Diy Co2 Question

[Bichirman]

Hi,

Got a potentially weird question. I am going to be setting up a DIY fire extinguisher co2 system but at the moment i'm hitting a little bit of a snag. I have a 440L tank and from what I can tell the 2kg extinguisher will not be lasting too long but the 5kg extinguisher doesn't look like it will fit underneath the tank. Therefore I am wondering whether or not it would be possible to connect up 2 x 2kg extinguishers to the same regulator and solenoid? It might take a bit of additional DIY but just wondering if anyone has tried this and is still alive?

 

[Verminator89]

I'm petrified of my FE which sits beside my face at night yet alone two for starters.

I'd imagine this would be potentially lethal would it not? The solenoid isnt actually required from what i gather. Running CO2 24/7 isnt as bad as people initially worry. When i started out in planted i had lengthy discussions with people in pm on UKAPS, particularly themuleous. So i don't use a solenoid, i have it plugged in...but it runs 24/7. If you don't mind refilling a little more often its not an issue. My point is that doing so will cut the cost of set-up and will make it more cost effective to buy two 2kg exstinguishers and a regulator for each, saving the hassle to connect two together. Which just sounds dangerous to me.

 

[Bichirman]

I'm petrified of my FE which sits beside my face at night yet alone two for starters.

I'd imagine this would be potentially lethal would it not? The solenoid isnt actually required from what i gather. Running CO2 24/7 isnt as bad as people initially worry. When i started out in planted i had lengthy discussions with people in pm on UKAPS, particularly themuleous. So i don't use a solenoid, i have it plugged in...but it runs 24/7. If you don't mind refilling a little more often its not an issue. My point is that doing so will cut the cost of set-up and will make it more cost effective to buy two 2kg exstinguishers and a regulator for each, saving the hassle to connect two together. Which just sounds dangerous to me.

I got the idea from my diving set up. I have a twin tank set up so I would assume the equipment to link up two extinguishers isn't going to be massively different. The solenoid isnt a major deal, I was contemplating a 24/7 set up too but was just aware that it might not last too long on 24/7 in a 440L tank.

Its not going to be too close to my face during bed time, unless the wife gets really annoyed with me in the near future.

 

[JenCliBee]

I'm petrified of my FE which sits beside my face at night yet alone two for starters.

I'd imagine this would be potentially lethal would it not? The solenoid isnt actually required from what i gather. Running CO2 24/7 isnt as bad as people initially worry. When i started out in planted i had lengthy discussions with people in pm on UKAPS, particularly themuleous. So i don't use a solenoid, i have it plugged in...but it runs 24/7. If you don't mind refilling a little more often its not an issue. My point is that doing so will cut the cost of set-up and will make it more cost effective to buy two 2kg exstinguishers and a regulator for each, saving the hassle to connect two together. Which just sounds dangerous to me.

It's more for the purpose of plants not needing co2 while lights are out, it is basically running 12-14 (sometimes more) hours of co2 to be completely wasted which on any tank isn't cost effective and pointless, not to mention probably doubling the amount of time the bottle needs filling, the other purpose is giving the fish a break from excess co2 in the tank.

I'm petrified of my FE which sits beside my face at night yet alone two for starters.

I'd imagine this would be potentially lethal would it not? The solenoid isn't actually required from what i gather. Running CO2 24/7 isnt as bad as people initially worry. When i started out in planted i had lengthy discussions with people in pm on UKAPS, particularly themuleous. So i don't use a solenoid, i have it plugged in...but it runs 24/7. If you don't mind refilling a little more often its not an issue. My point is that doing so will cut the cost of set-up and will make it more cost effective to buy two 2kg exstinguishers and a regulator for each, saving the hassle to connect two together. Which just sounds dangerous to me.

I got the idea from my diving set up. I have a twin tank set up so I would assume the equipment to link up two extinguishers isn't going to be massively different. The solenoid isn't a major deal, I was contemplating a 24/7 set up too but was just aware that it might not last too long on 24/7 in a 440L tank.

Its not going to be too close to my face during bed time, unless the wife gets really annoyed with me in the near future.

It would depend on the tank setup and plant mass which would determine the amount of Co2 needed, if you have relatively low light and only a small/moderately planted tank the Co2 use would be minimal. It could last much longer than expected for varying setups.

 

[GrayScale]

I feel this could be potentially pointless unless you can control both tanks with 1 needle valve otherwise one tank will have to be running higher than the other. I'm sure it could be possible to set them atcequilibrium but that could take days since most drop checkers take up to two hours to make an accurate reading after adjustment. I don't think that running 2 tanks at say .75 bps per the bubble counter would be the same as 1.5bps from one tank and seems like it would be unstable IMO.

If it did work I wonder if there are reverse gang valves where you could supply 2 lines that merge into one. I dont know to me it sounds more work than needs be but I like things simple. You could always get an additional little cabinet the tank could fit in that way you could have additional storage below with the fe plus on the top. Its what I would but it's all sircumstantial.

 

[Bichirman]

I feel this could be potentially pointless unless you can control both tanks with 1 needle valve otherwise one tank will have to be running higher than the other. I'm sure it could be possible to set them atcequilibrium but that could take days since most drop checkers take up to two hours to make an accurate reading after adjustment. I don't think that running 2 tanks at say .75 bps per the bubble counter would be the same as 1.5bps from one tank and seems like it would be unstable IMO.

If it did work I wonder if there are reverse gang valves where you could supply 2 lines that merge into one. I dont know to me it sounds more work than needs be but I like things simple. You could always get an additional little cabinet the tank could fit in that way you could have additional storage below with the fe plus on the top. Its what I would but it's all sircumstantial.

The tanks would be set up to run off the same needle valve. Its the same set up really as my twin tank system on my scuba diving gear. I have a regulator (mouthpiece) which runs via a splitter into two seperate tanks on my back. After each dive the amount left in each tank is exactly the same so the same amount of gas is being taken from each tank with each breath.

Its just a pondering question really, not sure if i'm going to go ahead with it. Just had too much time on my hands in work this week.


Thanks for the input.

 

[GrayScale]

If you can get them both on the same needle cable stabilly I can see it working.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Or get a pub co2 tank like I have.

linky