[Herodusun]

have any1 of u guys ever measured your D501 needle regulator thread size? i tried to search the thread measurement size online and cant find any info.
plus i dont have a measurement tool
thing is mine kinda always dies off after a few mins bubbling off 1-2bubble per sec and i had to like play around again with the valve to release 1-2 bubbles. im assuming either im doing wrong adjusting the valve or the valve is not dat good/sensitive/good quality.

if i can find the size, maybe i can get a better quality valve off ebay and replace the stock one on the D501.

or if any of u guys can teach me how to maybe fix the valve so it outputs consistent 1-2 bubble throughout 8hrs or so daily would be great.

 

[Herodusun]

red arrow is the thread size im looking for.
needle valve --(thread size?)----> D501 bar/body

 

[natemcnutty]

Better option is to get an inline needle valve and then use that one for in/off

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[bibbster]

Better option is to get an inline needle valve and then use that one for in/off

Recommendations?

 

[Omnius]

I have a citric acid bicarb generator.

I use a proper needle valve that is for high pressure systems (350 bar). It works great.

A few points. I think recipe is backwards in that the bicarb solution should drop into the citric acid solution because the citric acid is more soluble than the bicarb by along way. Only 7.6 grams of bicarb will dissolve in 100ml of water but 150.6 grams of citric acid will dissolve in 100ml of water. Also 200grams of citric acid will react completely with 150 grams of bicarb. So the recipe should be 100 grams of citric acid in 100ml of water and 75 grams of bicarb in 1000ml of water. I have only been running mine for a week and have a slow tiny leak somewhere that I need to fix. The highest pressure I can get the system up to is 100kpa.

 

[Minnowette]

Firstly, thanks for all the contributors to this thread, it's definitely made for some great reading.

Secondly, I'm trying to troubleshoot the source of a bubble count that rapidly drifts downwards.

I've been running it fine for the past four weeks since purchasing it (2.5-3 bps for a 47 gallon), but with my last refill on Sunday, it's been really inconsistent.

Regardless of whether I set it initially at 1 bps or 4 bps, within 15-45 minutes it'll drift down towards 0.5-0.25 bps. Even priming it such that the pressure gauge reads 4 kg/cm2, the bubble count will still drift rapidly downwards. Giving the needle valve knob the slightest turn will return the bps back to 3, but it will slowly decrease over the next hour until it's 0.25 bps.

I've tried several things:
- Simplifying connections and connecting the CO2 outlet straight to the bubble counter
- Checking for leaks at tubing connections
- Removing ceramic diffuser in case it's blocked due to algae growth
- Teflon tape on bottle threads
- Ensuring o-rings in the bar module are properly seated

When the needle valve is closed, the unit retains pressure overnight without drawing upon citric acid, so I don't think there's a crack in the bar module causing a leak. To rule out a leak from around the needle valve manifold, I added some teflon tape to the needle valve threading.

It's almost as if the needle valve is becoming progressively blocked when it's open. Moisture? Undissolved baking soda/citric acid?

I'm going to try flushing the bar module and needle valve to see if that helps, but I'd be keen to hear if anyone has any ideas.

 

[Grobbins48]

Firstly, thanks for all the contributors to this thread, it's definitely made for some great reading.

Secondly, I'm trying to troubleshoot the source of a bubble count that rapidly drifts downwards.

I've been running it fine for the past four weeks since purchasing it (2.5-3 bps for a 47 gallon), but with my last refill on Sunday, it's been really inconsistent.

Regardless of whether I set it initially at 1 bps or 4 bps, within 15-45 minutes it'll drift down towards 0.5-0.25 bps. Even priming it such that the pressure gauge reads 4 kg/cm2, the bubble count will still drift rapidly downwards. Giving the needle valve knob the slightest turn will return the bps back to 3, but it will slowly decrease over the next hour until it's 0.25 bps.

I've tried several things:
- Simplifying connections and connecting the CO2 outlet straight to the bubble counter
- Checking for leaks at tubing connections
- Removing ceramic diffuser in case it's blocked due to algae growth
- Teflon tape on bottle threads
- Ensuring o-rings in the bar module are properly seated

When the needle valve is closed, the unit retains pressure overnight without drawing upon citric acid, so I don't think there's a crack in the bar module causing a leak. To rule out a leak from around the needle valve manifold, I added some teflon tape to the needle valve threading.

It's almost as if the needle valve is becoming progressively blocked when it's open. Moisture? Undissolved baking soda/citric acid?

I'm going to try flushing the bar module and needle valve to see if that helps, but I'd be keen to hear if anyone has any ideas.

I used DIY for a few months before switching to pressurized. The needle valve does not really do much, and will get gunked up with the mixture, causing it to be sticky and less reliable. Running pressure that high I also found make things inconsistent. Try and keep in the rate 2 area or so, and you could have better results.

 

[Minnowette]

I used DIY for a few months before switching to pressurized. The needle valve does not really do much, and will get gunked up with the mixture, causing it to be sticky and less reliable. Running pressure that high I also found make things inconsistent. Try and keep in the rate 2 area or so, and you could have better results.

Yeah, I figure I'll move to pressurised at some stage. But I'd like to keep the citric acid/baking soda reactor for a small, 15-20g planted shrimp tank down the line. It'll be positioned in another room, so a splitter isn't in the books unless I can figure out a discreet way of running a length of tubing.

