Ordered Pressurized Co2. Need some setup help

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R

Rescue Ranger

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:cool:
So, against the advice of some, and going with the advice of others, I ordered the AZOO Co2 regulator from Dr. Foster/Smith aquatics.
I have:
-2 plastic check valves
-5# Tank
-Whatever needle valve comes with the regulator
-20' of Co2 tubing
-Lots of dry ferts
-110watt AH Supply lighting (55g tank)


I need:


Reactor: I like Rex Grigg's setup, and many of you recommend it. My question is, I've seen many ways of how he drills the hole for co2 tubing. The water goes in the top of the reactor, and flows out the bottom to the 90degree elbow up to the tank. How far should the Co2 tube go into the reactor? Where in the reactor should it go? Top? Side?


Bubble counter: I see a lot of expensive ones and cheap ones, and there is a thread right now on some bubble counters as well. I could make my own, but I like the ones with built in check valves that go right on the regulator, but these mostly seem to be for the Milwaukee setup on eBay. Any other's you'd recommend?


Power head: Since I'll be putting the reactor on the outlet of the canister filter, won't the spray bar circulate the Co2 enough where I won't need one of these? *edit* I have a Penn Plax Cascade 1200 Filter designed for a 150 gallon. I have a 55 gallon, and the flow on this unit is rated at 315GPH. Seems like I need a little more flow?


Drop Checker: 4dkh solution? What is this? How do I get it in a checker?

Thanks for your patience, advice, and contribution to this forum. I'll keep my tank progress as it goes from here.
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
rockhoe14er

rockhoe14er

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the 4dkh is a solution that is made that has 4 degrees of KH. You can make it using baking soda and distilled water or buy it on ebay.

also you can almost never have enough flow in a planted tank. Try to aim for 10x. So if you have a 29 gallon tank you want something like 290 gallons per hour of flow in the tank.
 
R

Rescue Ranger

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rockhoe14er said:
the 4dkh is a solution that is made that has 4 degrees of KH. You can make it using baking soda and distilled water or buy it on ebay.

also you can almost never have enough flow in a planted tank. Try to aim for 10x. So if you have a 29 gallon tank you want something like 290 gallons per hour of flow in the tank.
Click to expand...
Ok, i'll go search a few and see what I find.

I edited my post above - I have 315GPH flow in my 55g. Seems like a powerhead might not be a bad idea?
 
wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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rockhoe14er said:
the 4dkh is a solution that is made that has 4 degrees of KH. You can make it using baking soda and distilled water or buy it on ebay.

also you can almost never have enough flow in a planted tank. Try to aim for 10x. So if you have a 29 gallon tank you want something like 290 gallons per hour of flow in the tank.
Click to expand...


Not completely on board with this statement. I've kept many, many planted tanks with between 1x and 5x turnover in the tank and the plants and livestock flourished. I'm doing so now. I'm curious where your assertion originates.

Mark
 
rockhoe14er

rockhoe14er

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wesleydnunder said:
[/COLOR]

Not completely on board with this statement. I've kept many, many planted tanks with between 1x and 5x turnover in the tank and the plants and livestock flourished. I'm doing so now. I'm curious where your assertion originates.

Mark
Click to expand...
I have read this on numerous other forms and once i upped the flow in my tank and my co2 was better able to circulate in the tank most if not all of my algae issues disappeared.

"Also of high importance to help prevent algae is having a good flow of water around the whole tank. As a guide try to aim for 10x or more the rated filter flow rate to tank size. The idea of this is to provide a constant supply of CO2 and nutrients to the plants by having them move across the leave's surfaces. If you can see all you plants gently swaying then your flow should be good." http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/
 
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