Before I turn on the valve questions

Jag1980

Jag1980

Got Plants?
Aug 18, 2008
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Marysville, Wa
I got my Injection system and just got back from filling my tank.

How tight do I tighten the nut from the regulator to the bottle, Snug or super tight?

How do I tell if I have a small leak?

How much do I turn the valve before I turn on my needle valve?


My bubble counter looks like this:
How many bubbles should I start out with?
The tube where the Co2 comes out is larger than the standard barb fitting type hole, it seems larger than it should be and larger sized bubbles come out so I'm not sure how to compare to the other bubble counter charts..?
26180fc3a05b59cccbfbb409b5ccaff5.image.200x200.jpg





CIMG3156.jpg
 
Congrats on the CO2 injection system. I'm still piecing mine together.

I don't know how tight to tighten it but I've read to tighten it as much as you can.

You can check for leaks by using some water with dish detergent in it.

I believe this is the proper way to open up the system (so you won't kill your regulator): Keep the solenoid unplugged so the solenoid valve is closed. Open the regulator's valve a little. The open the tank's valve slowly.

Don't take my word for it, but IIRC, that's how. Can someone confirm this procedure for me?
 
Use a wrench to tighten it as tight as possible, may want to use teflon tape to ensure a seal.

Use soap water around the connections to ensure no leakage.

Open the regulator valve and raise to around 20 PSI before opening the needle valve.

Start with 1bps and raise accordingly depending on the drop checker reading.
 
As soon as I open the main valve on top my gauges shoot to what is shown in picture.. Even if I turn the tank off it still shows what you see on the guages and it still flows Co2? I let it sit for a few Min's and it only drops in pressure a tiny bit... Even if I do a full turn on the main valve I still get pretty much the same PSI maybe a little bit more.
Needle valve is barely open

Which gauge is the flow gauge?

CIMG3157.jpg
 
1 is the high pressure gauge, used to determine how much CO2 is left in the tank.

2 is the output pressure gauge, used to determine the PSI leaving the regulator. This is the one you want to set at 20 PSI. The gauge is measuring the pressure present in the regulator and until the gas is released it won't drop. It should maintain a stable 20PSI even with the needle valve turned on because the needle valve will be releasing very little gas compared to the output from the regulator.
 
ok thanks

It shoots to 25 PSI and it takes a very.. long.. time to release enough Co2 to drop the PSI on the gauge. Very touchy knob makes it hard to fine tune and leave it at a set PSI.

Looks like I'm going to have to mess with it for a couple days to fine tune the pressure out of the tank?
or
Does it matter how much the valve on the tank is open, just use the needle valve to regulate my flow?

What reading on the high pressure gauge should I remove from my Aquarium so I don't get a Co2 dump?

Thank you for your help.
 
You don't need to fine tune it, just set it around 20-25 PSI and leave it alone, then play around with the needle valve to get the desired bubble rate.

You'll want to replace the tank when the high pressure gauge drops to around 500 PSI.
 
:fairy:ok :clap:
 
Checked my tank today and this is what I see?...

CIMG3178.jpg
 
Looks like you have a leak. Use soapy water around all connections see if any bubbling occurs.
 
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