Newbie To Co2 And Need Some Advice Please

[Rob.S]

Cylinder upside down? I don't have that option - mine came with a plastic "foot" that you stuff the bottle into .

 

[Nosnibor]

Cylinder upside down? I don't have that option - mine came with a plastic "foot" that you stuff the bottle into .

Hmm, have you got any photos of yours?

I think having a camera with this hobby is one of the most important tools eh

Think I have it correct now, bit late for me to switch it on now but I think I will set it all up. I'll connect the inlet now and see how much a mess I make

So just to confirm:
Needle Valve to
Solenoid to
NRV to
Bubble Counter to
Reactor

I need to change the plug on the Solenoid first, came with a German plug of course - doh

Martin
PS So did you say that you haven't any fish in your aquarium then?

 

[SuperColey1]

The first pic is the regulator that has the dual gauges. One for cylinder pressure which should hit around the 50-70bar mark once connected. the other gauge is for output pressure which once you unscrew the valve on the cylinder (after connected all up) you should try and get to 2 (then it should drop a little) after it has dropped try to get it to between 1 and 1.5 whilst the CO2 is running (it will climb up to 2ish again when the CO2 is off)

The needle valve is already connected I see which is the protruding part. This part should be the last thing you turn on and I would suggest with that needle valve (same as mine if you see my pics) to turn it 1 full turn and then check your bubble count.

CO2 tank upside down. BOOM. Big no no. It is a cage for carrying and also protect the viital component of the cylinder, the valve at the top. Gas Cylinders should ALWAYS be positioned uprightor you can have some pretty bad problems.

NRV should be before the bubble counter as Rob said otherwise you will lose the water you put into the bubble counter and it will go into your cylinder (when open) and clog things up.

I think you will have to email Aquarianversand or do a new thread asking the question. Some reactors seem to be only for external, some for only internal and some for both (I always thought the purpose of them was to have them external so I've learnt something new tonight) Can't offer any other advice I'm afraid.

Personally if that great thing has to go inside the tank I'd get a nice neat small glass ceramic to put inside instead. mmmmmmm glass mmmmmmmmmm

Andy

 

[Nosnibor]

The first pic is the regulator that has the dual gauges. One for cylinder pressure which should hit around the 50-70bar mark once connected. the other gauge is for output pressure which once you unscrew the valve on the cylinder (after connected all up) you should try and get to 2 (then it should drop a little) after it has dropped try to get it to between 1 and 1.5 whilst the CO2 is running (it will climb up to 2ish again when the CO2 is off)

The needle valve is already connected I see which is the protruding part. This part should be the last thing you turn on and I would suggest with that needle valve (same as mine if you see my pics) to turn it 1 full turn and then check your bubble count.

CO2 tank upside down. BOOM. Big no no. It is a cage for carrying and also protect the viital component of the cylinder, the valve at the top. Gas Cylinders should ALWAYS be positioned uprightor you can have some pretty bad problems.

NRV should be before the bubble counter as Rob said otherwise you will lose the water you put into the bubble counter and it will go into your cylinder (when open) and clog things up.

I think you will have to email Aquarianversand or do a new thread asking the question. Some reactors seem to be only for external, some for only internal and some for both (I always thought the purpose of them was to have them external so I've learnt something new tonight) Can't offer any other advice I'm afraid.

Personally if that great thing has to go inside the tank I'd get a nice neat small glass ceramic to put inside instead. mmmmmmm glass mmmmmmmmmm

Andy

Andy,

Cheers, understand which is the regulator and which is the Needle valve now I have an extra knob on my system so that confused me a little.

I have the NRV now between the solenoid and the Bubble Counter now, and I have the CO2 cylinder the right way round now - I decided last night that it actually looked better so I'm glad I did that now, I wouldn't want any booming

The git in Hong Kong screwed up my order of the drop checker and even though he gave me feedback straight away saying how quick I was at paying, he didn't send it out thinking that I haven't paid yet - DOH, what a plonker! So I should hopfully get that in a few days (fingers crossed).

Until then, I'm introducing the CO2 really slowly, was thinking about 20 bpm. My old Hydro system states 20bpm for a 200 litre and mine is a 180 litre. Either way, I'd rather have it too low and increase it when the checker arrives than to gas the poor fishes (introduced another male Dutch Ram as our male one died a couple of weeks ago). So now we have Oosterbaan and Gretel Just need to get that pH down a little.

I will upload photos of my set up later, cheers guys.

Martin

 

[ShoC]

Sorry to Hijack this but just a quick question,

Im about to buy 2x 36w T5 setup and I know i'll need a co2 injection as I have a 20gal tank,

atm Im only looking at homemade co2 with a bottle and some yeast etc..

whats the chances of me overdosing with Co2?
how can I adjust /monitor this and im petrified of killing my fish

 

[garuf]

Cylinder upside down? I don't have that option - mine came with a plastic "foot" that you stuff the bottle into .

