CO2 refill - is CO2 very cold ?

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AqEnthusiast

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Dec 19, 2011
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Hi

I just got my first CO2 refill and when I just opened it it felt super cold to fingers with even some kind of dry snow coming out of it and there is no smell in it ( i think its odour less)

As I am new to this kind of refill my question is:

Is this normal? It has no smell? Should it be this much cold? Is there any "type" of co2 that we need in planted tank?



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FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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Wouldn't worry about the temperature drop. You're not dealing with volumes that would have a negative effect on your tank.

Most gasses (even mixtures like air) will cool off when passed from high pressure to low pressure through a nozzle. It's called the Joule-Thomson (JT) effect. CO2 will form dry ice snow doing this. CO2 is neat stuff. It can remain a liquid at room temperature, provided it's kept at pressure. Drop the pressure much below 100psig and it will go directly from a liquid to a solid (dry ice). Re-pressurize it, and it will go from solid to liquid again.

FWIW, I'm a production tech for a bunch of plants that make cryogenic liquids.
 
ktrom13

ktrom13

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Feb 4, 2013
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FreshyFresh said:
Wouldn't worry about the temperature drop. You're not dealing with volumes that would have a negative effect on your tank.

Most gasses (even mixtures like air) will cool off when passed from high pressure to low pressure through a nozzle. It's called the Joule-Thomson (JT) effect. CO2 will form dry ice snow doing this. CO2 is neat stuff. It can remain a liquid at room temperature, provided it's kept at pressure. Drop the pressure much below 100psig and it will go directly from a liquid to a solid (dry ice). Re-pressurize it, and it will go from solid to liquid again.

FWIW, I'm a production tech for a bunch of plants that make cryogenic liquids.
Click to expand...
So im guessing at high pressure the CO2 will turn to gas? Or is it the opposite?

Btw, be careful with cold gasses. Exposure to the skin at those temps can cause skin irritation and other symptoms.

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FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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Jan 11, 2013
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ktrom13 said:
So im guessing at high pressure the CO2 will turn to gas? Or is it the opposite?

Btw, be careful with cold gasses. Exposure to the skin at those temps can cause skin irritation and other symptoms.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Click to expand...
Yep. Check out a CO2 phase chart online or the likes.

Skin irritation? You bet. More like severe burns or even worse.
 
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