ckmullin Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 (edited) I have not seen much here on the topic so I created a quick poll. Please feel free to discuss your choice if you'd like. I've always used water. Yes it does evaporate but I typically look at the co2 output in the tank than count bubbles. Perhaps in the future I'll give a go for mineral oil or glycerin. Edited January 30, 2014 by ckmullin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 I use vegetable oil, and one person I bought a tank from had it filled with mineral oil. I figuered I'd use something that'd be harmless if it got up the line, and wanted somethign I had on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 I have mineral oil in mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenity Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Voted mineral but use vegetable like Jason as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 I had added Vegetable oil as a selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahawka Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Water. I don't like getting my equipment oily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) Um. I don't want to come across as argumentative, I am ignorant to the differences. Why would you use anything other than water? I have always used water and don't understand the theory behind using other liquids? Wouldn't something that has a different viscosity simply give you a different sized bubble and therefore bubble volume (count)? Maybe colors would be a neat gimmick? But bubbles per second is simply a measure that would be specific to that particular counter, fluid makeup and the pressure. Just an item to make an educated guess as to the amount of gas we pump in. Not like the equipment is standardized so that a bubble has a set volume of gas. My bubble count was always high, but I also only used 5050 RO water so water hardness was always my limiting factor with respect to ph and Co ppm. So can someone enlighten me? Edited February 1, 2014 by Jayba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 I used water for the first few years, but got tired of topping up due to evapration - only God knows how long that counter ran dry for sometimes (does tuat even matter?). I topped it up with the closest thing I had that wouldn't evaporate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 No Jayba not argumentative, your post is exactly what is wanted. Promote discussion. People get tired of refilling it every couple weeks or even a shorter period of time than that. It seems when people add other liquids it is due to that reason only, evaporation. (from what i've read over the years about peoples answers) I've ran mine dry and imo no, it does not make a difference. It was a straight line of gas before the water and then once again after the water. Having the bubble counter is an easy way for people to compare apples to apples (at least try). "My bubble is 1bps, and little jonny's is 6bps." But still it is not apples to apples as every single tank is different in some degree which equates to different levels of needed co2. I'd rather tell people to get a co2 drop checker or watch plant growth or watch the critters to see what level is adequate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Aah. Got it. Yeah I use mine to set it and after that I ignore it and it runs dry. From time to time I will fill it up and take a peek, but my Swagelock needle valve is quite the valve. It'll do 3 bubbles a minute accurately if need be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Water seems to work, tried to open it up to add oil after reading the post and water just gushed into it as it was being opened so ill just refill it this way as the water evaporates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowMaster Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 I use RO water so it doesn't leave mineral deposits as it evaporates. Have to refill it maybe monthly, maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 Bought another reg with a built in counter and thought I would try putting mineral oil in it out of curiosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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