I need to change the plug on the Solenoid first, came with a German plug of course - doh

Martin
PS So did you say that you haven't any fish in your aquarium then?

me? yeah nothing yet, just tiger shrimp for the time being
dont ever add them untill your plants are fully rooted i spend more time replanting than anything else, and i still dont have a good techniquie yet lol
are german and english mains the same voltage, could run into trouble if theyre not?
also what about refilling the bottle once its spent? how and where do you get this done?

 

[SuperColey1]

With the european plugs I just cut the cable and wire them into the english plug. remember the colours though if they are different!!!. The earth doesn't connect to a pin in a european plug. can't remember what mine wer like. I'll unscrew the solenoid one later and have a look (got a pool match to go to)

Shoc - You will not overdose with DIY it is virtually impossible to get enough CO2 into a tank from DIY.

Nosnibor - The extra knob is to open the cylinder. I use disposable cannisters which don't need a knob to open them, they are more like a car tyre valve, and as the regulator is screwed down it pushes down the valve in the cylinder and opens it.

The bps/bpm is dependant on your plant mass and diffusor efficiency. Assuming you had a 100% efficient (no such thing) diffusor/reactor. Then a tank filled to the rafters with plants will consume CO2 quicker (as long as it has the equivalent amount of nutrient available)

A tank with 1 or 2 plants will consume the CO2 (and nutrients) slower.

Therefore this is why the drop checker is so important.

1bps in 1 tank might hit a dangerous level of say 50ppm in 1 tank with less plants (or slower growers) whereas in another tank the same size packed to the rafters would probably not be enough and algae would appear.

Therefore because of the reference solution being used rather than the tank water the drop checker is like a weighing scale.
When you put it in it is already tipped to the low CO2/blue side.
If you put more CO2 (assuming 100% efficiency again. lol) than the plants can consume the scales tip towards the yellow/dangerous side. If you put less than the plants need then the scales tip towards the blue.
If the plants are getting the right amount of CO2 for their consumption then the scales stay level/green.

This is assuming they are getting all the nutrient they need for thelight available, but thats a different matter totally, in that if another nutrient is missing then they stop growing and also stop using CO2.

The 'balance' people talk about can be very tricky hence why so many use EI as with this method you can overload one side of the scales up with the nutrients (an just the right amount of CO2) but WOW the scales stay level. This is because we put more NPK and Trace in than the plants need then do a 50% water change each week to dilute the leftovers.

Andy

p.s. for the all the advice I am giving on CO2 and nutrients to avoid algae my tank isstill in darkness until tomorrow due to a problem 1 month ago with....ahem....(whispers)CO2

 

[Nosnibor]

Nosnibor - The extra knob is to open the cylinder. I use disposable cannisters which don't need a knob to open them, they are more like a car tyre valve, and as the regulator is screwed down it pushes down the valve in the cylinder and opens it.

I get it, very clever. So I take it that means that I could take my cylinder somewhere to get it refilled then?

The bps/bpm is dependant on your plant mass and diffusor efficiency. Assuming you had a 100% efficient (no such thing) diffusor/reactor. Then a tank filled to the rafters with plants will consume CO2 quicker (as long as it has the equivalent amount of nutrient available)

A tank with 1 or 2 plants will consume the CO2 (and nutrients) slower.

Therefore this is why the drop checker is so important.

1bps in 1 tank might hit a dangerous level of say 50ppm in 1 tank with less plants (or slower growers) whereas in another tank the same size packed to the rafters would probably not be enough and algae would appear.

Therefore because of the reference solution being used rather than the tank water the drop checker is like a weighing scale.

When you put it in it is already tipped to the low CO2/blue side.
If you put more CO2 (assuming 100% efficiency again. lol) than the plants can consume the scales tip towards the yellow/dangerous side. If you put less than the plants need then the scales tip towards the blue.
If the plants are getting the right amount of CO2 for their consumption then the scales stay level/green.

Wow, that is very clever, very interesting indeed. Makes so much sense, my drop checker should be here any day soon. I should be getting my solution tomorrow with the Low pH solution (Bromo). I take it that until the drop checker arrives I will be able to just do normal Low pH checks to see a rough level of CO2 in the water?

This is assuming they are getting all the nutrient they need for thelight available, but thats a different matter totally, in that if another nutrient is missing then they stop growing and also stop using CO2.

The 'balance' people talk about can be very tricky hence why so many use EI as with this method you can overload one side of the scales up with the nutrients (an just the right amount of CO2) but WOW the scales stay level. This is because we put more NPK and Trace in than the plants need then do a 50% water change each week to dilute the leftovers.

