Why cant DIY C02 be done for a 72 gallon?

I planted a dozen plants in my 66g (Water capacity) I had 2 amazon swords and a bit of hygro, I was noticing a greenwater haze in the tank. I bought 12 plants, yesterday, mostly stem, (faster growth) some giant vals, and an ozelot sword, and moneywort. And 2 green comomba carolinia. Last night I hooked up a daisy chain co2 (2 x 2 litre bottle) system. I attatched the end of my co2 line into one of the holes of my spray bar. This morning, my greenwater is gone. Tanks is sparkling. Today I'm going to add another 2 litre bottle. (no more sugar) I'm going over to walmart to buy 20kg today. I think this will work ok until I get tired of the mixing and find a deal on a compressed system. I don't mind the fussing.
 
mixing new DIY co2 every week (or every other) gets annoying REALLY fast...
a pressurized system isn't gonna run more than 100$ if ya buy used...if you can afford a 75g + tank and PC or MH lighting, and ur into plants, then there is no excuse not to get it....unless you get a kick out of making life extra hard on yourself.
 
I don't have experience with or knowledge of the first one(JBJ), but have heard good things about Milwaukee regulator/gage sets so I personally would look harder at the second one than the first. The solenoid is important to check as well, because I've heard stories about undependable ones that malfunction. I don't use a solenoid for that reason, but rather run the gas 24/7.
Yes, with that unit you only need a bottle and a reactor for the distribution of gas into the water table(not expensive). If you look around locally, you can probably find a used 10 or 20lb. bottle at fire extinguisher places or welding shops. This is a better option than buying a new bottle, because when you refill the bottle many shops trade off the bottles. You walk in with your empty and they hand you a full one(used). Obviously, the used ones are less expensive initially as well, so it's a win/win situation. In my business I'm in and out of clubs and bars frequently and I got all my bottles for nothing, just for the asking. Check around before you invest in a new bottle.

Len
 
djlen said:
I don't have experience with or knowledge of the first one(JBJ), but have heard good things about Milwaukee regulator/gage sets so I personally would look harder at the second one than the first. The solenoid is important to check as well, because I've heard stories about undependable ones that malfunction. I don't use a solenoid for that reason, but rather run the gas 24/7.
Yes, with that unit you only need a bottle and a reactor for the distribution of gas into the water table(not expensive). If you look around locally, you can probably find a used 10 or 20lb. bottle at fire extinguisher places or welding shops. This is a better option than buying a new bottle, because when you refill the bottle many shops trade off the bottles. You walk in with your empty and they hand you a full one(used). Obviously, the used ones are less expensive initially as well, so it's a win/win situation. In my business I'm in and out of clubs and bars frequently and I got all my bottles for nothing, just for the asking. Check around before you invest in a new bottle.

Len
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Len, sorry for all the question, but i got one more. I realy want to this right as i have 8 awsome coloured blue rams and im very new to this, so the more info i get, well you know.

Anways, you say i need a reactor? Is that not what the bubble counter on the Milwaukee system does or act as? If not, would the hagen one work.....

http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=118&PROD_ID=01076980010101

Or is something like this what you are talking about?....

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19223;category_id=2873
 
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The bubble counter on the regulator does just that. It counts bubbles. It does nothing to disperse/diffuse gas into the water table.
I have used the reactor you show in the first link with success, but only in a 10 gal.
I don't think it would be viable in a tank of 72 gals., but I could be wrong. If someone has used it with success in a tank of that volume, maybe they will post. I call that type of reactor 'passive'. I would opt for an active one for a tank of that size. You can get a AC 402 power head for less than $15 that would blow very fine bubbles into your tank, or hook a siphon tube up to it for even better absorption.
There are a bunch of different ways to inject gas effectively and cheaply.
What kind of filter do you use?

Len
 
djlen said:
The bubble counter on the regulator does just that. It counts bubbles. It does nothing to disperse/diffuse gas into the water table.
I have used the reactor you show in the first link with success, but only in a 10 gal.
I don't think it would be viable in a tank of 72 gals., but I could be wrong. If someone has used it with success in a tank of that volume, maybe they will post. I call that type of reactor 'passive'. I would opt for an active one for a tank of that size. You can get a AC 402 power head for less than $15 that would blow very fine bubbles into your tank, or hook a siphon tube up to it for even better absorption.
There are a bunch of different ways to inject gas effectively and cheaply.
What kind of filter do you use?

Len
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Fluval 404.

Ive heard that a 20-30 gph pump could be added to the reactor?

I do have one of these pumps, would it work. Its rated at 270 GPH. If so, how would i hook it up to the reactor. On top of the pump there is a small tube that can be replace with a bigger tube. This tube is a air intake. Maybe i could hook up this air intake to the pump so it could suck the C02 out of the reactor and into the tank. Possibly, it could work with this?

Here is a picture and link for it.....

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=MZ3117
 
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Never used one, but the tube on top looks like a venturi. The large tube on the bottom looks like the water intake. You want to rig up something that will feed the tube on the bottom from the regulator. The gas will then be smashed up in the impeller and fed into the tank. Can that unit be fully submerged?
If you aim the fine bubbles that come out toward the bottom of the tank you should get an 80% or better absorption rate with that reactor. IMO, this will do a better job than a passive reactor.

Len
 
djlen said:
Never used one, but the tube on top looks like a venturi. The large tube on the bottom looks like the water intake. You want to rig up something that will feed the tube on the bottom from the regulator. The gas will then be smashed up in the impeller and fed into the tank. Can that unit be fully submerged?
If you aim the fine bubbles that come out toward the bottom of the tank you should get an 80% or better absorption rate with that reactor. IMO, this will do a better job than a passive reactor.

Len
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Yes, i can submerge it fully!, but the intake on the bottom is about half an inch, not sure how big the intake in the reactor is.....
 
I use a 402 power head to diffuse the gas in two of my tanks. It has a large opening on the bottom as well, but I rigged it so that I could attach a siphon tube from an old Aqua Clear HOB filter to the bottom and simply ran the CO2 line into the bottom of that and up into the power head. All you really need is a tube to attach to it that will hold the line in place so it will be guided up into the power head. The tube I use is clear, so that when I turn the power head off I can count bubbles as they come out of the CO2 line. When it's running the bubbles get sucked up so fast that they are impossible to count.
I find this to be very cheap and very effective for my purposes.

Edit: It just occured to me that you use a Fluval 404. There are DIY designs available for 'in-line' reactors that can be placed on the return flow of cannisters. The gas line is attached to a nipple on a cylinder like tube that the return water flows through and then into the tank through the return or spray bar(s).
Try the search engine and type in cannister reactors, or just reactors. Just recently someone posted a design for a reactor for his/her cannister that included parts that they bought at Home Depot for about $10.

Len
 
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