuff? The only options I have are Walmart petco target etc. I don't have any paint stores near me and I'd prefer not to use amazon if possible but if it's a must I can.

Go to petsmart and get a co2 bottle it is the same but its in a bottle

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

Go to petsmart and get a co2 bottle it is the same but its in a bottle

Like liquid co2 it's made by API right?

 

[Fishman007]

Like liquid co2 it's made by API right?

Yeah thats it

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

Ok ill pick some up

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'm just looking into co2 for my baby tears

Dwarf baby tears (HC) or are we talking Baby Tears (HM)? Both have fairly different demands, where the former will do significantly better with higher lighting and co2.

And are you planning on any livestock in this Pico sized tank? DIY co2 in such a small tank will most likely nuke any inhabitants. Should be fine if you'll only keep plants... I'd get the Aquatek mini regulator for paintball. It has a solenoid valve and you can be more precise with your co2 injection versus DIY. It will also cost less to operate in the long run than that Ista cartridge co2 system. The proprietary cartridges can get costly.

Here's the Aquatek...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-AQUATEK...751?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35bf2657a7

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

Dwarf baby tears (HC) or are we talking Baby Tears (HM)? Both have fairly different demands, where the former will do significantly better with higher lighting and co2.

And are you planning on any livestock in this Pico sized tank? DIY co2 in such a small tank will most likely nuke any inhabitants. Should be fine if you'll only keep plants... I'd get the Aquatek mini regulator for paintball. It has a solenoid valve and you can be more precise with your co2 injection versus DIY. It will also cost less to operate in the long run than that Ista cartridge co2 system. The proprietary cartridges can get costly.

Here's the Aquatek...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-AQUATEK-CO2-Regulator-Mini-with-Integrated-COOL-TOUCH-Solenoid-/230840227751?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35bf2657a7

They're dwarf baby tears and I have Amano and cherry shrimp inside it with lots of plants and some fry. I like to use it for a small grow out tank because of the nice filtration for the fry. Will liquid co2 booster by API hurt the fry and shrimp? I don't want to harm them so if regular co2 will then I'd rather leave it alone.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Regular co2 in large concentration will kill all livestock. Shrimp are more sensitive to co2 than fish so DIY co2 is uncontrollable for the most part and will most likely over saturate the tiny tank and have crazy ph swings. I would also think to put enough liquid carbon to keep your HC happy would probably have adverse effects on keeping shrimp alive, especially their young. I still think your best bet with shrimp and HC is the paintball system I linked to... you'd have a needle valve, bubble counter to precisely dial in the co2 injection.... you need to find the "sweet spot" of co2 injection to keep the plants thriving, while not over saturating your tank with co2 to kill off your shrimp. I think that's why most serious shrimp keepers breed and keep shrimp in close to low tech conditions as possible.

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

I think ill just stay away from the co2

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

Thanks for all the information though guys