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29.5 Gallon fish tank - Amazonian inspired

So I've ordered one of those chinese CO2 kits with citric acid and baking soda. Thing is, the kit comes with a bubble counter that has a built in check valve. Thing is I also got an ISTA 3in1 diffuser that also has bubble counter and check valve. Will those two work well or should i go and search for a simple diffuser?
Any chance you could share what they are? I want to try CO2 for the first time, and the citric acid and baking soda ones seem like a smaller commitment than cylinders of CO2 :)
 
It's this crap. I threw it away.

OK so kinda of a long post about CO2 and my experience with it.

~I've tried the Dennerle yeast and sugar method. TWICE!....it's crap, it doesn't work.
~I've tried the DIY Chinese CO2 Generator with baking soda and citric acid. It works BUT!!! It only generates a bit over 100 ml of CO2 and you have to weekly refill it.

I wanted CO2 but having a refillable cylinder was out of the question. Did a lot of research and I've discovered pressurized disposable CO2 cylinders.

1. I've bought the cylinder 0.5l for tesing purposes. I have it running for 2 months, 3 bubbles/second and i'm very happy with it. It costs ~$30 And it's made in Italy. It has a M10x1 thread!

385546829_1811612835957201_5945109740905603034_n.jpg


406919578_603048385286177_2908083175678030112_n.jpg


2. Got a made in Germany pressure gauge/reductor for ~$70 It's important to always check the thread as there are many variants and if you have a M10x1 cylinder, you need to have the same type of reductor.

413026844_652329980186849_7440197036303612643_n.jpg


407102360_887988182650722_5709818052680423799_n.jpg


3. Got a Milwaukee solenoid valve for ~$60

406980746_202978982805048_2853198618344522054_n.jpg


4. The black CO2 hose and the ISTA diffuser (with built-in bubble counter and check valve)...each at a price of ~$10

As i said I'm more than happy with the system so when this cylinder empties (i guess in 1 or 2 months) i'll get the 2.5L one also disposable. It's ~$50 and of course the thread is M10x1
 
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Fish stock update:

- 5 Otos: all doing fine (Got them from Hornbach - it's like Home Depot, they have a huge and amazing aquarium department with very well trained staff that also includes a vet!)
- 7 Glowlight Tetras - all doing fine. I had 8 but one jumped out of the tank for some reason, and when i found him he was already dead. (Got them from Hornbach)
- 14 or 15 Neon Tetras - had 16 but one died, and a second one might have also died but i'm not sure, it's hard to count them :))) (Got them from Hornbach)
- 1 female Pearl Gourami - she was just a small baby when i got her and for the 1st 3 days she was very shy, hiding in the plants. Now she's all over the place, swimming like a diva, growing big and healthy. (Got her from Hornbach)
- 1 female German Blue Ram - she is also a small baby. In the 1st day she would just hide in the back , now she swims all over the place like she owns the joint. (Got her from Hornbach)
- 5 Panda Cory - such cool fish , for some reason the Blue Ram schools with them from time to time. (Got them from Hornbach)
- 1 long fin Panda Cory. This is a sad story...I went to Maxi Pet - a big box pet shop....and they don't keep the fish in the best conditions and also the staff there lacks any decent skill on capturing and manhandling the fish.... I wanted 3 fish and the dude was literally hurting them while trying to cath them. So i was dude, step back and let me catch my fish. And he gave me the net. I knew that there was a high probability of them dying... I tried my best but I only managed to save one...Now he's big and healthy...

All the fish are fine, i have zero agression. I was a bit worried on how the Ram and the Gourami will behave but they are doing fine, ignoring eachother.

I won't add any more fish to this tank. I'll add 6 more plants and the project is done. After that i'll rescape my 15 gallon Betta tank and in february i plan on doing a guppy tank.....And yes when I 1st started the plan was to only have one fish tank..... :rolleyes::lol:
 
It's this crap. I threw it away.

OK so kinda of a long post about CO2 and my experience with it.

~I've tried the Dennerle yeast and sugar method. TWICE!....it's crap, it doesn't work.
~I've tried the DIY Chinese CO2 Generator with baking soda and citric acid. It works BUT!!! It only generates a bit over 100 ml of CO2 and you have to weekly refill it.

I wanted CO2 but having a refillable cylinder was out of the question. Did a lot of research and I've discovered pressurized disposable CO2 cylinders.

1. I've bought the cylinder 0.5l for tesing purposes. I have it running for 2 months, 3 bubbles/second and i'm very happy with it. It costs ~$30 And it's made in Italy. It has a M10x1 thread!

View attachment 333141

View attachment 333142

2. Got a made in Germany pressure gauge/reductor for ~$70 It's important to always check the thread as there are many variants and if you have a M10x1 cylinder, you need to have the same type of reductor.

View attachment 333143

View attachment 333144

3. Got a Milwaukee solenoid valve for ~$60

View attachment 333145

4. The black CO2 hose and the ISTA diffuser (with built-in bubble counter and check valve)...each at a price of ~$10

As i said I'm more than happy with the system so when this cylinder empties (i guess in 1 or 2 months) i'll get the 2.5L one also disposable. It's ~$50 and of course the thread is M10x1

Wow, thank you for such a detailed response! Maybe I'll look into CO2 cylinders then, as it seems like they are far superior. It seems pretty affordable if I'll only need to replace the canister and not the whole system. I might even copy your set up! 😁 😂
 
all the other fish are acting normal, water params are fine...
 

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