Pressurized Co2 for 33 Long

[TylerAquatics]

Hey guys. You probably get this question a lot, but I have a planted tank I want to run Co2 in, but all the options online are confusing me a bit. To my knowledge, you need a Co2 canister, diffuser, tubing, tests, and the regulator. Should I buy those Co2 kits I see online that come with everything or should I buy everything separately. What would you guys recommend? And how many pounds should the canister be and how long will it last me?

 

[threecharacters]

I don't actually have CO2, but I looked into this a while ago for my 20 long. I would recommend a kit. I don't think it's cheaper to get the parts separately. Inline diffusers are better than in-tank diffusers, but you need a canister filter to use an inline diffuser. Drop checkers aren't necessary or really that accurate, but they can be a nice visual check if something goes wrong. Regulators with solenoids and needle valves are ideal (I don't remember if all regulators have these features or not). You need CO2 specific tubing. Generic tubing will quickly degrade.

The kit I was going to buy, and may still buy, is the CO2Art Pro-SE.

For the tank, I think you want >5 lbs. There is no downside to a larger CO2 tank except it takes up more space. A larger tank needs to be filled less often, and may be cheaper per lb to fill depending on where you get it filled.

You can find good deals on used CO2 tanks on craigslist, ebay, etc. because CO2 tanks are also used for homebrewing and indoor grow ops.

If you have a in-tank diffuser, make sure the CO2 is being distributed around the tank (e.g. control where the flow is going).

I'm really not an expert, maybe someone else will know.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

As one who ran a high tech pressurized co2 tank for about a decade. I would advise you not to use a 33L with pressurized co2. The tank is too shallow and a high tech planted tank will have excellent growth and your plants will consantly be bumping against the lid. I chose a 50 gal. for mine and the reason I finally took it down, sold the CO2 stuff and repurposed it was very simple. I had almost 18 tanks and that 50 gal. planted took me about 20% of my weekly maint time because of the plants. You will be pruning a co2 added 33L all the time.

I bought my system mostly from a beer supply company. I got the regulator and bottle from them. I added CO2 resistant hose, a Clippard needle valve and a bubble counter. I also got teflon tape for all the connections. Think this cost me under $2000 in 2002/03.

Because I was space contrained in the stand and in the tank, I ran the CO2 directly into the Eheim Pro II 2026 canister and let the impeller chop up the co2 bubbles. The spaybar out was pointed not to roil the surface. I would only have tried that with an Eheim because of the potential for cavitation from the CO2 bubbles going in. 20+ years later and that Eheim is still running (without co2) and is a quiet as the day I bought it. And the Hydor Inline heater is also still going strong with the filter.

 

[threecharacters]

TwoTankAmin does raise a good point, but you can absolutely run CO2 in a 33L. While it might be good idea to start with fast growing stems I think you'll probably want to pivot towards slower growing and shorter carpeting plants for maintenance reasons. Lots of people maintain smaller tanks with CO2 no problem, you just have to show some discretion in terms of the plant choices.

 

[Archerfish]

Hey guys. You probably get this question a lot, but I have a planted tank I want to run Co2 in, but all the options online are confusing me a bit. To my knowledge, you need a Co2 canister, diffuser, tubing, tests, and the regulator. Should I buy those Co2 kits I see online that come with everything or should I buy everything separately. What would you guys recommend? And how many pounds should the canister be and how long will it last me?

Your 33-gallon tank will make a fine planted aquarium if you do research and plan ahead. There are people keeping spectacular nano high-tech planted aquariums. I also ran high-tech aquariums for a long time. 'Plug and play' systems are ok but, in my opinion, you would be better off to custom make your system. I would seek help from someone living near you who is actually keeping a high-tech tank. For example, you will hear that drop checkers aren't necessary. Really? Unless you are willing to invest in very expensive monitoring equipment, what do you do? Cruelly wait to see the fish gasping at the surface to figure out the tank is over-dosed? I use a double drop checker to make it much easier. Yes, drop checkers have some 'quirks' like a delay in initial reading and importance of proper placement. Or use the 'bubbles-per-second' method where there are too many variables? The bubbles per second method is like driving a car down the road only looking in the rear-view mirror. Perhaps try a planted aquarium site such as this for firsthand assistance. www.aquaticplantcentral.com

 

[Oddball59]

Hey guys. You probably get this question a lot, but I have a planted tank I want to run Co2 in, but all the options online are confusing me a bit. To my knowledge, you need a Co2 canister, diffuser, tubing, tests, and the regulator. Should I buy those Co2 kits I see online that come with everything or should I buy everything separately. What would you guys recommend? And how many pounds should the canister be and how long will it last me?

