Is it time to refill CO2?

Perryboat · 11-10-2012, 12:10 AM

High pressure gauge is now at 500psi when its always been at 900-1000psi. And just today, i noticed these bubbles on top of the water. Is it time for a refill or should i wait till high pressure gauge reads zero?

thefisherman · 11-10-2012, 12:11 AM

sounds like 5 days left. i would refill it now, unless you have a dual stage rgulator it might dump into your system. good luck

- thefisherman

Perryboat · 11-10-2012, 12:22 AM

Ok thanks. I do have a dual stage reg but i will plan on having my tank refilled tomorrow. Thanks. Do you have any idea where the bubbles came from?is that from the co2?

thefisherman · 11-10-2012, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perryboat

Ok thanks. I do have a dual stage reg but i will plan on having my tank refilled tomorrow. Thanks. Do you have any idea where the bubbles came from?is that from the co2?

the bubbles look like a result of protein film build up to me. could be a bit of overfeeding or messy eaters or not enough surface agitation or all etc...

not sure it has a direct correlation to the co2 running low unless you have an inline diffuser that is allowing larger air bubbles to form due to the resuced pressure.

nonetheless i believe it is harmless and can be manually removed with the ole paper towel skim trick increasing surface agitation or investing in an $8 surface skimmer.

i used get a similar film build up until i got a lily pipe type outflow and a surface skimmer for my 20L

my 8.5g nano still gets it as i have a messy little pea puffer that only eats live food... i fix it tho by letting the water level sink below my spraybar (2211) so the surface tension is constantly broken up by the water

- thefisherman

**kevmo911** · 11-10-2012, 02:47 AM

If you read up on the % CO2 left in the cylinder when the gauge starts to drop, you'll find somewhere between 90 and 95% of the total CO2 gone. I think it's in the 96% range or so, but others slightly disagree.

In any case, minimum 90% of your CO2 is gone when the reading begins to drop. You've gotten 90% of your money's worth, which was dirt cheap to begin with. Just refill as soon as you see the drop and save yourself the potential catastrophic series of events which begin with you figuring you have at least a couple days left of CO2.

Perryboat · 11-10-2012, 04:09 AM

^^ good point. Thanks for the advice, will have co2 refilled tomorrow. Thanks again!

RoyalFizbin · 11-10-2012, 05:17 AM

People way over state the danger of dumping. Fill it now if you feel like it but that fact that you already noticed that it's going down willl allow you to make an adjustment every day till you use up the last of that co2 till its completely empty. You could even just leave it as is and make no adjustments just to see how much it really dumps. You might find that your flow rate only increases 0.5 bubbles per second which for most people would be perfectly safe.

11-10-2012, 12:10 AM	#1
Perryboat Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Hamden, CT Posts: 70	Is it time to refill CO2? High pressure gauge is now at 500psi when its always been at 900-1000psi. And just today, i noticed these bubbles on top of the water. Is it time for a refill or should i wait till high pressure gauge reads zero?

11-10-2012, 12:11 AM	#2
thefisherman Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (11/100%) Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: NYC Posts: 908	sounds like 5 days left. i would refill it now, unless you have a dual stage rgulator it might dump into your system. good luck - thefisherman __________________ “Goodness is the only investment that never fails”

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11-10-2012, 12:22 AM	#3
Perryboat Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Hamden, CT Posts: 70	Ok thanks. I do have a dual stage reg but i will plan on having my tank refilled tomorrow. Thanks. Do you have any idea where the bubbles came from?is that from the co2?

11-10-2012, 02:47 AM	#5
kevmo911 Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (32/100%) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 3,751	If you read up on the % CO2 left in the cylinder when the gauge starts to drop, you'll find somewhere between 90 and 95% of the total CO2 gone. I think it's in the 96% range or so, but others slightly disagree. In any case, minimum 90% of your CO2 is gone when the reading begins to drop. You've gotten 90% of your money's worth, which was dirt cheap to begin with. Just refill as soon as you see the drop and save yourself the potential catastrophic series of events which begin with you figuring you have at least a couple days left of CO2.

11-10-2012, 04:09 AM	#6
Perryboat Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Hamden, CT Posts: 70	^^ good point. Thanks for the advice, will have co2 refilled tomorrow. Thanks again!

11-10-2012, 05:17 AM	#7
RoyalFizbin Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 245	People way over state the danger of dumping. Fill it now if you feel like it but that fact that you already noticed that it's going down willl allow you to make an adjustment every day till you use up the last of that co2 till its completely empty. You could even just leave it as is and make no adjustments just to see how much it really dumps. You might find that your flow rate only increases 0.5 bubbles per second which for most people would be perfectly safe.