Andy

p.s. for the all the advice I am giving on CO2 and nutrients to avoid algae my tank isstill in darkness until tomorrow due to a problem 1 month ago with....ahem....(whispers)CO2

What is EI? I have read it a few times but haven't asked about it yet. Can you give me a little explanation of it please?

Also what is NPK and Trace? I haven't heard about this at all yet

I'll be looking into upgrading my lights once I have comepleted this CO2 project of mine Might be asking some questions one that subject too but I obviously won't bombard you with it, I'm sure that others would help too but I seem to be a few months behind you I think

I think the reason why you have such good advice is because of your experience - even the bad ones.

Thanks as usual
Martin

 

[garuf]

What is EI? I have read it a few times but haven't asked about it yet. Can you give me a little explanation of it please?

EI stands for estimative index, basicaly its giving the plants more of what they need to grow so nothing runs out, the estimate comes into it in that you estimate how much of each substance youll need to use, just follow james guide or find tom barrs youll soon get it

Also what is NPK and Trace?

off hand i cant remember what NPK is, get out the ol'periodic table ive a feeling its somthing to do with that, trace are trace elements boron etc. that there should be traces of in your water and are vital for plant growth

 

[Nosnibor]

What is EI? I have read it a few times but haven't asked about it yet. Can you give me a little explanation of it please?

EI stands for estimative index, basicaly its giving the plants more of what they need to grow so nothing runs out, the estimate comes into it in that you estimate how much of each substance youll need to use, just follow james guide or find tom barrs youll soon get it

Cheers, where can I find James' Guide? Are they available on Google or something?

Cheers

Martin

 

[Nosnibor]

What is EI? I have read it a few times but haven't asked about it yet. Can you give me a little explanation of it please?

EI stands for estimative index, basicaly its giving the plants more of what they need to grow so nothing runs out, the estimate comes into it in that you estimate how much of each substance youll need to use, just follow james guide or find tom barrs youll soon get it

Cheers, where can I find James' Guide? Are they available on Google or something?

Cheers

Martin

Ah ahhhh, got it http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/EI.htm just reading up on it now. I'll do a search for James' Guide too - cheers.

Sounds like a great Method (and easy :lol)

Martin

 

[garuf]

What is EI? I have read it a few times but haven't asked about it yet. Can you give me a little explanation of it please?

EI stands for estimative index, basicaly its giving the plants more of what they need to grow so nothing runs out, the estimate comes into it in that you estimate how much of each substance youll need to use, just follow james guide or find tom barrs youll soon get it

Cheers, where can I find James' Guide? Are they available on Google or something?

Cheers

Martin

Ah ahhhh, got it http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/EI.htm just reading up on it now. I'll do a search for James' Guide too - cheers.

Sounds like a great Method (and easy :lol)

Martin

yeah my exact reasons for chosing to use it, get your chems from aquaessentials and bulk buy and make it yourself itll be cheaper was the best advice i was given regarding the subject.
james article (confusing as im sure its by george) is the pinned one on this forum

 

[Nosnibor]

yeah my exact reasons for chosing to use it, get your chems from aquaessentials and bulk buy and make it yourself itll be cheaper was the best advice i was given regarding the subject.
james article (confusing as im sure its by george) is the pinned one on this forum

He copied it from that website link I posted the little monkey

I can't believe it, I ordered £38 worth of stuff from AE yesterday and I could have ordered a little more and got free delivery

I ordered a Drop Checker from Hong Kong on eBay and didn't realise that AE had them The guy at HK forgot I paid and even though he left me positive feedback he didn't send out the item, so after chasing twice I have gotten him to post it today the git!

In my next order from AE I will order the stuff and make it myself. I also want to ask Andy how he makes his d4KH solution, that will save a bit of money too £7 a bottle plus P&P.

Martin

 

[Rob.S]

I also want to ask Andy how he makes his d4KH solution, that will save a bit of money too £7 a bottle plus P&P.

Martin

Have a look here ........... click

 

[garuf]

He copied it from that website link I posted the little monkey

hahaha oooo youd fail your exams if you did that

I can't believe it, I ordered £38 worth of stuff from AE yesterday and I could have ordered a little more and got free delivery

yeah i bought tiger shrimp for my tank because i was short of £15 for free postage and quiet like shrimps last time i got stuff from AE should have got my ferts instead

I ordered a Drop Checker from Hong Kong on eBay and didn't realise that AE had them The guy at HK forgot I paid and even though he left me positive feedback he didn't send out the item, so after chasing twice I have gotten him to post it today the git!

pshhhh always the case with forign orders, ive been lucky but i read stuff like that all the time. Sad times.

In my next order from AE I will order the stuff and make it myself. I also want to ask Andy how he makes his d4KH solution, that will save a bit of money too £7 a bottle plus p&p

and yeah me too once i get my co2 id be interested to find out how its done. cant beat saving money