[fishygurl]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to pick up my CO2 tank today! (hopefully)

I have a silly question. When you go to get a CO2 tank, do you need a regulator, or can you put that on later?

Sorry Never done it before.

 

[chad320]

You can get it later. Hence the shutoff valve on the tank. You should also let it warm up to room temp before setting your bubble rate.

 

[fishygurl]

Haha, there is no water in the tank as of now and I don't have a regulator yet. (just ordered one!) So that won't be a problem.

But thanks a lot, that clears things up!

 

[chad320]

Wat to prepare all of the things youll need in advance. Something alot of people miss, getting algae, then being disappointed in their tanks all too soon.

 

[inkslinger]

When you get your tank home , Let it sit for a couple of hours so that the tank gets to room temp , then you put on your CO2 Regulator. There is a black nob on top of tank that shuts on an off on gas tank it will be off when its fill an when you install your regulator you open it up , The nob on the regulator should be off , when you open your tank the HI psi gauge on your regulator should read 800-1000psi when the tank is full. Now "SLOWLY" open your regulator {turn nob} and the low pressure gauge you will set to you liken 10-20psi and then you adjust your needle valve at what ever your bubble count will be at the same time tweaking your regulator nob too.

http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/co2/3334-co2-how-relates-planted-aquarium.html

 

[fishygurl]

Wow thanks inksligner, that will be very helpful when everything arrives.

chad320 - Yah, I won't be fully starting things up till I get my co2 equipment set up. I will fill up the tank and get the hardscape done, maybe put some Java fern in from my current tank and switch some filter media to get some bacteria established, but I'll keep the photo period super short (like 4 hours) till I get some nice stem plants and co2.

 

[Hoppy]

When you get your tank home , Let it sit for a couple of hours so that the tank gets to room temp , then you put on your CO2 Regulator. There is a black nob on top of tank that shuts on an off on gas tank it will be off when its fill an when you install your regulator you open it up , The nob on the regulator should be off , when you open your tank the HI psi gauge on your regulator should read 800-1000psi when the tank is full. Now "SLOWLY" open your regulator {turn nob} and the low pressure gauge you will set to you liken 10-20psi and then you adjust your needle valve at what ever your bubble count will be at the same time tweaking your regulator nob too.

http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/co2/3334-co2-how-relates-planted-aquarium.html

You aren't turning the regulator off, or putting the regulator knob in "off". You are, instead, adjusting the regulator knob to the zero output pressure position, that is turned counterclockwise until it is loose, or with some regulators (Milwaukee) removed entirely. That protects the regulator output gauge from being slammed with full pressure, and destroying the gauge. There are regulators which don't require this precaution, but since some do, it is best to assume yours is one that does require it.

 

[fishygurl]

So, do I have this right.

Loosen regulator nob till loose (and needle valve?).
Place regulator on tank.
Open tank shut off slowly.
Tighten regulator valve?
Tighten needle valve?

Sorry, it just seems counter intuitive to me for some reason, so I'm confused.

 

[Hoppy]

Leave the needle valve at the setting that gives you the bubble rate you need when you turn the tank shutoff valve off and on. The first time you set up the CO2 system don't do anything to the needle valve until you have the tank shut off valve opened, and the regulator knob adjusted to give you some output pressure. You will likely have too high a bubble rate - the needle valve will likely be opened too much - so close it down until you get 1-2 bubbles per second. Then increase the regulator knob setting to get about 20 psi output pressure, and again adjust the needle valve to get the bubble rate you want. NEVER completely shut off a needle valve - it can ruin the valve.

 

[inkslinger]

http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/co2/3-planted-aquarium-co2-injection-revealed.html