Carbo Plus is bad?

[kagentx]

I've seen many controversy with the Carbo plus, many negative feedbacks yet there are some very satisfied with it. Of those who were satisfied were people with smaller sized tanks though. I have a 50 gallon is that bad? It was said that the block holder breaks down every 3 month of so. I've seen all my LFS using Carbo plus and they seem to love it, the plants flourish really nicely and the water is kept crystal clean. They use between 60 gallon to 90 gallon tanks. Seeing their effects, it really encourages me to get it because then i don't have to find a place to refill gas for $25 each time, i'm also afraid of all the compressed gas hazards that might endanger the people in the house. Being an inexperienced person in Pressurized system, i don't want to do anything stupid. I found that carbo plus system for $120 with $28 cost for each block, i know that is almost as much as a pressurized CO2 system but at least i don't have to deal with CO2 leaking, explosion, finding a gas store, and endangering others.

 

[Guest]

The Carbo-Plus works fine if your water is hard. If you have soft water, that is water low in kH it doesn't work so well and will crash your pH. And in the long run/short run they are much more expensive than a pressurized unit. As for the dangers, you are in more danger driving to work than you are from having a 5 lb cylinder of CO2 in the house. The greatest dangers lie in the "stupids", as in it's really stupid not to have the cylinder secured so it doesn't fall over. If you take a few minutes to assemble the CO2 system it's not going to leak. Finding a place to get it filled takes all of 2-3 minutes on the Internet or with the Yellow Pages. As for endangering others. The Carbo-Plus unit creates a highly flammable gas called Hydrogen.

But it's your decision. But hands down I would take a pressurized system every time over the Carbo-Plus. I'm sure that all your LFS are happy with them and preach how much easier they are to use and how much safer they are than a Pressurized system. That's because they generate repeat sales. There are millions of CO2 cylinders in everyday use all over the United States. They pose no hazard. In fact your chances of being injured by a chunk of frozen human waste falling from an airplane are greater than your risk of injury from a CO2 system so long as you avoid the "stupids".

 

[mixman]

carbo+

well i bought one of those and i found it was in all reality a piece of junk and a huge waste of money.cost way too much and is a mess to change the carbon blocks. You get all the black yack all over you hands. and you have to scrape all the calcium off the unit because the unit will pull the calcium out of the water. For me it was junk and a waste of money. maby for a very small tank it might be ok but i'll take a CO2 tank over the carbo+ unit anyday. so much more easer to set up and no mess with it.

Randy 8O

 

[kagentx]

i was just overwhelmed with all the pressurized system infomation... so much that carbo plus made it all clear up. Hmm, welding shops sell used tanks? or should i just buy everything off line including the milwaukee all in one, for $75.99 , aquamedic circular reactor for $22 (what do you think about this) and the 10lb tank for $83.

totaling up to $210.

btw wa is that i hear about the tank exploding anyways... Rex can u clear that up cause that sounds really scary.

 

[tbonem91]

I sure hope you are including S/H on something in that calculation cause there is a good $30 mistake in your arithmetic if you didn't -

 

[Guest]

All you really need is a cylinder and one of the all-in-one regulators and a reactor. You can build or buy the reactor. You can buy a used cylinder or a new one. Either way check the hydro test date.

I never mentioned a tank exploding. As long as you make sure the cylinder can't be knocked over, which can damage the regulator and it's very slightly possible you could break the valve and cause a rapid loss of gas, but on a small cylinder the chance of that is up there with the falling frozen waste.

A CO2 cylinder can't explode. It could burst, but in order to do so one would have to over ride the safety features of the CGA 320 valve and the regulator and then heat the cylinder up in a fire.

 

[kagentx]

oo, i forgot where i heard that one from, i think it was from krib.com or some site. I'm planning on getting the Plant Guild Power Reactor, expensive but seems very effective. As of the fire extingisher, i'm going to find out the price for the hydro test and CGA-320 to compare with the New $80 i can get from a local. Thanks alot, you'll helped me thro so much. Much appreciated

 

[madasafish]

And the reason why it wouldn't explode is that it is not a flammable gas. CO2, in fact, puts out fires. Fires burn up hydrogen, methane, and other atmospheric gases, but they never burn up CO2.

