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Pressurized CO2...Just thought I'd share.

346K views 413 replies 138 participants last post by  rajdude 
#1 · (Edited)
So, there have been a lot of threads (it seems) lately regarding pressurized CO2. Hopefully, this primer will help alleviate any fears that people have when starting to delve into CO2 as it can be quite intimidating at first. In addition, hopefully this primer will answer some of the most commonly asked questions regarding pressurized CO2.

As this thread will be discussing how to set up a pressurized CO2 system, advantages/disadvantages of using a pressurized setup versus a DIY (yeast) CO2 system will not be discussed in this primer. For more information, please take a look here:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/9-general-planted-tank-discussion/107303-newbie-setup.html#5

On to pressurized CO2!

First, when people refer to pressurized CO2, we often read that we will need a "regulator" or a "regulator build." What does this mean exactly? This term is thrown around quite loosely in the aquarium hobby, but a pressurized CO2 system consists of more than just a regulator.

Here are the essential components you will need:

1) A CO2 cylinder
CO2 cylinders come in various sizes. They are often used in paintball guns (usually sold as 20 oz cans). They also come in 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 lb sizes (larger sizes such as 50 lb tanks do exist, but they are quite large and bulky, and are not commonly sold outside of specialty applications).

CO2 tanks come with a fitting known as a CGA320 fitting, which is standard in North America. Europe and Asia use different industrial standards. Paintball tanks, however, do not come with this fitting, and come with a pin depression type valve. More on this will follow below.

Many people believe that getting a small, paintball CO2 tank is "cheaper", however, this is not usually the case. Regulators (see below) often come with CGA320 fittings (or can be adapted to such). However, as paintball tanks do not contain this CGA320 fitting, normal regulators cannot be used, and you must purchase either a special regulator with the required fitting, or look around for a paintball tank to CGA320 adapter (often, quite difficult to find). In addition, refill costs for CO2 tanks are generally not much different. The refill cost for (say) a 5 lb tank and 10 lb tank may only be a few dollars different. For example, I can get my 10 lb tank refilled for $17.50, while a 20 oz paintball tank may cost $5 to refill. This means that the cost per pound of gas is more for a smaller tank. In addition, the larger the CO2 tank, the longer you can go without refilling the tank, etc. It can be quite a hassle to drive out and refill the tank, depending on where you live. The general piece of advice is to get the largest tank that you can afford and/or is feasible for the space that you have.
 
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#259 ·
Necessary, no. But they help with CO2 diffusion. Usually, you will want some method of CO2 diffusion, whether it be a reactor, a glass diffuser with a ceramic disc, an inline atomizer, etc.

A reactor is usually inline, so does not take up real estate with the aquarium, and furthermore is generally very efficient at dissolving CO2.
 
#262 ·
Hey Anthony,

Just wanted to say thanks for a great primer. I've been dosing with Flourish Excel, but am thinking about making the jump to c02.

Out of curiosity, can you give me some idea of your total investment in a system such as you've outlined?

Thanks in advance!

Steve
 
#263 ·
Out of curiosity, can you give me some idea of your total investment in a system such as you've outlined?
It really depends on whether or not you are patient enough to go bargain hunting.

I managed to build my entire system for less than 200 USD (including CO2 cylinder).
 
#265 ·
GREAT READ,, my question

I have a 110G 30" tall I have over 50 fish mostly a variety of tetras. I have also been contemplating using c02 since my number of plants has drastically increased since I was bitten by the planted tank bug. I am in process of shopping for the items I need thankfully being in close with the trades I am able to find many parts (tanks& guages) easily.
Question 1-any chance my fish create enough c02?
Question 2- for my 110G would it be better to go for an inline reactor on my fluval or a glass or SS in tank reactor? or does it even matter?
Question 3- where should I start as far as bbs?

Thanks in advance The hr it took to read thru this thread was well worth it, and at times amusing , GREAT WORK DARKBLADE
 
#266 ·
Question 1-any chance my fish create enough c02?
Not likely. Even in low light aquariums, the amount of CO2 generated by livestock would probably only barely meet the requirements of the plants (and only if lightly planted).

Question 2- for my 110G would it be better to go for an inline reactor on my fluval or a glass or SS in tank reactor? or does it even matter?
Depends on what you prioritize. An inline reactor is clean, and means one less piece of equipment inside your aquarium. It does, however, require a canister filter (which you seem to already have).

I find that in tank diffusers tend to be slightly cheaper.

Question 3- where should I start as far as bbs?
In a 110 gallon, the amount of CO2 that you will require will essentially be a steady stream. You are aiming to achieve ~30 ppm of CO2, which will require quite a lot of CO2 to be injected.

Thanks in advance The hr it took to read thru this thread was well worth it, and at times amusing , GREAT WORK DARKBLADE
Thank you for the kind words.
 
