CO2 help

[kribbman]

Hi Everyone!

I have a few questions for you guys and gals today.
First thing is How long does aquarium silicone sealant take to cure?
When is it safe to put in the water?

I built these two "thingys" so that I could check CO2 bubble production from my Yeast canisters and to stop the white filaments from getting into my diffusor. I glued them together yesterday and the insides still smell of silicone. Am I supposed to wait for the smell to clear before I can safely use them? They are connected to an air pump at the moment so air can circulate through them and perhaps cure the silicone faster.

The only problem with them so far is that they are sealed shut so I wont be able to clean them. And I realize I could have done the same thing with a small jar but I was concerned about it being airtight, Has anybody else here used jars or other types of ready made containers?

Here's a picture of the bubble counters/water traps.. and a picture of my planed final C02 setup

 

[kribbman]

Well I finished the set up just now and took some pictures.

I modified the plans I drew earlier because I found out that if pressure built up on one side more than the next it would force water from one ("water trap/bubble counter") to its cylinder. I ended up installing two check valves one for each yeast cannister. and elimiated the one running to the diffusor.

Here are the pics.

 

[An t-iasg]

That's a nice-looking CO2 canister!

I wondered in another one of your threads why you were using two check valves, one for each canister. But that makes perfect sense - the pressures may not always be equal between the two canisters, so they each need a check valve. Those little white bubble counters look well-made. I think that after 24 hours, the silicone is cured.

 

[kribbman]

I might end up doing away with the check valves all together. They seem be causing too much resistance in the system. In order to avoid water going back to the cannister im leaving one offline untill it starts producing CO2, and can then presurize. I might have to revert to the original plan and install the one that came with the diffusor again between the (T) and the cannisters.

Does anybody have a sugestion for a specific brand of checkvalve that would provide less resistance to airflow but at the same time would efectively block any water or air trying to reverse flow?

 

[pitt420dude]

Rex Grigg has some available for pretty cheap. I'd get a brass one. Also w/ all that equipment you ought to get a background for your tank. Just my opinion.

 

[An t-iasg]

I got a brass check valve from Rex. I put it on my pressurized system, and I had to turn up the CO2 just a little to get it to overcome the resistance of the check valve. I would say that those are not for yeast-based systems.

Try a plastic Tetra check valve. You can find those at any lfs. The CO2 may erode the plastic over time ( a year or so) but the valves are cheap to replace.

 

[FishEggs]

i would use this check valve. no little metal springs to corrode or create resistance and they're dirt cheap so replacements are no big deal. buy the 6 pack and your good for at least 3 years if using 2 at a time.

 

[pitt420dude]

How is it that plastic check valves fail, is it because the CO2 corrodes the plastic? I thought plastic didn't corrode. Has anyone had personal experience with this?

 

[kribbman]

i would use this check valve. no little metal springs to corrode or create resistance and they're dirt cheap so replacements are no big deal. buy the 6 pack and your good for at least 3 years if using 2 at a time.

Those are the same ones I have exept that they are blue...
the one that red sea supplies with their diffusor works well pretty well Ill see if I can find some of those but thanx alot for your help.

 

[An t-iasg]

After about a year or year and a half of use, I did find water in my plastic check valve that was used in my yeast CO2 system. I really don't know if it was the CO2 or the pressure after awhile. Another check valve that I used on a regular airpump turned yellowish after a year or so. I just got in the habit of replacing plastic check valves after a year or so. I'm sure the brass one I have on my pressurized system won't last forever either, but I have more confidence in it than I would a plastic one on the pressurized line.

 

[kribbman]

The system has been up and running now for about 3 days. Im sticking to this final layout which includes just one check valve between the diffusor and the buble canisters. The check valve that came with the diffusor is prety good I found it did not place too much resistance compared to the ones I originaly had on the system. I might order anotherone from aquarium guys and try out placing two of them on the canisters like I did when I first set up the system.
On saturday I emptied out the original canister and started two completely new ones, using one refill package provided by redsea and one provided by Nutrafin. I noticed a difference in both the amount of time it took before they started producing and the quantity they are currently producing.. First of all I used the "sugar" provided in the Red Sea refill in both canisters, and used half of the baking soda provided by nutrafin in each canister. Then I put the different yeast into their own containers and set up the system.
Within hours the One with the (RedSea) yeast was already producing CO2 bubles. The (Nutrafin) canister took a little longer but after about 12 hours both were producing a constant stream of bubles.
The Redsea canister produces about 12 bubles per minutes.
Nutrafin canister produces 6 bubles per minute.
Ill post udates on my CO2 project later.

 

[kribbman]

The system has been running perfectly now for alomost 2 months now. Ive noticed quite a difference in my plants. They are thriving now. what I have noticed is that my PH has risen from about 7.8 (tap water) to about 7.2 to 6.9. and its kind of hard to get it to stay constant between water changes and during the lifecycle of the cannisters (2 weeks) I end up with fluctuations in pH.

I've started using sugar, baking soda and yeast from the super market because its much less expensive. and yeilds CO2 within minutes of being mixed.

 

[neilanh]

Your setup looks nice, and I have no doubts the plants love you for it

 

[An t-iasg]

Yes, nice setup! You worked hard on it! Are your plants pearling by the end of the day?

A fluctuation from a pH of 6.9 - 7.2 is nothing to worry about. The solenoid on my pressurized canister turns on when the controller reads a pH of 7.2 and stops when the pH is 6.9, so my tank fluctuates between those pH readings all day.