DIY CO2 or something cheap?

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StevieM

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Nov 29, 2002
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hello all,
not sure if this belongs in the plant section but its more of a question of some newer products than anything. I have a 20 gal that I am thinking of putting some kind of CO2 fert. on. I would like to see my plants a bit more lush and I would like something that looks a little more professional than a DIY Co2 setup. I wondered if anyone had experience with the Hagen Plant Gro Co2 Natural system (21.99) or something I saw at Big Als just now called the Carbo Plus CO2 system ( 119.99) which I guess does not need any fermentation or pressurized cylinders. It says you only have to replace the carbon block when it "tells you to" which at 34.99 a block can obviously get pricey...if it even works. On the other hand the Hagen Plant Gro system claims to work on tanks up to 20 gal. and could be an alternative for me as I can't see sinking in excess of 300 into a pressurized setup for a 20 gallon tank...maybe down the line when I get my 90 gal :D Any opinions on the subject are more than welcome!

steve
 
There are several threads on the Hagen product in Plants. It's a decent product, nothing more than what you could DIY fairly easily.

I'm going to move this thread over to Plants, and you might want to search there for more.
 
There is also a big question of up-front cost versus long-term costs. Almost all the costs of pressurized gas CO2 is up-front. Operating costs are tiny.

The Carbo-Plus is not cheap, but handy. Up-front and operating costs are high. For a office tank where prssurized gas would not be allowed, I pay the higher costs of this unit.

DIY is cheap up-front, operation costs are heavier than pressurized, but much cheaper than Carbo-Plus.

Commercial DIY is a bit more up-front, can be operated DIY or with commercial replacement material. Convenience and personal choice.
 
RTR brings up a few really good points in terms of operating costs.

Personally, if you are thinking about having another planted tank, or even upgrading your tank in the future to something larger, I would go with a pressurized system. It is quite easy to branch off your main CO2 line, and add another needle valve for another tank. If your upgrading to a larger tank, just turn up the CO2. Pressurized systems shouldn't cost 300 bucks... I built mine from scratch for less than 200 bucks canadian, I don't see how it can cost 300 USD (assuming its in US since you're from NY).
What you need in a pressurized system is:
1 double guage regulator
1 needle valve (get as a precise one as you can afford.) aka. metering valve.
1 CO2 tank. These can either be bought, or rented out. Check out welding shops and such for prices. A 5 pound tank will do quite nicely
X feet of silicon tubing. Don't use the plastic air tubing, that stuff will degrade quite quickly under CO2 usage. CO2 resistant tubing is ideal if you can find it.
1 reactor of some sort.

Optional:
1 Solenoid. Hook this up to your light timer. When the lights turn on, the valve opens, when the lights turn off, the valve closes. It effectively doubles the lifespan of your CO2 tank.
1 bubble counter. It allows you to easily see how much CO2 is going into your tank. Not needed though, as pH, KH and this table can tell you much more precisely how much CO2 you have in your tank.
1 check valve. Also not needed, as needle valves themselves act as a check valve. However, it doesn't hurt to have one.

Hope I didn't forget anything. If you have any more questions, just ask away =)

-Richer
 
just keep in mind...larger tanks(75g+) use pressurized co2, smaller tanks will do just fine with DIY and cost shouldn't be any more than $2-3 a month to maintain a DIY system. One 5lb bag of sugar and a jar of breadmaker's yeast will last me 4-5 months for a 10g and a 55g...very cheap. I'm not about to pay more than I have to just to "look" more professional. Now if I had a jumbo sized plant tank(over 100g), I would definetly opt for a pressurized system, as it is very difficult to produce sufficient co2 using DIY on these tanks...and the cost of DIY would be a bit more as well.
 
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Clippard needle valve: 11$
Regulator www.kegworks.com = 52$
Adapter for needle valve- 1$
CO2 diffuser/reactor- DIY etc-10-20$
Gas tank- 40-100$

About 150$ is the average for a gas system and it'll last you decades.
The other thing you vcan do with the gas system is brach off the gas line and run multiple tanks with CO2 enrichment. Add a "T" to the regulator(cost about 1$ and add another needle valve for 11$ and you have yourself a complelety independent CO2 system for another tank.

Gas tanks like a 10lb tank run about 8-14$ a refill and would last about 5 years on a 20 gallon tank at least.

5 years of DIY at 1-2$ a month= 60$-120$ not including all the labor and hassle of changing the DIY bottles.

And you will perhaps fiddle with the flow rate about 10 seconds every 3-6 months. The CO2 becomes as easy to deal with as the lights on a timer.

There are two basic decent choices: DIY CO2 or Gas tank. Certain circumstance might make Carbo plus/Hagen's dewhicky a bit more to your liking.
If you plan on having just a 20 gallon etc, DIY is a good route. If you have the urge to spend more, get the gas.

No one has ever regretted getting a gas system that I am aware of.
Please let me know if you find someone that is unhappy with theirs. I know plenty of folks that will gladly buy it from them:)
I think that says it all right there.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
not including all the labor and hassle of changing the DIY bottles.
Click to expand...

lol...I find myself winded and worn out after the tedious and strenuous 5 min task. One could possibly compare it to working in the coal mines of old.;)
 
5 minutes x one year's time= 26x5= couple hours plus.
Now, it's fine if it's a a tank or two of smaller 20 gallons etc.
Try it with 2 -55 gal's, 2- 20's, a 90 gallon, and a 75 gal.
It's a pain then.

Me? About 30 seconds.
My CO2 levels? They are stable all the time and do not vary. I did DIy for 10 years. I think that is enough.
I have done gas for about the same amount of time.

Given everything, I wish I'd spent the $ on the gas to start with.
It's just much easier and worth while to do it that way. I've been on both sides of the fence here. You/I can do it with DIY but it's much easier to keep things in good shape using the gas.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
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