More Questions

Ok guys I need your help again,lol

Anyway I am hoping to eventually add a pressurised system to my tank but have been struggling to find anywhere to buy/refill the cylinders. Anyway I have found a company in my town that will refill any make or model of fire extinguisher so have decided this would be a good solution. But because of this I need to buy the regulator and stuff separately. So can anyone list all the equipment which I would need and also any links to cheap sites would be appreciated. Sorry for all the questions but getting a bit bogged down with all the information thats about.

The fact I needed a regulator was about all I have found out but it would apper to be a lot more complicated.

I have just bought a fire extinguisher from these people and this german guy sells reasonable regulators that are quite cheap (a few people on here have bought from him). then all you need is a diffuser/reactor of some kind.

An NRV and CO2 compatible hose are essential. CO2 will cause normal air line to rapidly deteriorate.

Consider whether you want a bubble counter and a solenoid to shut CO2 off at night. Some bubble counters come with the regulator.

http/stores.ebay.co.uk/Aquarianerversand

Thanks you pair very helpful. Once i decide on a budget I will choose what I want but ideally I need a regulator,solenoid and bubble counter to get the best performance.

Can I ask another question with the risk of sounding stupid how do you find your way around those sites. I tried running it through a translator site but there are so many words it doesn't recognise it doesn't really help.

I would suggest that you rethink the fire extinguisher CO2. This stuff is not as pure as that intended for human consumption and may well have something that is not real good for fish. The first thing that comes to mind is oil and I am sure there are number of other possibilities. Human consumption would be for pop and beer. You need to research getting "cleaner" CO2. Two possibilities are a pop distributor or a beer distributor. The CO2 is used to drive their taps.
Vic

Generally with help from the pictures you can see what you would get(!) However, I have some knowledge of German as well as liberal use of RIGHT CLICK, PAGE INFO, TRANSLATE PAGE INTO ENGLISH. Also there are lots of online dictionaries (google 'german to english'), although a lot of the terms may be a bit technical for them! If you are really stuck on pm me and I will try to help.

shrimply said:

Can I ask another question with the risk of sounding stupid how do you find your way around those sites. I tried running it through a translator site but there are so many words it doesn't recognise it doesn't really help.

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If you recognise what you want, you can pretty much let the pictures do the talking. This set up has everything you will need for around 70 quid including postage and packing.

http/cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...em=140064649210

If you've found place that'll fill any type of cylinder (you lucky sod!) then the kits Dave liked to would be the best bet, gives you everything and I doubt you'll find it cheaper.

Or one of these kits would be good I know several people who've got things from this bloke (he'll reply to emails in English if needs be ), a larger 2kg cylinder would be a bonus and save on refills too. There are kits that even have pH controllers for over £200, or just get a simple kit for under £70, its up to you.

BTW dont worry about what 'grade' co2 you get, Im using a welding cylinder and haven't found any problems with it compared to my JBL 500g, so its one less thing to think about

As a quick run down, the most basic pressurised kit needs the following

Cylinder - to hold the co2
Regulator - to reduce the cylinder pressure from around 60psi to 5psi
Needle valve - this is normally part of the reg so you shouldn't need to get it separately. I allows very fine control of the bubble rate
CO2 - to take the co2 to the tank
Diffuser - there are several types

- ladder type - like you get with the nutrafin kits, simple but not hugely effective, although ok for smaller tanks
- glass/ceramic - produce a fine mist of co2 bubbles, that greatly increases diffusion of co2 into the water
- in line - you mix the co2 with the water that comes out of the an external filter, obviously this only works if you have an external filter

Unless you have a very great need to get kit out of the tank, glass diffusers are very good and are cheap, so are a good starting point and wont be a huge waste of money if you want to upgrade to external reactor later on

Other kit includes

bubble counter - these allow you to see the bubble rate you are pumping into the tank, useful if you are using a glass diffuser, but not essential but very handy, and only around 5quid.

solenoid - allows you to turn off the co2 at night, which again isn't essential but is useful for very large tanks as you save lots of co2 and gives the fish a break from the co2 during the night

pH probe - combined with a solenoid allows you to have a very precise pH level in the tank and thus keep a very stable co2 level as well.

Hope that helps

Sam

Sam

Thank you very helpful. I have a few more questions if you don't mind answering them.

First one is that I am very interested in the kit that Dave posted but have a few questions.

I don't think it comes with a bubble counter is there one for sale on that site as I can't find one but am not really sure what I am looking for.

Secondly is the socket that come with the solenoid a problem or is a adapter sutiable to sort it out?

And last would this kit be compatible with a fire extingusher if I could not find anywhere to get the cylinder refilled.

Thanks people. Very helpul

1) Bubble counter looks and works like this



2) You can get plug adaptors for euro plugs, cheap from homebase/B&Q. I have one on my ehaim classic 2211

3) Yes it would be compatiable with a fire extinguisher

Sam

shrimply said:

Secondly is the socket that come with the solenoid a problem or is a adapter sutiable to sort it out?

Thanks people. Very helpul

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Sorry Shrimply, I forgot to mention that solenoids of this type generally run on 12v, so you will need a transformer that will convert the two pin to a three pin.

Perfect this is less compilcated than it first appears.

I can get a buuble counter from the same place for pennies. Great.

I just bought a 2213 for my tank and it came with an adapter but compared to the cheap travel plugs it looks pretty substantial and well built. Are the travel ones safe for long term use?

Oh dear, I came up with another question, I am so talented in that department.

Just wondered if anyone could predict how long the 500g would last in my 120l tank. Cheers all.

shrimply said:

Just wondered if anyone could predict how long the 500g would last in my 120l tank. Cheers all.

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My 500g in my 120l has lasted six weeks so far, and still going strong. CO2 is only on for ten hours per day during the photoperiod.

P.S. I also have a spare, charged bottle ready to swap over for when the empty bottle requires a refill.

Dave Spencer said:

shrimply said:

Just wondered if anyone could predict how long the 500g would last in my 120l tank. Cheers all.

Click to expand...

My 500g in my 120l has lasted six weeks so far, and still going strong. CO2 is only on for ten hours per day during the photoperiod.

P.S. I also have a spare, charged bottle ready to swap over for when the empty bottle requires a refill.

Click to expand...

Daves advice on the spare is excellent and should be noted, as I once forgot to have a spare charged and went just a few days without Co2 and let me tell you the algae buildup without co2 once you have been using it was increadable. It took ages to settle back down again.