[brandon429]

I need some gas for my 1/2 gallon planted tank but it doesnt have to be all fancy

merely an inverted glass cap of sometype, suctioned cupped to the wall, holding a large bubble of co2 to disperse throughout the day would work well in a tank this small. its doing decent w no gas, any little w surely help

but where can I find such an easy delivery device, help me think it out. there's something simple Im missing here, so far:

-radioshack sells online, or used to, a little free flame solderer that shoots butane out the end, it uses 12gm cylinders just like helium, nitrous or pellet gun co2 comes in. I could easily fashion an extension delivery tube, use pellet gun co2, and every other day shoot a bubble to capture into the tank. I would experiment with my delivery cap to hold a decent amount of gas to dissolve off into the tank, will start easy to measure ph etc, but im not expecting much out of a little cap in a noncirculated tank. i think the minor boost w help

that may be among the best options because other methods slowly leak out the pressurized co2 after you crack into it. those soldering guns tend to have good seals etc

-pellet gun, can't figure out how to hack it to get easy gas capture off a single trigger pull. it would be neat to shoot my tank daily though, maybe some gun modifiers out there have a receiver setup ready to sell lol w trigger and we put silicone delivery tube on the output

i dont want to mess with yeast co2 ill pay for something more controllable

the other option is paintball setups which Ive never used. how can I get a single jet of gas out of one for this purpose? the bottle sits on my cabinet, I walk by, squirt some bubbles into the capture, put bottle back up (that easy, no constant connection to tank)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...=pla&catargetid=530005150000091178&cadevice=c

this is pretty cheap. could set to auto inject a few bubbles daily into the inverted capture setup?

THanks
b

 

[Naja002]

I need some gas for my 1/2 gallon planted tank but it doesnt have to be all fancy

merely an inverted glass cap of sometype, suctioned cupped to the wall, holding a large bubble of co2 to disperse throughout the day would work well in a tank this small. its doing decent w no gas, any little w surely help

but where can I find such an easy delivery device, help me think it out. there's something simple Im missing here, so far:

-radioshack sells online, or used to, a little free flame solderer that shoots butane out the end, it uses 12gm cylinders just like helium, nitrous or pellet gun co2 comes in. I could easily fashion an extension delivery tube, use pellet gun co2, and every other day shoot a bubble to capture into the tank. I would experiment with my delivery cap to hold a decent amount of gas to dissolve off into the tank, will start easy to measure ph etc, but im not expecting much out of a little cap in a noncirculated tank. i think the minor boost w help

that may be among the best options because other methods slowly leak out the pressurized co2 after you crack into it. those soldering guns tend to have good seals etc

-pellet gun, can't figure out how to hack it to get easy gas capture off a single trigger pull. it would be neat to shoot my tank daily though, maybe some gun modifiers out there have a receiver setup ready to sell lol w trigger and we put silicone delivery tube on the output

i dont want to mess with yeast co2 ill pay for something more controllable

the other option is paintball setups which Ive never used. how can I get a single jet of gas out of one for this purpose? the bottle sits on my cabinet, I walk by, squirt some bubbles into the capture, put bottle back up (that easy, no constant connection to tank)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...=pla&catargetid=530005150000091178&cadevice=c

this is pretty cheap. could set to auto inject a few bubbles daily into the inverted capture setup?

THanks
b

Buy a paintball or cartridge C02 setup with solenoid, set your bubble rate to fill your device in 1 minute, set solenoid to timer to open for 1 minute. Done. roud:

 

[brandon429]

do you know of any pressurized can setups though for non aquarium use, something im overlooking? the single best ever would be like what they use for blowing off keyboards. that little red extension tube would inject right into the capture bubble...know of any canned stuff

im searching online and finding only these mini 88g systems but thats cool, they didnt have those years ago it was the big stuff so nice to see it miniaturized

 

[Naja002]

do you know of any pressurized can setups though for non aquarium use, something im overlooking? the single best ever would be like what they use for blowing off keyboards. that little red extension tube would inject right into the capture bubble...know of any canned stuff

im searching online and finding only these mini 88g systems but thats cool, they didnt have those years ago it was the big stuff so nice to see it miniaturized

"the single best ever would be like what they use for blowing off keyboards."

As far as I know, those cans are C02...however, I have no idea what else might be in there with it.

 

[cjstl]

A couple of ideas. I purchased two of the Fluval Mini 20G kits. Even if you don't want the giant diffuser, they are worth it just for the regulator and the little cartridge holder. No need to purchase Fluval refills either. The threaded 16G cartridges from Mosa and a couple of other brands work with the regulator. They can be found for less than $30 for a 30 pack, so very cost-effective for what you want to do.

Another idea if you didn't want to spend for the Mini 20 regulator - look at those little bike tire inflator kits that use the 16G cartridges. You might find one that you could fashion something out of where you push the button til it fills your "bubble".

 

[brandon429]

Sold heh

bike tire inflator thats what im talking about but I did the 20g fluval kit you are right, for my halfer its the right thing to do gracias team. this should get the hairgrass going well thanks!!

my first experimental catch tube will be an api glass tube inverted. i figure I can adjust diffusion rates by using wide mouth vs tube like surface area capture devices. not really going to test for anything, just eyeball it. some gas in solution has to be better than none. maybe with two api glass tubes holding gas this baby will pearl lol

 

[cjstl]

Glad I could help

I love that little thing. Can't wait to see how it turns out once you give it gas!