#272 ·
Glad I could help :)

It is time consumimg to determine what you'll need and costly to put it all together. I spent about 3-4 weeks just researching before I purchased any equipment and it was difficult to find and put it all together but this particular thread was THE blueprint that I used to build my CO2 system. Good luck! :proud:and THANK YOU Darkblade48!!!
Again, I'm glad that I could help.

I think the main problem is that trying to build your own CO2 setup takes a lot of time. It does not need to cost a lot (mine cost around $200 including the cylinder).

well not sure how to get them here yet but this might work?
Your linked pictures would work; it appears to be a Victor single stage setup.
 
#270 · (Edited)
Pressurized CO2 System- Completed

Hi there, Just wanted to ad that I have JUST finished putting a CO2 system together based on this thread. I used;
*an aluminum #5 CO2 canister (cost 75$ e-bay, 15$ to fill)...something I did not know when I bought it is that it will have to have a date stamp on it for many places to refil it, so check on that.
*a Victor single stage, dual gauge regulator like the one in the diagram at the beggining of this thread (cost 180$ on e-bay, only found the price goes up from there).
*an Ideal needle valve (cost 70$ aquariumplants.com)
*Burkerk Solinoid (cost 50$ from aquariumplants.com has to be fitted with power cable so check that)
*Aqua Medic Bubble counter (cost 30$ aquariumplants.com mine leakes, ordered one for 20$ that looks a lot better from greenleafaquariums.com)
*Aqua Medic CO2 reactor (cost 120$ aquariumplants.com)
*Mag Drive Pump @ 500 GPH (cost 80$ aquariumplants.com) **this was not mentioned in the original thread that I could find, but you will of course need a pump of some sort. I think some caister filters might be able to handle the load but I would suggest you look into that 1st.
I've done the math for you, I spent 600$ to put this together not including tubing, teflon tape, brass fittings, some screws and little things like that that prolly added another 30-40$ to the cost. I took me two days to make sure I had all of the leaks sealed tight. The bubble counter leaks very very slowly but I have ordered a replacement and that problem should be taken care of very soon. I mounted everything under the stand of my 75 gallon aqaurium so only two 5/8" clear tubes are visible and the uptake has a sponge filter. I also ordered a Drop counter when I ordered the replacement Bubble Counter as I feel after spending the cash I have I want to know precicsely what it is doing and how well. I will update here on what this does for my planted aquarium in a couple weeks, but I wanted to put as much info here as I could think of for anyone about to try this for the first time...It is time consumimg to determine what you'll need and costly to put it all together. I spent about 3-4 weeks just researching before I purchased any equipment and it was difficult to find and put it all together but this particular thread was THE blueprint that I used to build my CO2 system. Good luck! :proud:and THANK YOU Darkblade48!!!

I'll try to ad some pics this week just so you can see what it all looks like.
 
#273 ·
Hi there, Just wanted to ad that I have JUST finished putting a CO2 system together based on this thread. I used;
*an aluminum #5 CO2 canister (cost 75$ e-bay, 15$ to fill)...something I did not know when I bought it is that it will have to have a date stamp on it for many places to refil it, so check on that.
*a Victor single stage, dual gauge regulator like the one in the diagram at the beggining of this thread (cost 180$ on e-bay, only found the price goes up from there).
*an Ideal needle valve (cost 70$ aquariumplants.com)
*Burkerk Solinoid (cost 50$ from aquariumplants.com has to be fitted with power cable so check that)
*Aqua Medic Bubble counter (cost 30$ aquariumplants.com mine leakes, ordered one for 20$ that looks a lot better from greenleafaquariums.com)
*Aqua Medic CO2 reactor (cost 120$ aquariumplants.com)
*Mag Drive Pump @ 500 GPH (cost 80$ aquariumplants.com) **this was not mentioned in the original thread that I could find, but you will of course need a pump of some sort. I think some caister filters might be able to handle the load but I would suggest you look into that 1st.
I've done the math for you, I spent 600$ to put this together not including tubing, teflon tape, brass fittings, some screws and little things like that that prolly added another 30-40$ to the cost. I took me two days to make sure I had all of the leaks sealed tight. The bubble counter leaks very very slowly but I have ordered a replacement and that problem should be taken care of very soon. I mounted everything under the stand of my 75 gallon aqaurium so only two 5/8" clear tubes are visible and the uptake has a sponge filter. I also ordered a Drop counter when I ordered the replacement Bubble Counter as I feel after spending the cash I have I want to know precicsely what it is doing and how well. I will update here on what this does for my planted aquarium in a couple weeks, but I wanted to put as much info here as I could think of for anyone about to try this for the first time...It is time consumimg to determine what you'll need and costly to put it all together. I spent about 3-4 weeks just researching before I purchased any equipment and it was difficult to find and put it all together but this particular thread was THE blueprint that I used to build my CO2 system. Good luck! :proud:and THANK YOU Darkblade48!!!

