About to start pressurized CO2.

aquanewb

aquanewb

Trying to keep my head above water
Dec 2, 2004
73
0
0
NYC
Well it goes like this...
I have a 72g bowfront and when I acquired it, it had an 80w Flourescent fixture over it. I was able to grow some low light plants with success but it seems that I would have periods of high growth and then an almost stagnate non growth period and often accompianied by alge. So a cpl of months ago I bought a nice quad power compact coralife fixture. So now I have a peak of 260w of light. Its like a **** supernova compared to the old fixture. One week into the new fixture.... say it with me now ALGE BLOOM. Adding all the light without any added co2 to speak of really threw my tank out of whack. I cleaned it with the trusty diatom filter and started reading...and saving. Well that was a few weeks ago. The algea is not as rampent as the first week but I do need to keep after it more then I would like. I assume that the extra nutriants that caused the original split pea soup bloom have been used up a bit, and therefore the alga is not growing quite as fast. Of course my plants arent growing much at all either. So I bought the following from Aquatic-Store on ebay.

Milwaukee co2 regulator
Milwaukee Sms122
Aquamedic Reactor 500
co2 resistant hose
high viscosity bubble counter fluid?

Question

So question number one is what is high viscosity bubble counter fluid? I asked the seller but have not heard back. The instructions mention to add water to the counter and I am loath to add anything that may be a detriment to the tank enviroment.

Does anyone use the Aquamedic Reactor 500? should I use a small power head to force the water thru it? I figure I could also try to creativly use a hose "T'ed" off the canister return line to force the water down but I dont know if I can get enough force.

The SMS122 ph controller mentions the use of ph4 fluid and ph7 fluid for calibration. It only comes with ph7 and therefor I do not possess ph4. Anyone know if it is truely needed?

Does anyone live in the NYC metro area that knows where I should get a 5lb co2 tank? I will be looking tomorow to see if I can get one before the weekend.

I used the chart listed here http://www.aquabotanic.com/charts.htm
and determined that my co2 is about 3.2ppm. Therefore I am hoping that I can create a nice lush tank like some of you have and I love. Tomorow I will post some pre co2 pictures and then after about a week or so to see any change. I am open to any and all suggestions and comments, so fire away!

Thanks
:read:
 
Everything sounds good so far. But do not know about your bubble counter.

Most bubble counters have water in it to "count/see" the CO2 come out.

I would get a 10lb CO2 tank (I use a 20lb for my 100gal). With a 72gal the 5lb will be up in about 3-4 months and maybe sooner.
 
Thans for the info. What is the height of your 10lb (with reg). I am sorta space limited.
 
aquanewb said:
So question number one is what is high viscosity bubble counter fluid? I asked the seller but have not heard back. The instructions mention to add water to the counter and I am loath to add anything that may be a detriment to the tank enviroment.
Click to expand...

Mineral oil or gylcerin.
 
tanker said:
Most bubble counters have water in it to "count/see" the CO2 come out.
Click to expand...

Agreed. That's what I use in mine.

As far as the SM122 goes... I think the instructions may still say to use the 2 solutions to calibrate. But I know there have been threads at plantedtank where Milwaukee has claimed that only the pH 7 fluid is necessary. Maybe it's time they updated their directions. You could call/ email them and ask them, or do a search at plantedtank to see if you can find the threads.

You should make sure you have a good quality check valve in place. If you do not have one and your CO2 tank empties, you could find yourself in need of a new regulator. Or maybe your system has one built in (?).
 
Thanks for the info everyone. I picked up a CO2 tank and I am looking over the setup. I got a 5# tank because I dont think I can fit a 10#. Any body have an idea of what the tank pressure should be in psi? This one reads about 60PSI. Also if I use the packet of calibration fluid do I toss it or can I seal the packet and reuse?
 
Last edited:
aquanewb said:
Thans for the info. What is the height of your 10lb (with reg). I am sorta space limited.
Click to expand...

total of about 25+ inches.
 
Thanks again all. I went with the 5# as I mentioned but since cleaning and rearranging the space under the tank I see that I can in fact fit a 10#. I figure that next time I will swap my 5# for a 10#. Time for my next few questions.

Can the entire milwaukee probe go under water?

When I put the probe in after I calibrated, I got a measurment of 7.6. I understand that ph doesnt matter as long as it is stable. I also know that the ph will swing depending on if the lights are on or if there is co2 injecting. So the questions are:
What PH should I shoot for?
Should I pay more carefull attention to KH now?
 
aquanewb said:
Thanks again all. I went with the 5# as I mentioned but since cleaning and rearranging the space under the tank I see that I can in fact fit a 10#. I figure that next time I will swap my 5# for a 10#. Time for my next few questions.

Can the entire milwaukee probe go under water?

When I put the probe in after I calibrated, I got a measurment of 7.6. I understand that ph doesnt matter as long as it is stable. I also know that the ph will swing depending on if the lights are on or if there is co2 injecting. So the questions are:
What PH should I shoot for?
Should I pay more carefull attention to KH now?
Click to expand...

Chuck's calculator is your best friend.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm
 
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