Help With Choosing A Co2 System

[julia298]

I have a juwel 180l tank with original lighting atm (1wpg Im told).

I want to go for pressurised CO2 as I know I wont want to be faffing around mixing sugar etc.
I don't mind paying out to begin with if it will save me in the long run and save time, but also dont want to be ripped off.

Are night time shut offs needed? Have been looking at these: CO2 Systems

Advice welcomed

 

[Themuleous]

IMO no all you need is a cylinder and a regulator. Anything else is just an extra. Im sure Jimboo would agree that the more complicated you make things the more chance there is for things to go wrong. Without a soleniod you many just have to shuf it off manually at night and on again in the morning. TBH I just leave mine running and the fish are fine, but this obviously runs the tank down quicker, so will need refilling more often and on a 180lt that might get expensive. I would wait, you can always add one later on.

Also, I wouldn't get one new ebay is your friend when it comes to saving money (lots of money too!) when getting pressurised CO2

Sam

 

[paulioo]

To be honest, with that amount of light CO2 would be a waste of money. Unless your planning on upgrading your lighting to around 2WPG then you wont benefit from CO2.

Paul

 

[oldwhitewood]

I use the D&D CO2 Set and have found for the money + solenoid included this is a great buy. You can get the replacement cylinders easily from a range of different people too. Things to watch out for is you have to be very careful with the assembly. The unit feels very DIY and I actually broke one I bought recently and had to send it back to D&D, who were actually really good about it and sent me a new unit but they're a bugger to assemble and get gas tight. If you do it wrongly you could find your cannister drained overnight.

The hydor ones look interesting too.

 

[phlawed]

I use the D&D CO2 Set and have found for the money + solenoid included this is a great buy. You can get the replacement cylinders easily from a range of different people too. Things to watch out for is you have to be very careful with the assembly. The unit feels very DIY and I actually broke one I bought recently and had to send it back to D&D, who were actually really good about it and sent me a new unit but they're a bugger to assemble and get gas tight. If you do it wrongly you could find your cannister drained overnight.

The hydor ones look interesting too.

I just use the Red Sea Turbo co2. Seems to be working well now that i got to correct height in water

 

[weathermen]

Hi ya,

Have you tried the DIY approach? You could save a fortune going this way!

 

[Themuleous]

I want to go for pressurised CO2 as I know I wont want to be faffing around mixing sugar etc.

Hi ya,
Have you tried the DIY approach? You could save a fortune going this way!

Dont think they want to try that Plus DIY on a 180lt is going to mean a few kits, even more faffing!

 

[ChrisP]

If you want to do it cheap with a huge bottle that will need changing once a year tops then check my thread below.

If you dont mind paying out more cash then a kit maybe for you although in my opinion its extra money for nothing except a solenoid that is not really needed. Sure it will save you money in the long run but at £15 for well over a years supply I'm not really complaining!

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=135450

By the way you can upgrade the lighting on those tanks very easily, just go on eBay and get yourself a double lighting unit and a couple of decent tubes and reflectors. Should be able to get yourself to 2.5WPG for about fifty quid.