Diy Co2 Leak

[panboy]

i have 2 2liters set up to my 50g tank. however for some reason i always seem to have a leak around the bottles somewhere. i drill a hole in the cap the size of the tubing and then completely cover around the hole and tubing with silicone glue. however i always have a leak and not much co2 is making it to my tank.

any other ideas so i dont leak? thanks

 

[Waterloo Kid]

If the tops of your bottles are smooth then make sure you roughen up the surfaces to ensure the silicone can grip to it. Also roughen up the tubing for the same reason. Silicone is not a glue and as such it requires a mechanical grip to bond to. Plastic is just too smooth (smoother than glass). Also don't forget to use silicone on both sides of the cap. Using it inside is especially important as the gas pressure will tend to push the seal closed on the inside and try to break the seal on the outside of the cap.
By the way, if you want to know what sort of pressure your system runs at simply disconnect the bottle and blow bubbles in the tank. If you have a deepish tank of 10 inches plus then the pressure required is suprisingly high.

WK