I'll try to ad some pics this week just so you can see what it all looks like.
I made my own reactor out of PVC and a couple fittings. cost for me was $5 and that's cause I only had to buy the fittings to adapt to my Fluval hoses and the 3/16 fitting to attach the C02 hose to the side. Mine is not clear tubing like you see in the youtube vids mine is standard PVC but I have 0 bubbles come out of the filter outlet. in no time my levels were awesome and have stayed the same since
 
#274 ·
Very good write up and thanks for your hard work.

I have a question (it might be a stupid one but I am new-ish to co2) would there be any merit to diffusing co2 through the substrate using tubing arranged in a serpentine fashion (similar to under-gravel heaters) with small holes poked in it?

I'd imagine a medium sized gravel would work quite well to diffuse the bubbles and a more direct route to the plants as it diffuses out, the only possible problems I could foresee (and I might have just answered my own question) is the gas pressure would have to overcome the pressure from gravel or be trapped and/or it might build up and release large pockets all at once, also it seems there would be a high unpredictability factor.

Thanks.
 
#275 ·
The substrate would probably prevent the CO2 from coming out until it became a rather large bubble, at which point it would float to the surface, possibly moving your substrate at the same time.
 
#276 · (Edited)
I think it might work with a true undergravel filter if the co2 line was plumbed into the intake of the powerhead, or whatever pump was creating the downflow. Preferrably pre-diffused with a chopstick or airstone, etc. Because underneath the platform you'd have a wide body of water with decent circulation, under a certain degree of pressure.

Otherwise, what ^he said.


*Edit: Actually this might be a fantastic idea. Say you have a reactor already with near 100% dissolution. Instead of routing it to the tank via spray bar or whatever, pump it down through an undergravel filter, and let the CO2 enriched water seep up from the bottom to the top. Idk, just a thought...
 
#277 ·
*Edit: Actually this might be a fantastic idea. Say you have a reactor already with near 100% dissolution. Instead of routing it to the tank via spray bar or whatever, pump it down through an undergravel filter, and let the CO2 enriched water seep up from the bottom to the top. Idk, just a thought...
Sounds like you're trying to use the premise of a RUGF and pumping CO2 rich water through it.

Might be more hassle than it's worth, since generally RUGF plates are not used for fear of roots getting tangled.
 
#288 ·
Can you use the co2 given off by a homemade brew of beer for your CO2 supply for your fishtank or are there other gasses given off in the reaction that could hurt the fish?
Yes, alot of people do this with home brewing setups. Just make sure your air lines are well above the foamy bit (krausen?) so it doesn't get into them (and potentially clog).
 
#293 ·
I'm a newbie at escaping with knowledge of fish keeping and understanding the chemical cycle. But all this was new for me and took me about 3 months to get all my research together on getting and understanding all the equipment to come along with this new hobby.
Great writing!!
Cheers!!
 
#294 ·
I don't know but is it necessary to have an airstone in your tank onvery you've started injecting co2 to feed oxygen to the fish? I don't have many plants.... if so would it only need to be used at night when the plans are also feeding on the oxygen and off in the day? Thanks for your post!!! This was truly amazing work and very helpful!
 
#296 ·
This is wonderful. I had been contemplating starting low-tech with a 50 gallon set-up I'm slowly working to build (I have a couple of pieces of mopani wood soaking, heh, but still at the point where I'm researching and loosely selecting what I'll order in the next month or two). But when I started contemplating how stressful it would be to fish to start low-tech, then go in and add/change plants for higher light output...it just made sense to invest $$ earlier and go high-tech from the start. This thread really has helped demystify things.

My biggest question, now, is what systems or individual components are people currently recommending? Like most of us, I'd love the best bang for my buck. I should have a decent amount of cash after selling a few things on eBay and CL, but budget is still not unlimited and going high-tech is going to really stretch things to the point that I will have to wait a while to start adding livestock (which I'd want to do until I have a good handle on the plants and ideal C02 levels, anyhow).
 
#297 ·
My biggest question, now, is what systems or individual components are people currently recommending? Like most of us, I'd love the best bang for my buck. I should have a decent amount of cash after selling a few things on eBay and CL, but budget is still not unlimited and going high-tech is going to really stretch things to the point that I will have to wait a while to start adding livestock (which I'd want to do until I have a good handle on the plants and ideal C02 levels, anyhow).
Glad my guide could be of some help to you.

Regarding individual components vs. kits, the former will always be cheaper than the latter, especially if you bargain hunt for good deals.

There are various companies that make parts that will suit our needs; however, if you are planning to build a setup yourself, you will need to put in the time and effort to do the research to ensure that the parts are correct. With a kit, you are paying a premium for someone else to do that for you.
 
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