I have a 36 gallon planted tank. Right now, I dose Excel, and have about 2.8 WPG. I'd like to have some plans like vals that melt with Excel, and in general I'd like to try to go a little more high-tech, starting with pressurized CO2. What's the best option for CO2? What do I need?
I tried DIY, and I just had issues with it, and it didn't seem to help much. What kind of setup do I need? I've tried reading other threads but everyone's kinda got a specific setup. I think part of it is I really don't know the terminology. Bubble? counter? CO2 reactor? How do I get the actual tanks of CO2? Help?
Oh- I have a HOB filter. May upgrade to a canister, but depends on the money.
I'll try to do my best to explain things to you.
CO2 tank. You can either go with the large cylinders or the paintball gun type. Me, I prefer the larger cylinders. I started with a 5 pound on my 75 gallon tank, but that did not last very long. So, I went with a 20 pound after that. Now, I even use a 20 pound on my 20 and 29 gallon tanks. The reason being that it does not cost very much more to get a 20 pound filled versus a 5 pound (e.g., $25 versus $35) and the 20 pound lasts 5 times longer. When I get a fish room, I might actually go to 50 pound tanks on carriers. A 20 pound should last you well over a year on a 36 gallon tank.
A regulator is what attaches to the CO2 tank and it regulates the pressure allowed out of the tank and it tells you what the tank pressure is inside the tank.
A solenoid is then attached to the regulator. The solenoid opens when it receives electricity and closes when the electricity is cut off. This allows you to regulate the flow of CO2 by plugging the solenoid into a timer or plugging it into a PH controller. There is a correlation between the ph level and the amount of CO2 in the water. As the ph increases, there is less CO2 in the water. So, a PH controller measures the PH level and allows electricity to flow to the solenoid when the ph level gets too high.
A needle valve is attached to the solenoid. This allows you to fine tune the flow of CO2 to the regulator.
A bubble counter is usually attached to the needle valve. It is filled with a liquid so that you can see the CO2 bubbles that are flowing out of the needle valve. This allows you to see how fast the CO2 flow is and to adjust it with the needle valve.
CO2 tubing is usually attached to the bubble counter and it runs to the reactor. I put a check valve in the middle of the CO2 tubing. The check valve prevents water from running back into the system, especially if you have a pump on the reactor.
The reactor is the last piece in the puzzle. It mixes the CO2, now in gas form, into the water so that all of the CO2 will dissolve.
Me, I have been using Milwaukee Instruments MA957 regulator/solenoids and their PH controller, which I believe is SMS122. This is somewhat inexpensive, but I am not happy with the needle valves on these setups. So, I am going to the aquariumplants.com needle valve/solenoid that is entirely electronic but that in itself costs $149 and you would still need a regulator. I am going to continue to use my Milwaukee regulators and get rid of the solenoid/needle valves on them.
The HOB filter is a mess. I recently tried to go with one on my 20 gallon and it was just bleeding off CO2 as fast as I could get it in the tank. If you cannot afford a canister filter, Fluval makes a small submersible filter that will probably work for you that is a lot cheaper than a canister filter. Ultimately, you want to prevent surface agitation when injecting CO2 because surface agitation will bleed off CO2. I ran into this issue with my 75 gallon tank when I was using 2 Whiser/Tetra 3 on it. I tried it again 3 years later on the 20 gallon thinking it would be different on a smaller tank, and it wasn't.
Hope this helps.
