list of pressurized CO2 systems please

[Alaric]

The info on different pressurized CO2 systems seems to be widely dispersed throughout this forum. Could you all please list the many different types that you use and briefly give a review of its quality and effectiveness. Thanks

[carpguy]

They're mostly all the same. Or at least as mostly the same as DIY gets. Everyone's is slightly different. If you see references to this or that system they're generally references to suppliers or to DIY pages that describe setups. The setups are generally very similar.

You'll need a tank and a place that can fill it (they ship empty, have to be filled somewhere).

A regulator, generally the dual guage type: how much is in the tank and pressure on the line.

A needle valve. You can go cheap (regular Home Depot type) here or get one with finer control. A lot of folks like the Clippards for a good quality needle valve although better (and more expensive) one's exist. I got an AquaMedic regulator that came with a decent needle valve attached.

A check valve.

A bubble-counter. You can buy them or make them.

Airline hose. It needs to be impervious to CO2. The green stuff at the FishStore is good and most folks seem to use that.

Some sort of reactor/diffuser. There is a powerhead type and a tube-with-stuff-in-it type that's normally hooked up to a canister filter (still collecting parts). Airstones aren't particularly efficient, feeding it into an HOB (my current setup) isn't particularly efficient. There are reactors you can buy. One's with membranes, ones that look like slightly more polished versions of the DIY models. This is probably the area with the most variation.

And that's the basic setup.

If you want to get fancier some folks attach solenoids to turn the gas off on a timer or with a pH sensor. Other folks put airstones on timers against the lights to drive off CO2 at night. Other folks (like me) let it run 24/7.

With the right lights and ferts it'll make a tremendous difference in growth. I wish I'd taken before an after shots and mine is only two weeks old -- I'm still watching after happen.

[djlen]

Here's a good quality system that is relatively inexpensive and works well. The only changes I made were a Clippard needle valve and a 402 power head for a diffuser inside the tank.
http://www.dlink.org/aqua/CO2.html
Len

[nanahachi]

EDIT: i made a mistake in what I posted, thus I deleted the text.

I plan on ordering from Clippard for the needle valve, but where can one get a bubble counter?

are there regulators with them built in?
I've seen this one for $80
http://www.ereeftank.com/mkregulator.html
http://www.ereeftank.com/catalog/957us.jpg
CO2 Regulator with needle valve, solenoid valve, and bubble counter. Dual gage regulator displays output pressure and bottle pressure. Standard American CO2 bottle connection.

but that is almost as much as the kit Len mentioned...$80 for just a regulator/solenoid/bubble counter...is there any way to find a CO2 tank cheaply? someone mentioned hitting up welding shops and trying to score a free tank...

about diffusers: are the kind that spit out tons of tiny bubbles better or worse than other types? Would you folks recommended any diffusers - eg the Eheim? (and where to find them?)

anyway, thanks for starting this thread Alaric. I hope we can get some good info all in one place

[cpr4cpu]

I use a fountain pump (110 GPH) and a home-built external reactor with my pressure tank.
My reactor is a 2" diameter PVC pipe with Bio-Media balls (plastic ones), two glue on end caps with pipe taps screwed in at each end, one end the water and CO2 enter, the other end is the return to the tank.
I spent $3 on a pipe that gave me 10 pieces, $.30 each on endcaps, $2 on the brass fittings and hose barbs, but I did spend $30 to buy a good needle valve and flow meter. I bought my CO2 tanks froma home brewer out of the newspaper for $25.

Now I have three reactors in my 125 gallon tank, and my plants are loving it.

[125gJoe]

Florida Driftwood CO2 Devices (http://www.floridadriftwood.com/product.asp?0=217&1=252&3=414) is where I bought mine. It's high quality and very efffective. You will see a big differece with CO2...

[TwoTankAmin]

I pieces mine together from different sources- I have no solenoid and I pipe my co2 into the intake of the Eheim. I spent the most for my new aluminum 5lb bottle. Bubble counter has check valve built in and was from Big Als. Marine monster for bottle, co2 tubing and needlevalve. Regulator came from www.kegworks.com.

Just had bottle filled today- last fill lasted almost a year to the day.

[djlen]

nanahachie, that's a decent regulator you showed on your post.
Wish I knew of someone using one to get some feedback from. But I don't use solenoids anyway.
In reference to your question about tanks. I just hit up a bunch of people I know from some of the clubs and/or bars I work in and asked them for any old bottles they had laying around. Scored two of them that way. If they are out of date they are especially easy to pick up. Then you just pay an extra $20 for testing plus the fill and you're in business. Most of the places around here swap bottles anyway so it makes no sense to me to buy a new one.
Len

[nanahachi]

Along with that Regulator I posted (See my post above), does anyone know anything about this diffuser:
http://www.floridadriftwood.com/product.asp?3=43
http://www.floridadriftwood.com/images/products/diffuser.gif

Is the Eheim diffuser recommended?
I know nothing about them, but are glass diffusers/reactors more efficient?
I *may* have a workable powerhead at home, I need to take a look at it, but if that is workable, can I just use that and can it be plugged into a timer to only go on during the day? or must a solenoid be used?

...i'm totally confused...:confused:

well, somewhat at least:rolleyes:

[cpr4cpu]

unless you have low KH or little buffering capacity, you can probably leave the CO2 reactor on all the time.
The key is to measure the KH and pH just before the lights come on and calculate the CO2 of the water
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

as long as you are around 25ppm or below you can leave the CO2 reactor on all the time. As a reference point, I have a 29 gallon and a DIY powerhead/gravel vacuum type reactor that I leave on with 1 bubble per second. My CO2 levels are fine for plants and the fish are doing fine as well.

