CO2 cylinder pressure

[SuBXeRo]

When i filled my cylinder, the cylcinder pressure was around 1000psi or so, is this a good gauge to tell if ur loosing co2 or not. Im doing my 72 gal and have got it to 30ppm and it has been on all day since last weekend, i think i might have a leak and im not sure, cylinder def feels lighter than when i got it and from what i understand 20lb cylinders should last a good deal of time.

any input?

 

[zzyzx85]

Keep an eye on the pressure gauge. you'll know you have a leak when it decreases rapidly, but if this is your first time out, you don't really have anything to compare to.

Did you go over all the fitting, joints, and connections with soapy water to check for leaks?

How big is your tank and your bps? i have a 55g, a 5lb tank, about 1.5 bps running since february and the pressure gage hasn't moved much.

 

[jptjpt]

If there's no leak, the cylinder pressure should stay constant. It won't start to drop until the tank's almost empty and needs to be refilled. When it drops, it will do it fairly quickly. A 20lb. tank should last you at least 9 months or closer to a year.

 

[SuBXeRo]

i have like 4bps atleast, its feeding into my canisters and then short out the spray bar so yeah, dunno how well its dissolving and the spray bar is close to the surface, i am futzing around with the setup. I spray windex on the main fitting and i didnt see any bubbling and the tubing on the bubble counter is on there so tightly and i cranked down the coupling nut, i highly doubt any loss there. the clinder itself feels lighter, but like u said, i have nothing to gauge from. I am going to get some teflon tape and seal the cylinder/regulator seal and help that out, just in case.

 

[OldMan47]

The only way to judge the possible leak is by using the weight of the bottle. A 20 pound bottle will lose about 20 pounds as it goes from full to empty. The pressure will not change with the amount remaining until all of the liquid CO2 has evaporated. By then you could consider the tank empty. The pressure in the bottle will move with the room temperature since the fill in the bottle is a liquid. The liquid will evaporate in the tank until the pressure reaches the saturation pressure for the temperature in the room. After that more liquid will evaporate as the gas is drawn off to use in your aquarium and the pressure will not change.

 

[SuBXeRo]

hmm, i should get a scale then for my cylinder, i went out and bought teflon tape today, will see how that goes, i need a real wrench instead of pliers to make the seal, need to go to lowes again since i forgot to buy it today. RAR