5 lbs co2

jcsdad · 05-25-2012, 07:05 PM

I need some advise, i have a 5 lb. tank and i have been running it at about 3bps for 9 hours/day. how long before i have to refill this tank? will the meter on the regulator give me enough warning before it goes empty? do i just wait for it to stop pumping co2? please let me know.

thanks

**Relativistic** · 05-25-2012, 07:38 PM

What type of regulator are you using?

jcsdad · 05-25-2012, 07:43 PM

aquatic life is the brand name

cradleoffilthfan · 05-25-2012, 08:03 PM

I have the same regulator. I also have a 5lb tank. I run 1.5 to 2.5bps, mine lasted 2 months with it on for 11 hours a day. I just recently cut my photoperiod to 8 hours, so hoping it will go for 3 or 4 months. Plus, I am not sure it was totally filled when I bought it online. I just recently filled it a week ago. The guy told me there is a tare weight on the tank. They weigh it empty and fill it up with exactly 5lbs. The tare weight empty is on the tank. So as it empties, I can just weigh it and know when it's getting close to empty. You just need a digital scale. (not one that measures grams, but lbs.....)

jcsdad · 05-25-2012, 08:40 PM

should i wait till its empty or should i just have it refilled before 3 months is up? thanks

**jreich** · 05-25-2012, 08:44 PM

Wait till the high pressure gaige starts to move, once it moves down a little bit you have a few days to a week to get it filled. Weighing it is pointless is u have a high pressure guage, thats what there there for.

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smokaah · 05-25-2012, 09:08 PM

Go get another one and have it as back up. You can return the tank for credit when you are done.

jcsdad · 05-25-2012, 10:30 PM

thanks for everyones help, have a great holiday weekend!

**jreich** · 05-25-2012, 10:59 PM

Same to u bud.

Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

cradleoffilthfan · 05-25-2012, 11:51 PM

weighing the tank is not pointless. If you know what the weight of it is filled with co2, then it should be five pounds less than that when it's empty. You will know when your getting close. Yes the guages will move when the tank is running out. But this way is way more precise. Weighing it will tell you exactly what's left in the tank, so you don't waste it. When it's 4 lbs 14oz less than what it was full, you are 2 oz away from empty. Try finding that out by reading what your pressure is. You can't.

**jreich** · 05-26-2012, 12:23 AM

I get what ur saying but knowing exactly how much co2 is left in the bottle is not very important as long as u can take an educated guess. No point in going out and buying a scale when 1 u can just lift the tank up and guestemate how much is left, or 2 just look at the h.p.g. As long as u can figure out about how much time u have left before its empty i dont understand why it would matter if u have u have .5lbs, or .8lbs.

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**kevmo911** · 05-26-2012, 01:06 AM

At 3-4 bps with a JBJ bubble counter, with around 10psi working pressure, my 5lb lasts around 5 months.

Pressure probably matters, bubble counter type definitely matters, and diffusion method is irrelevant. The biggest factor, however, by *far*, is whether somebody has a leak. In any survey asking how long a cylinder will last, assume that half of the respondents have a leak that they definitely, absolutely, positively don't have. Then exclude another 25% that have useless drop checkers (due to out-of-date pH indicator fluid, failure to use 4dKH water, or color blindness). And the final 25% of us can be excluded due to various other reasons.

The point is, don't trust any of us regarding cylinder longevity. Double- and triple-check that you don't have a leak first and foremost, do the same with your bubble counter solution, and go from there.

All that said, my guess is that a full 5lb cylinder should last you, in your circumstances, 6 months or so. And no matter how long it lasts, as soon as your regulator high pressure gauge drops at all from what your "full" pressure is, replace the cylinder, as it has less than 5% of the total volume remaining.