[bobalston]

take a look at the info on my web site on co2 equipment and suppliers.

http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High%20Pressure%20CO2


Bob

[djlen]

As cpr said, you don't need a solenoid(although many use them) if you monitor your CO2 in the morning and make sure it remains in the 25ppm range over night. This is easy to do with a good accurate needle valve.
I use a Hagen 402 power head to diffuse into the tank. If you have a power head use it. It should mash the bubbles into a fine mist that you'll see go into the tank for absorption. The finer the mist the more effective your diffuser is.
Len

[nanahachi]

Other than DIY Reactors, perhaps it would be useful if we could get a list of Diffusers & Reactors that people are using. Opinions would help too!!! :D

the ones that I'm running across online are:
[I am not recommending this site, it was just convenient. you probably should shop around for prices and selection]

Aqua Medic Membrane Reactor - In tank
http://www.ereeftank.com/amreactor.html - $25
http://www.ereeftank.com/catalog/73003.jpg


Aqua Medic CO2 Reactor - In Tank
http://www.ereeftank.com/amcoreactor.html - $26
http://www.ereeftank.com/catalog/73008.jpg


Aqualine Buschke External CO2 Reactor 1000
http://www.ereeftank.com/abreactor.html - $55
http://www.ereeftank.com/catalog/73011.jpg

**Personally, I am looking for an EXTERNAL reactor i think. I dont want to clutter up the inside of my tank any more than I have, and if you have suggestions for commercially available reactors (Or DIY -- however, I'm feeling intimidated by such projects for some reason), I would appreciate it, and I hope others could benefit too**

I hope that a list of such products would help everyone at this forum, and I think it is what Alaric was asking for, perhaps?
thanks!

[Alaric]

Thanks to all who have posted so far. A lot of good info, but Im sure there is a lot more to list. Yes nanahachi has the right idea. I was hoping to compile a list of all components involved in a co2 injection (not necessarily the parts and how they work but more the "brand" or manufacturer) and an opinion on the quality.

[aquatic-store]

That last reactor is for tanks up to 500 gal it is LARGE. Just had someone return one because it was to large i sell all of those products and can price beat em all if needed. Some of them are already cheaper on my website. Just remember

marc
Http://www.Aquatic-store.com

Co2, Plants, Substrate, Filters, Heaters, UV and more

[carpguy]

A lot of CO2 is DIY and most folks experience is going to be with systems they've rigged together themselves after prowling Beer Distributors, Welding Shops, and Lowe's/Home Depots. The AquaMedic regulator is the only "aquarium" thing I bought. Compact, works well, comes wih a decent needle valve.

Bob Alston's page has a lot of really good info and is probably as close as you'll find to a buyer's guide for some of this stuff -- valves, tanks, regulators.

The reactors are their own kettle of fish. I'm in the middle of assembling one now that's based on the Tom Barr DIY model and which vaguely resembles the Buschke -- same general principle. This seems to me to be the reactor of choice among the serious plant folk. The DIY model is a waste of time and money unless you like to do DIY. For all my trouble I might have saved $15 -- not worth the two trips to Lowes, never mind the pile of parts in my living room. But I like DIY :rolleyes: . Otherwise I'd get the Buschke or write to Tom offboard -- I think he makes/used to make these for about $30.

I looked briefly into the membrane difusers and it seemed to me they were somewhat limited in what they were able to handle and needed a steady flow of water over them to operate efficiently. Not really what I was looking for.

I always liked the spirally thing if your going to put something in your tank. But I want to keep the tank as hardware free as possible.

Briefly tried airstones and thought they were completely useless.

Getting decent results running the CO2 through my HOB and am getting used to the little brapppp the impellor makes every time a bubble hits it. But the uber-reactor is going online just as soon as I can find that one drill bit.

[Robert H]

Perhaps someone should talk about the difference between a diffusor and a reactor.

A diffusor is a device that usually simply bubbles the C02 into the water. Most are glorified airstones. Theoriticly they give off a fine mist of bubbles that dissolves

before reaching the water surface...but the reality is this does not happen. What does happen is the bubbles reach the water surface where they evaporate into the atmosphere without saturating the water. The other problem with these devices is they get constantly clogged with algae and silt making the bubbles from the airstone much bigger which evaporate at the water surface even quicker.

There are also what is called bell diffusors. This catches the C02 bubble and holds it til it dissolves into the water. Problem is you are limited to a very slow bubble rate otherwise too many bubbles get under the bell and start pushing bubbles out...which rise to the surface and evaporate.

The membrane diffusor from Aquamedic is unique. It has thin membranes where the C02 bubbles dissolve when pushed through by the current of a filter. You have to have it in the path of a strong current. Problem with this one is the membranes get dirty very quickly.

Reactors are devices that mix the gas with water and then expel the C02 enrtiched water into your aquarium. This is by far the most effective device because none of the C02 gas escapes. Most models sit inside your aquarium, however there are a few external models that can be placed under your tank and is hooked up to a pump, cannister filter, or sump.

Diffusors not only waste gas but can be very irratic without holding a steady level of C02 in the water. I use and sell Aqua medic regulators, solenoids, and reactors. They offer fine German craftsmanship at a very affordable price.