Easy and complete CO2 system?
- Thread starter Cearbhaill
- Start date
That's what I'm afraid of- you say he "probably" won't need one.
I want to know beforehand what I need and be positive it will all be there when I start assembling. I'd rather buy too much and have everything right there than to need a check valve and have to hit the yellow pages, hit the traffic and get home with the wrong thing.
Joe- wasn't there some sort of issue with a plastic regulator when it should have been metal?
Maybe I'm confused...
I want to know beforehand what I need and be positive it will all be there when I start assembling. I'd rather buy too much and have everything right there than to need a check valve and have to hit the yellow pages, hit the traffic and get home with the wrong thing.
Joe- wasn't there some sort of issue with a plastic regulator when it should have been metal?
Maybe I'm confused...
Thanks for the clarification Joe. That's the same Milwukee regulator I have. So the check valve is built in... got it.
Cearbhaill,
You need a regulator like the one Joe posted, CO2 tubing, a diffuser or some way to diffuse the CO2 and a CO2 tank. JBJ makes a nice regulator combo... a few companies do. I don't think it makes much difference because they're all pretty good.
For a diffuser I'm using my canister filter and feeding the CO2 into it. Works great for a day and a half now. I've heard this can cause some canisters to "air lock" but I haven't had that issue so far.
Cearbhaill,
You need a regulator like the one Joe posted, CO2 tubing, a diffuser or some way to diffuse the CO2 and a CO2 tank. JBJ makes a nice regulator combo... a few companies do. I don't think it makes much difference because they're all pretty good.
For a diffuser I'm using my canister filter and feeding the CO2 into it. Works great for a day and a half now. I've heard this can cause some canisters to "air lock" but I haven't had that issue so far.
Superjohnny, feel very fortunate you only had to wait 2 wks for your CO2 setup from Aquatic-store. I ordered mine from them on 9/1/03 and have been told it may ship later this week. Was told 2 weeks ago that it was shipping that week and then was told a train wreck delayed delivery to them. Be very careful who you order from!
Even though you want an all-in-one, you might find some of the articles I have assembled at my web site on CO2 useful education.
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High Pressure CO2
Bob
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/AquaticPlants.htm#High Pressure CO2
Bob
Just some advice when you do get a system set up.
Be patient with the CO2 bubble flow/count... Mine took almost a week to stabilize, and I almost replaced my regulator.
By "stabilizing", I mean the bubble count kept drifting higher and lower. I don't know what caused this, and there was no detectable leak..
I can now adjust it (needle valve) without any 'drift'..
Be patient with the CO2 bubble flow/count... Mine took almost a week to stabilize, and I almost replaced my regulator.
By "stabilizing", I mean the bubble count kept drifting higher and lower. I don't know what caused this, and there was no detectable leak..
I can now adjust it (needle valve) without any 'drift'..
THe milwaukee regulator includes everything except tubing, a C02 tank, and a REACTOR. A reactor is a device that mixes the gas with water inside your aquarium.
I am happy to help and answer questions to the best of my ability, but there really isn't much to it as far as hooking it up. You screw on the regulator, attach the tubing, fill the bubble counter with water, put the reactor inside your aquarium and connect the tubing to it, and then turn the gas on. Oh, and plug in the solenoid to a timer.
The tricky part is understanding how C02 works, how much you should be adding to your water, understanding the relationship between pH and KH. That requires some reading and education.
You can also call Milwaukee directly if you get stuck and are not satisfied with the answers you get from the vendor. They are extremely helpfull, and knowledgable. There phone number is listed on my hardware forum. The directions that come with the regulator are pretty self explanatory as well.
I am happy to help and answer questions to the best of my ability, but there really isn't much to it as far as hooking it up. You screw on the regulator, attach the tubing, fill the bubble counter with water, put the reactor inside your aquarium and connect the tubing to it, and then turn the gas on. Oh, and plug in the solenoid to a timer.
The tricky part is understanding how C02 works, how much you should be adding to your water, understanding the relationship between pH and KH. That requires some reading and education.
You can also call Milwaukee directly if you get stuck and are not satisfied with the answers you get from the vendor. They are extremely helpfull, and knowledgable. There phone number is listed on my hardware forum. The directions that come with the regulator are pretty self explanatory as well.
The reason for using a brass check valve is that the plastic reacts poorly with the CO2 and needs to be replaced regularly. If you get one, get brass.
All you need is a decent regulator and needle valve, 5 - 20lb. tank and reactor. The solenoid is only needed if you intend to shut down the flow of gas overnight(unnecessary IMO). The drop in pH is so minute over night that I don't see the need for turning it off.
To me the bubble counter is unnecessary as well depending on the type of reactor you use. I use reactor consisting of a power head which I feed the gas into from the bottom. I can see the bubbles before they go up into the power head, making a bubble counter unnecessary.
In one of my tanks, I use a Fluval, in-tank cannister filter as a reactor. I cannot see the bubbles going into that so when I set it up I just put the tubing into the water and count the bps. and when I have the desired bubble rate I stick the tube into the bottom of the filter and let it rip.
I test pH practically every day and, if needed, adjust my bubble rate base on that. If you have a decent needle valve, once you get the rate you want, you don't need to adjust it after that. I've had periods when I didn't touch my needle valve for months, once it was set.
Len
All you need is a decent regulator and needle valve, 5 - 20lb. tank and reactor. The solenoid is only needed if you intend to shut down the flow of gas overnight(unnecessary IMO). The drop in pH is so minute over night that I don't see the need for turning it off.
To me the bubble counter is unnecessary as well depending on the type of reactor you use. I use reactor consisting of a power head which I feed the gas into from the bottom. I can see the bubbles before they go up into the power head, making a bubble counter unnecessary.
In one of my tanks, I use a Fluval, in-tank cannister filter as a reactor. I cannot see the bubbles going into that so when I set it up I just put the tubing into the water and count the bps. and when I have the desired bubble rate I stick the tube into the bottom of the filter and let it rip.
I test pH practically every day and, if needed, adjust my bubble rate base on that. If you have a decent needle valve, once you get the rate you want, you don't need to adjust it after that. I've had periods when I didn't touch my needle valve for months, once it was set.
Len
I have to use a Bubble Counter since my reactor is hidden, and the reactor uses a small Rio powerhead to mix the CO2 bubbles with the water in the tube. If I power down the reactor, and it was visable, I could do without the Bubble Counter.
Then again, I like the Bubble Counter on the outside of the tank since it's so easy to glance at daily to make sure the bubble rate is good...
