Some Questions On Co2

[Maxwell]

55 Gallon

3x54W HOT5

1-Wide Spectrum

1-6700K

1_10000K

Eheim 2213

5lb CO2

Milwaukee Regulator & Needle Valve

I introduced CO2 10 days ago but ran dry 8 days later.

Probable reason is that some leakage happened on setup & had

a wide open needle valve at different times..

Was considering trading up to a 10 lb until they told me the difference

in Tanks and prices.. I paid $137 filled price on the 5 lb.

They wanted an additional $162 for the 10 lb aluminum tank with my trade in.

Does that sound reasonable?

I ask because the guy that works the Dock estimated an additional $40 for the larger Tank

but was given a different story at the order desk.

Anyway this dockman tells me that you only get useage of about 3.5 lbs on the 5'er

and about 8 lbs on the 10.

I came home with a filled 5 pounder.. No blowoffs or leaks this time.

I've set the needle valve to get about 1 bubble a second and will work with this as long

as the CO2 indicator shows green

I'm hoping I get a couple of months out of this tank..whats your experience with this kind of

bubble rate?

Is anyone running the T2 lighting? Only one U.S. supplier has these lights that I can tell.

They promote them as the next generation aquarium light even more efficient than the HOT5

At 1/4"D they only come in 5 inch links. They have fusible links.Pretty decent price too.

Here's a link to that supplier in case your're interested

http://americanaquariumproducts.com/

[blink]

I haven't used a 5lb but I'd say you have a pretty serious leak if you only got 8 days put of it, every account I've read says a 5lb should be at least a month.

Do you mind mentioning where you got your tank, they sound like a place I'd like to avoid lol

[jvision]

I used to get almost 2 months out of a paintball canister and 13months+ from a 10lb running at 3-5 bubbles/sec

[Maxwell]

I haven't used a 5lb but I'd say you have a pretty serious leak if you only got 8 days put of it, every account I've read says a 5lb should be at least a month.

Do you mind mentioning where you got your tank, they sound like a place I'd like to avoid lol

OxyPro on 53 Ave..Are these the only guys in town.

New regulator..no leaks evident on a soap test

[ckmullin]

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/cr-p10lbc/Aluminum+CO2+Cylinder+-+10+Pound.html

$300...they are taking you as a sucker. (with all due respect)

return it and get your money back. cause a stink.

[Fisher]

Was considering trading up to a 10 lb until they told me the difference

in Tanks and prices.. I paid $137 filled price on the 5 lb.

They wanted an additional $162 for the 10 lb aluminum tank with my trade in.

Does that sound reasonable?

Is anyone running the T2 lighting? Here's a link to that supplier in case your're interested

http://americanaquariumproducts.com/

I only looked at tanks once. The difference between buying 5# and 10# aluminum was around $50, maybe a bit less. But, admittedly, I haven't ever checked what trade-in upgrades cost. So without some empirical trade-in comparisons, it's hard to make a reasonable value judgement.

One reason the trade-in price might seem expensive, is because the 5# tank you have is steel and not aluminum.

edit: thanks for the T2 link!

edit#2: J&L doesn't accept trade-ins on expended tanks. They will issue a credit only if the tank has a mechanical problem -or- if you return the tank in the same condition as purchased.

Edited May 27, 2012 by Fisher

[jeremoose]

That price for a 10 pound sounds insane.. I paid 150$ for a 20 pound filled!

Edited May 28, 2012 by jeremoose

[blink]

I haven't used a 5lb but I'd say you have a pretty serious leak if you only got 8 days put of it, every account I've read says a 5lb should be at least a month.

Do you mind mentioning where you got your tank, they sound like a place I'd like to avoid lol

OxyPro on 53 Ave..Are these the only guys in town.

New regulator..no leaks evident on a soap test

Try praxair, linde, air liquide, advanced industrial supply.

I'll probably be going to ais as that's where my employer gets our gas.

Will post on my experiences.

[ckmullin]

oxypro's price is the same in calgary as edmonton. 10 pd steel 169 while al is 199.

i bought a setup from a member on aa however I was originally going to purchase from jlaquatics.com.

[FishTankBoy]

A 10 lbs co2 lasts my 90 gallon for over a year. I am running an electronic solenoid with a Milwaukee PH controller though. Do you have a solenoid on your setup?

When you installed the regulator to the aluminum tank, did you use a permaseal or a new nylon washer? Also use teflon tape when attaching the regulator components together?

Tell us about your full setup. What items are inline after the needle valve (e.g., Needle Valve --> Bubble counter --> check valve --> Reactor). Or, you can spray some soapy water all along the line to see where the leak is coming from.

I would suggest that you just keep the 5lbs bottle as it should last you at least 8 to 14 months. If you run the electric solenoid on a timer, have it turn on 2 hours before lights on and 1 hour before lights off.

[FishTankBoy]

Whoops just read that you did a soap test. You still have a leak somewhere. Try running vegetable oil in the bubble counter, it gives you a better picture of how many bubbles per second.

As for the light, why not go with LED technology? Or you can retro-fit your existing HOT5 with new bulbs.

Edited May 28, 2012 by FishTankBoy

[Maxwell]

I have the Milwaukee setup from J&L. See their website. Cheap, but good enough, time will tell..

Not using a reactor, output goes throught my water intake on my Eheim 2213.. Think I'm getting

pretty good disolution. Set my bubble counter to about 1bps. Rather than go the timer route I just throttle

back the needle valve a bit after the lighting goes out on a 12 hr cycle

[Fisher]

Not using a reactor, output goes throught my water intake on my Eheim 2213.. Think I'm getting

pretty good disolution.

Say, does routing your co2 through your canister make the impeller chatter?

[ckmullin]

Not using a reactor, output goes throught my water intake on my Eheim 2213.. Think I'm getting

pretty good disolution.

Say, does routing your co2 through your canister make the impeller chatter?

I do the exact same thing and no it does not make a peep. The little bubble is broken up long time before it even reaches the impeller. At least in my fluval canister setup, i have close to 4 feet of ribbed tubing which it must travel even before going into the canister.

However when the bubble leaves the airline tubing and first enters the filter intake, there is a very subtle sound but I need to have my ear almost against the glass to hear it.

[Maxwell]

Did a more extensive leak test on the regulato and found a leak on the thread of the high pressure gauge.

Phoned J&L and they said remove the gauge and apply some teflon tape.

Once I performed that simple operation, the leak was fixed. You wouldn't think that a manufacture instal would

be faulty? Oh well that made my day.