Just FYI.

 

[malkore]

one thing to mention about transporting the CO2 cylinder...do NOT leave it in your car, filled, in mid-summer, for any length of time. heat makes gas expand, and the tank could build enough pressure to trip a safety valve, dumping all your CO2 out into the passenger area of the car.
When I transport my cylinder, I do this: roll down the passenger window, strap the tank into the seatbelt, and drive directly home.

an interesting tidbit: they used to kill minks with CO2 so the fur wasn't damaged.

 

[Guest]

I thought they used Carbon Monoxide to kill minks?

 

[betowess]

I think you will find tanked CO2 is pretty simple to do correctly, once you start setting it up. Just follow the instructions and be sure to put teflon tape around the threads, one and a half wraps, no more. The only pressurized you would ever worry about being a danger to your household would be O2, not CO2, other than the rare possibility of having a small CO2 leak which is highly unlikely and usually easily fixed by starting over - reattaching the regulator with new teflon. I also like the Milwaukee all in one. I got my tank at a welding supply shop over a year ago for $80 and its still holding a high pressure. The refill cost is about $10.00, I believe. It will save you alot over the long haul. Good luck.

bob

 

[kagentx]

hmm... how much did the whole set up cost you and what did you get? Is maintenance required monthly or weekly? I'm going to ask the welding shop the total cost for a hydro test for my fire extingisher to see if buying a new one is better than fixing an old one. Of course buying a new one is always good, but then my parents are always with the idea of saving every penny there is and use all that we have first.

 

[Kornchild]

Hmmmmm did you all know that compressed CO2 is a constant pressure until it runs out... If I remeber right its something like 800 PSI. A CO2 cannister extremely safe. If you knock the regulator off a CO2 tank it will just sit there and blow off CO2, don't however try that with an O2 tank( it will go through a wall) We use CO2 on our jeeps for portable air. It should only cost 5-10 dollars to fill a container at a welding shop. One thing with CO2 though, is you can't use it while its on its side, you will get liquid CO2 into the regulator which could be a bad thing.
Anyhow my thoughts on things

 

[betowess]

Yeah, roger all, Kornchild.

Kagent, There is no "maintenance" on a CO2 setup, other than trimming the heck out of your plants cause they grow so fast and regular tank maintenance. The CO2 tank you "buy" from a welding shop is used and pre-filled with CO2 for the $80 (I paid). After the 8 months to 1.5 years it takes to use up all of the CO2 gas, you take it back, and they immediately give you a different "used" and filled tank for about $8 to $10.

Home Beer brewers with kegs on tap, fellow CO2 aquarist, and welders all use CO2, but mostly welders. The "All in One" Milwaukee brand regulator setup can be had for about $90 to $100 online. I have seen them a little below $90 on sale at Aquatic-store.com in the past, but I don't think they offer them at that price anymore.

All you need to add besides a tank is CO2 grade airline and some sort of a reactor. Making a reactor is not that hard, but it will require some research and a few tools and messing around with pvc and various fittings and nipples to plug the CO2 airline into. It might be best to buy a reactor if making one seems intimidating. Its actually pretty easy to do, but its also easy to make some mistakes on your first try. I did, but they were easily corrected, though frustrating.

It seems to me that most of us either plumb a DIY reactor or plumb a manufactured one like the $60 Reactor 1000 (which is technically for really big tanks) into our cannister filter's outflow. My total cost including my tank from a welding shop, twentyfive bucks for my DIY reactor and my milwaukee "all in one" setup was about $210.00 with shipping included for the Milwaukee from: http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/index.html

Originally I used a little mini vortex reactor, but I couldn't get my CO2 upto the 30ppm which I need to keep black brush algae under control. So I made a DIY inline reactor with some help from Rex and others and immediately saw a huge difference in my tank's conditions. I am assuming you understand all the basic water chemisty stuff like Kh and ph which one needs to have a handle on before injecting CO2 into a tank.
HTH Bob