I did run it at various pressures (from 1-5 kg/cm2), but the drifting seemed to occur regardless. But I think you hit the nail on the head with the needle valve being gunked up.

Before stripping it down to clean, I did let the reactor run at 6-8 bps for 30 minutes just as a test, and I noticed that it wasn't drifting. I lowered it to 3 bps, and it's been steady for several hours. This is at 2 kg/cm2 with ~100 ml left of citric acid. I'm figure that the higher bps swept away whatever debris that was clogging the needle valve.

 

[Minnowette]

Just an update and to help those who encounter the same issue down the line.

My bubble counter was still drifting heavily this morning, and I decided to strip down the needle valve and give it a clean (I hadn't done it yesterday). I removed the needle from the manifold and gave both components a heavy flush under tap water. I then blew through the manifold to eject any water.

While likely unnecessary, I did rewrap the needle valve threads with some teflon tape as a precaution against any leaks. Regardless, the flushing seemed to work as the bubble count held steady for the rest of the photoperiod (about 3 hours).

I figure that a major contributing factor is my occasional habit of shaking the reactor up and down to excite any undissolved citric acid/baking soda. The solution likely entered into the manifold and gummed up the needle valve. In the future I'll stick to swirling the reactor.

 

[Sanel Samuel]

A query here... Is the pressure gauge very important in this setup? Could i do without it? I have the 2 caps and a needle valve (used for high pressure systems) with me and i was planning to set it up without the pressure gauge. As i wasn't able to find the pressure gauge that works for this on Amazon or locally. I'm in Bangalore (India)

 

[Minnowette]

It's helpful when priming, but otherwise unnecessary. However, it'll be a good idea to attach a magnet to the citric acid tubing and position it about 1 cm below the top waterline to ensure that, if there's a leak of some sort, a runaway reaction doesn't occur and pop the tops off.

 

[Omnius]

Well I have messed about with different mixtures to try and get longer generation time. If I increase the ingredients and use 2 litre bottles I just get over pressurisation. I almost blew up the thing. So I thing a gauge is a must have.

 

[Aparker2005]

This may have been covered, but is this method worth trying on a 125 gallon? Thinking of getting a gla pressurized system for Christmas, but wanted to try this if it works on larger tanks

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[natemcnutty]

This may have been covered, but is this method worth trying on a 125 gallon? Thinking of getting a gla pressurized system for Christmas, but wanted to try this if it works on larger tanks

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No, and it would not be cost effective either. On my 20 long, I got 2-3 weeks per mixture in 2 liter bottles. If you only wanted to add 2-3 ppm CO2 in your 125, then you'd have about the same length of time

By the third or fourth month, you'll have already paid for a pressurized system

 

[Aparker2005]

No, and it would not be cost effective either. On my 20 long, I got 2-3 weeks per mixture in 2 liter bottles. If you only wanted to add 2-3 ppm CO2 in your 125, then you'd have about the same length of time

By the third or fourth month, you'll have already paid for a pressurized system

Thanks. Think I'll go for the gla system at Christmas then!

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[Halaster]

Just setup my own with 2.5 Liter bottles.

Set one of these up today on a 55 gallon tank with a bubble counter/diffuser. It is going through a Wyin Solenoid with a check valve setup as well.

So far for the first day it is working great.

I did not really read through all 57 pages of this post so I am not sure if others have tried it yet but I did not go with 2 liter bottles.
I found that dollar tree sells 2.5 and 2.75 liter sodas allowing quite a bit more space to work with.
They are the same size around but taller.

For my first batch I went with 1 1/2 Cups Citric Acid and 4 1/2 Cups of water on one side and 1 1/2 Cups Baking Soda and 1 1/2 Cups of water on the other side.
Next time I plan to go with 2 + 6 and 2 + 2.

I know there are already a couple videos on youtube but I recorded another one showing the setup of this with the 2.5 Liter bottles, and what it looks like once its hooked up to the tank and running.
Can see that here if interested.

 

[Halaster]

After running for about 5 days at 3.5 BPS for 10 hours a day this is where I currently sit on usage:

It is reasonably steady, but a time or two the pressure really spiked, so I do have to keep my eye on it and cannot just leave it going for a week.
There are zero leaks as far as I can tell as well. The pressure appears to hold completely steady while it shuts off at night.

 

[Halaster]

Got a week usage out of it. Just filled up again and doubled the batch size this time to see if it lasts longer.

 

[Halaster]

It looks like I am getting 11 days out of it this time compared to the 7 days previously. By going from 1 1/2 Cups to 2 Cups.

So a pretty even increase in duration based on the addition amount I added.

Edit: Looks like I am actually going to get 13 days out of it, not the initial 11 I was expecting.
Edit 2: Make that 15 days or possibly even 16, which is really not bad.

Here are the photos of the current usage near the end of day 14. Should be enough pressure left for 1 or 2 more days.

 

[warendamikes]

Hey guys, I am new to this DIY Co2 setups, infact never done any Co2 setup before, so I have ordered the equipment for DIY which should arrive in a day or 2, however the ingredients for the co2 recipe are creating confusion to me, some website stores in my country don't have baking soda as the name but sodium bicarbonate...is it the same thing? and they also list citric acid as lemon salt...is it also the same thing for the recipe(mix) of co2? please help.