05-25-2012, 07:05 PM	#1
jcsdad Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: East Bay, CA Posts: 70	5 lbs co2 I need some advise, i have a 5 lb. tank and i have been running it at about 3bps for 9 hours/day. how long before i have to refill this tank? will the meter on the regulator give me enough warning before it goes empty? do i just wait for it to stop pumping co2? please let me know. thanks Last edited by jcsdad; 05-25-2012 at 07:45 PM.. Reason: correction

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05-25-2012, 07:43 PM	#3
jcsdad Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: East Bay, CA Posts: 70	aquatic life is the brand name

05-25-2012, 08:03 PM	#4
cradleoffilthfan Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Eureka, California Posts: 323	I have the same regulator. I also have a 5lb tank. I run 1.5 to 2.5bps, mine lasted 2 months with it on for 11 hours a day. I just recently cut my photoperiod to 8 hours, so hoping it will go for 3 or 4 months. Plus, I am not sure it was totally filled when I bought it online. I just recently filled it a week ago. The guy told me there is a tare weight on the tank. They weigh it empty and fill it up with exactly 5lbs. The tare weight empty is on the tank. So as it empties, I can just weigh it and know when it's getting close to empty. You just need a digital scale. (not one that measures grams, but lbs.....)

05-25-2012, 08:40 PM	#5
jcsdad Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: East Bay, CA Posts: 70	should i wait till its empty or should i just have it refilled before 3 months is up? thanks

05-25-2012, 08:44 PM	#6
jreich Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: philadelphia Posts: 2,940	Wait till the high pressure gaige starts to move, once it moves down a little bit you have a few days to a week to get it filled. Weighing it is pointless is u have a high pressure guage, thats what there there for. Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

05-25-2012, 09:08 PM	#7
smokaah Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: York, Pa Posts: 354	Go get another one and have it as back up. You can return the tank for credit when you are done.

05-25-2012, 10:30 PM	#8
jcsdad Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: East Bay, CA Posts: 70	thanks for everyones help, have a great holiday weekend!

05-25-2012, 10:59 PM	#9
jreich Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: philadelphia Posts: 2,940	Same to u bud. Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

05-25-2012, 11:51 PM	#10
cradleoffilthfan Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Eureka, California Posts: 323	weighing the tank is not pointless. If you know what the weight of it is filled with co2, then it should be five pounds less than that when it's empty. You will know when your getting close. Yes the guages will move when the tank is running out. But this way is way more precise. Weighing it will tell you exactly what's left in the tank, so you don't waste it. When it's 4 lbs 14oz less than what it was full, you are 2 oz away from empty. Try finding that out by reading what your pressure is. You can't.

05-26-2012, 12:23 AM	#11
jreich Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: philadelphia Posts: 2,940	I get what ur saying but knowing exactly how much co2 is left in the bottle is not very important as long as u can take an educated guess. No point in going out and buying a scale when 1 u can just lift the tank up and guestemate how much is left, or 2 just look at the h.p.g. As long as u can figure out about how much time u have left before its empty i dont understand why it would matter if u have u have .5lbs, or .8lbs. Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

05-26-2012, 01:06 AM	#12
kevmo911 Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (32/100%) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 3,750	At 3-4 bps with a JBJ bubble counter, with around 10psi working pressure, my 5lb lasts around 5 months. Pressure probably matters, bubble counter type definitely matters, and diffusion method is irrelevant. The biggest factor, however, by far, is whether somebody has a leak. In any survey asking how long a cylinder will last, assume that half of the respondents have a leak that they definitely, absolutely, positively don't have. Then exclude another 25% that have useless drop checkers (due to out-of-date pH indicator fluid, failure to use 4dKH water, or color blindness). And the final 25% of us can be excluded due to various other reasons. The point is, don't trust any of us regarding cylinder longevity. Double- and triple-check that you don't have a leak first and foremost, do the same with your bubble counter solution, and go from there. All that said, my guess is that a full 5lb cylinder should last you, in your circumstances, 6 months or so. And no matter how long it lasts, as soon as your regulator high pressure gauge drops at all from what your "full" pressure is, replace the cylinder, as it has less than 5% of the total volume remaining.