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does anyone in aus use a pressurised co2 system ? what type is it and how long do the co2 bottles last and is it easy to get refills ? also how much would i be looking at for running costs
?

OH TOLEEDY!

Hi,
How long the presurized system delivers CO2 depends upon
the rate at which it is delivered. Here in the US, my
5 pound bottle lasts about 8 months at a rate of 2 bubbles
per second.

Course you are in Aus and upside down so that could make
a difference.

Since the remainder of your questions need local answers
I'll differ to your local experts...

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

hey dan76 if your from melb you can hire c02 bottles from homebrew shops very cheap its about $15 for rent per year and a little over $30 for the gas these are a change over system and contract is through air liqiud and its a lot cheaper than going to air liqiud themselves
the size of the bottle is around the size of a scuba tank and should last a very long time
try under home brew or brewing supplies in the yellow pages
you will need to buy a regulator and there are a few that can be obtained from the internet they range upto about $150

if you need any more info let me know

Ray

sorry for the late replies to the thread ive been working heaps lately and forgot i had started this thread.
ray more info would be great , if you could give me some brand names and any personal experiences it would help as i dont really know what i need etc

OH TOLEEDY!

Hi,
Continuing from the other site....

Stateside, we have companies that furnish the parts used
by taverns and even fast food restaurants that supply
either beer or soft drinks (respectively). These parts
include the taps, tanks of CO2, and the "CO2 Proof" tubing
and fixtures. They are called "Beer and Tap services."
This is where I purchased my CO2 bottles. They are 5 pound
bottles and are aprox 5 inches in diameter, and 18 inches
high (including the shutoff valve).
The regulator mounts to the top of the tank, and that
assembly adds about another inch, maybe an inch and a half
to the overall height.

I've attached a picture of the tank and regulator assy.

Frank


FRANK attached this image:


Last edited by FRANK at 09-Nov-2005 09:38[/font]

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

thanks frank, how do you diffuse the co2 into the tank?

OH TOLEEDY!

Hi,
I use a reactor rather than a diffuser. I have a small
diffuser (slintered glass) and it is too small for the
size tank that I have. I would have to purchase a larger
one to use it. With the reactor I simply set the required
number of bubbles per second, and walk away. The reactor
recirculates the water and the gas is consumed with in it.

The only thing I don't like about my reactor, is its size.
It is an internal reactor and in a 30G tank, it looks
horrible (till the plants grew around it). Were I to do
it again, I would use an external reactor.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 09-Nov-2005 09:37

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

i live in melbourne and i would be keen to know exactly where you hire your co2 bottles from and what regulator you use, pritch33. i was thinking about this regulator: http://www.&nbsp;/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/5055, but i cant work out whether i would still need a needle valve or not. also (excuse my ignorence) what is a solanoid? is it just a needle valve that can be electronically controlled? or is it something else? do i need one?

Last edited by raggamuffin at 09-Nov-2005 19:44

Last edited by raggamuffin at 09-Nov-2005 19:45

sorry, here is the right link
http://www.&nbsp;/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/5055.

also, is it possible to hire the reg unit from the home brewing supplier as well as the tank?

cheers,
ross.

Hi,
I cannot address what the companies are like in your
country. One of your mates who is running CO2 down under
should be able to answer your question about the
availability of regulators from those who sell/rent the
bottled gas.

I suspect that the control will not be as percise as is
necessary for our aquatic uses.

My regulator is a two stage regulator. In the picture
you can see a large black knob facing you. To start, you
back that off all the way, attach the regulator to the
tank, and then open the tank valve all the way. The high
pressure side will read over 50 psi. Then you rotate the
black knob clockwise to bring the secondary pressure up
from zero to about 2 psi. The next step is to adjust the
needle valve ( the small black knob off to the lower left
of the regulator) for the required number of bubbles per
second. The first stage adjustment is too coarse. You
would go nutz trying to adjust that to achieve the right
bubble count.

The needle valve in the second stage gives you the
fine adjustment that is necessary.

A solenoid valve is an ON/OFF valve. It is normally
connected to either a timer or a controller. It is
connected in the CO2 line just before the reactor or
diffuser and is used to shut off the gas flow without
having to mess with any of the regulator adjustments.

Solenoids connected to a timer are set so that the
timer turns off the gas when the lights go out.
(Some folks use it to conserve gas as plants don't
consume CO2 in the dark and they consider it a waste.)

Others connect a solenoid to a controller. This is a
small computer that has a connection for the solenoid,
and one for a pH probe.
The computer monitors the tanks' pH and is set with a
high and low reading. When the pH climbs to a preset
reading, the controller turns activates the solenoid and
the CO2 is injected till the pH drops to a preset level
and then it is turned off. The preset levels are very
close so that the pH does not vary by just a fraction,
and the cycling on and off holds the pH at a preset level.

Hope this helps...
Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 10-Nov-2005 01:02

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

so do you disengage your co2 injector at night? i hear that ph drops if you dont, and that the fish might not get enough o2, although i dont really understand the o2 part as co2 conc in water is independent of o2 in water.

for some reason i just cant seem to get that link to work. anyway its a tunze brand regulator for $156AU, that seems (from the look of the picture) to have the needle valve.

i think this is the regulator that you are trying to link to

http://www.&nbsp;/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/5055?osCsid=436190749a1c3dc0f9c9f6eefaf3a65f

ps frank there is a controller on that page too, do you think that looks ok?

OH TOLEEDY!

i think the link might be a little long for this forum to handle.

George booth in an article archived at http://www.thekrib.com advocates a 'leave it on 24/7' policy, because you'll see a massive ph rise (often one whole ph point) if you turn it off, where as you might see a slight ph drop (0.3 of a point or so) if you leave it on. in regard to fish suffocating, there will be a small drop in o2 saturation when the lights are off, but this is negligable, given you have enough water circulation.

i think Mr Booth has convinced me to leave the system connected at night, and that expensive solanoid/ph controllers are convenient but ultimately unnessesary.

ok try this one
[link=http:// www.&#160;/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=co2]http:// www.&#160;/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=co2[/link]

i just cant get it to work, try copy and paste

http://www.&#160;/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/5055?osCsid=ca20c3670778ef34bd26c5c60ec8cbc9

Last edited by dan76 at 10-Nov-2005 19:18

Last edited by dan76 at 10-Nov-2005 19:20

i give up trying for links

go to http://www.&nbsp;/catalog/ and put co2 in the product search

Last edited by dan76 at 10-Nov-2005 19:22

OH TOLEEDY!

ive worked it out its some type of advertising block, maybe if equarium had a decent product list i would get it off them,

OH TOLEEDY!