C02 thoughts.

Thanks guys. I will stick with the low light plants for awhile until I can afford a pressurized sytem. Do most of the complete C02 units come with tanks? Where do you fill them.
 
No CO2 systems comes with tanks, that is just too much weight to ship. You can buy and fill tanks at a local wielding supply shop, fire extinguisher supply shop, or homebrew supply shop to name a few.
 
I don't think any of the complete systems come with tanks. At least I cannot remember a single one of them coming with tanks when I bought mine 2 years ago. I started out with a 5 lb canister, and when that was starting to run low I bought a 20 lb canister. I'm about to buy another 20 lb canister and rotate between the two of them since the current one has lasted me 15+ months and a 20 lb canister is only a tiny bit more expensive to fill than a 5 lb. If it wouldn't be too awkward to move around and require the use of my truck to get it filled, I would use a 35 lb canister.
 
Stop wasting your time with DIY, for a tank this size, go with a Gas regulator set up. You have a nice large tank, light, plants, the weak spot and the one that will cause algae and lots of time wasted: poor CO2.

Be smart, use the Gas tanks. Worth every penny. I did DIY for a decade, I know.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
Blown 346 said:
How long would a 5lb tank last on a 125 gallon with average usage?
Click to expand...

A 5lb tank won't last long, a 2-4 months depending on how much CO2 is used and if you're using a solenoid. Get a 10 or 20lb tank, costs only a little more to purchase and refill but will last much longer.

Depending on the refill station, some places swap empty tanks for pre-filled ones rather than refill the one you give them. Just a warning in case you plan on buying a shiny new tank.
 
I am using a 20 lb on about 125 gallons of water and it has lasted almost 15 months now. I say about because I am using it on a 75 and a 55 that acts as a refugium. Both tanks are pretty heavily planted and I use a CO2 controller and solenoid. I have no idea how much longer the tank will last, but it is getting pretty empty. I would have to guess that a 5 lb canister would last 3 to 4 months on a 125 depending on how heavily planted you have the tank and whether or not you use a solenoid and ph controller.
 
You can sometimes buy a complete setup on ebay. They'll usually come with empty tanks that you can in turn fill at a local place. Just a thought :)
 
I went to the local beer distributor and rented a CO2 bottle. $ about $35 to $40 deposit. I bought a set of gages from them, $40. I ordered a needle valve from China e-bay $9 For my difuser I use the plastic ladder from the yeast set up which I started with for my 40 gallon tank. It works fine. One bottle should last 6 months to a year depending on his high you are running it. My plants are growing about 5 inches a week. No aer bubblers because they knock the CO2 out of the water. Plants are all they oxy you need. Seldom clean the bottom because the plants are feeding on the nutrients.. Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 PH needs raised sometimes becuse the plants will run it down.
C








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