 

[dzega]

Tetra has this inexpensive system you described in post #1.
"Tetra CO2 Optimat" is its full name, costs like 15eur

to go cooler route i suggest paintball cylinder with aftermarkt reducer/gaude/solenoid etc. will cost ~100eur. site sponsor co2art.co.uk has it all. im using their stuff, works good +company have excelent support

 

[brandon429]

thank you! this array of micro gear is just the ticket thanks for your submissions didnt know tetra had gas too lol

Bump: is this about to be the smallest gassed tank?

sure you can do shot glass tanks but as you can see i aint joking it will remain long term viable at this size....if I dont overgas it heh

in planning for long term, not much stem plants or crypts that are root heavy
ill deal with DHG roots and some staurogynes but other than that i plan on letting things grow in then trim them down nice and low to get thick as the gas begins to help

started this as low tech only, couldnt resist the gas. once you want carpet you want it fast yesterday. there is yellowing because these plants were sent to me in 100 degree heat im lucky to have any survivors. the gas and EI ferts w have it good in 8 wks ~

 

[Naja002]

Tetra has this inexpensive system you described in post #1.
"Tetra CO2 Optimat" is its full name, costs like 15eur

Very cool. I don't think I've seen that before. Seems to be exactly what you are looking for, brandon...:thumbsup:

 

[brandon429]

I had already bought the fluval one im just happy they make mini co2
it comes in tomorrow excellent amazon instant grat
plus I actually like the techy look of bolting it to the side of the tank since its all miniature look at the scaling on this mini beast ~ envision a sick mini co2 sidekick thats why I cant get any work done today, envisioning

The system won't have continual co2 input. The rig I ordered is turned on and off by me, with an injection tip I'll insert under the trap once a day, once a week who knows but removal of a fail point for a tank this small is making no way of co2 being overdone at the expense of equipment failure. The output of the co2 tank won't even be in the tank between fillings, thats all part of seeing how fast an inverted thimble dissolves its gas bubble in a small tank of free standing water. I think it will take days, will be interesting to see how fast a capture bubble literally disappears

There is a crs and four neos in the tank, might remove for the co2 trial. But above that, starting with a really small capture device is safe for not removing them

Work up as needed to get pearling, but no sign of stress for the indicators. I'll prob move crs back to the other planted tank and use the cherries as canaries here.



it had to have co2 to reach potential, but this seems like a mid ground safety angle where one miscalc on me, or regulator spurt on fluval, wouldnt gas this thing to ph 4.9

by using only manual fill holding cup, I believe I can eliminate co2 gas threats...this tank was setup to be no gas, good ferts and substrate cec loading etc, so any slight boost should be a key advantage for the little guy

 

[curtwsp]

You can get a whipped cream dispenser and instead of putting nitrous in it you can put bb gun co2 canisters in it. Then just press the trigger to release a little.

 

[cjstl]

A stand and hood? That's too much. I love it!

You will have to be precise with your gas release. My Fluval 20's are on 10G tanks with bubble counters, so I don't have to worry so much if I open the regulator a little too much. You might be able to find some kind of pressure release valve that you could add as a safeguard to the regulator. There was a thread on here from someone who added one to a DIY yeast setup.

Are you planning any fauna for this tiny tank? Anything other than snails would probably be dicey with the possibility of pH swings, but I'd still be tempted. I love my Thai micro crabs

 

[dzega]

this is by far the cutest tank ive ever seen

 

[brandon429]

Thank you for stopping in! its a pain to tune that's for sure~

test prediction time for you guys and gals

take a guess at how long it takes to drain one api inverted test tube of co2 into the tank bone empty, factors are: no current to amplify dissolution, temp warmish at 79

its not what I would have predicted.

my fluval 20 as recommended injects via tube just like I wanted. turns out the whole fluval system at this size is about manual on off and capture held dissolution

the time it takes to distribute that co2 into solution is not what id have predicted. The test is working great so far, crs safe no exhibit of o2 loss, in fact I am upping gas a little. post up time guesses!

 

[brandon429]

The tanks a long time ago



At five hours the API test tube is perfect, its half gone so thats the rate, 10 hours to drain is perfect. I'll either refill once a a day 50 bubbles of co2 or buy a timer setup mentioned above in our advice which I think is great. The thread got me just what I needed.

Next challenge question
I have two tanks running the API test tube co2 method, this tiny tank and a five gallon tank

In both setups the tube never loses all its co2 even though the drain is consistent throughout the day, there is half an inch of air at the top of each tube when it should be filled with water next morning.
Thought hard about why that last part wont dissolve its two days in a row now

I'm thinking its actually 02
Dead air line oxygen from the length of tubing, thats what goes up the tube first then co2 is behind it and comprises most of whats in the tube. Neat micro dynamics here

It could also be pressure equalization based on tube being above or below the water line

**24 hours update
it is true, if there is air left in the tube overnight that means it was oxygen that got pumped in as dead air inside your delivery line. i bubbled for ten seconds to flush it out in a second test tube/...next morning full of water, means it was 100% co2


Next challenge

The system apparently slow drips carbonic acid directly onto plants below the output
Plants just under the output are burned a little

Plants across the tank are boosting new bright leaves perfect and pearling

The dynamics of the still tank press on..experiment to find the right angle, position of output of tubes

Trying tilting to dispense sideways, but that increases bubble surface area which will mean quicker discharge and higher output of the pump. Pain in the rear !

 

[brandon429]

its been a long journey! I had to go paintball to get what I finally wanted... stand alone automation and no overdose in .5 gallon

the fluval mini 20 is perfect right up until you get tired of turning on off by hand, no way to automate it.

im up to 5 tube array now and its pearl perfect co2 w runners and the right rates I want for a tank this small. updating

fills twice a day by 1 am lights off gas is absorbed
the fluval 20 is the the best micro solution, but not for automation which in the end was most important.
this is how I fill all tubes once a day without lifting up the lid, this line runs through a grommet

 

[brandon429]

approx 102 weeks per refill


seven bucks, 12 oz of co is two yrs can't really beat that cost in the end.