I'm just about to buy a few fire extinguisher bottles, I don't know the size but if they are less than two I probably won't bother, but five tanks of co2 for £50 should go a long way, even though I can't find anyone to refill them unless I've rented one of their own tanks. Anyone know of someone who does refills of in date tested but privately bought tanks I'd love to know. I'm driving to Horizon in a couple of weeks and getting the Co2. Art pro manifold.

 

[Colin_T]

Before you get carbon dioxide (CO2) for the tank, can you post a picture showing the entire tank so we can see how many plants you have in it?

What fertilisers are you adding and how often do you add them?

What sort of light is above the aquarium and how long is it on for?

If you don't have enough light, or the nutrients aren't in balance, adding CO2 will be a waste of time and money. For CO2 to work effectively, you need the light, fertiliser and CO2 to be perfectly balanced otherwise you get algae problems and waste money on CO2.

There's also no point adding CO2 to an aquarium if you only have a few plants, or you have slow growing plants. To get the benefits of CO2, you need a tank full of fast growing true aquatic plants.

If you only have a few plants or slow growing plants, they will get plenty of CO2 from the fish, filter bacteria, and from the atmosphere.

 

[Oddball59]

Before you get carbon dioxide (CO2) for the tank, can you post a picture showing the entire tank so we can see how many plants you have in it?

What fertilisers are you adding and how often do you add them?

What sort of light is above the aquarium and how long is it on for?

If you don't have enough light, or the nutrients aren't in balance, adding CO2 will be a waste of time and money. For CO2 to work effectively, you need the light, fertiliser and CO2 to be perfectly balanced otherwise you get algae problems and waste money on CO2.

There's also no point adding CO2 to an aquarium if you only have a few plants, or you have slow growing plants. To get the benefits of CO2, you need a tank full of fast growing true aquatic plants.

If you only have a few plants or slow growing plants, they will get plenty of CO2 from the fish, filter bacteria, and from the atmosphere.

Kia Ora, Thanks for the reply Colin, this is for a new tank, I'm just gathering the aqua scape for, but it will be well planted with a carpet at the front and a side, probably hair grass, then something long and flowing at the back behind the hardscape. Moss. More I haven't settled on yet but it'll be red. The lights are both Fluval plant grow. The tank is four foot by 55 cm wide and deep.

 

[Magnum Man]

I don't mean to side track the thread... but conventional vinyl air tubing degrades quickly with CO2... I have some silicone air line here... would that be safe for the CO2???

 

[Oddball59]

I don't mean to side track the thread... but conventional vinyl air tubing degrades quickly with CO2... I have some silicone air line here... would that be safe for the CO2???

I don't think so, the silicone is still a very soft material and prone to deform, if you but a decent manifold then you will usually get a length of the correct hose with it.

If you just want the hose check out the Co2Art spares section at Horizon Aquatics, I believe they have different lengths.

Co2 Resistant Tubing

www.horizonaquatics.co.uk

 

[Colin_T]

We had silicon airline for CO2 in the shop tanks. It held up fine for the 2 years the tanks had CO2. Try different airline and see if one works. Normal airline is a lot cheaper than silicon, which is a lot cheaper than specialised CO2 hose.

 

[Oddball59]

We had silicon airline for CO2 in the shop tanks. It held up fine for the 2 years the tanks had CO2. Try different airline and see if one works. Normal airline is a lot cheaper than silicon, which is a lot cheaper than specialised CO2 hose.

fair points. I think if you're buying a kit though usually airline comes with the manifold, like Co2Art and some others. I suppose often, and it bugs me we're sent down rabbit holes by marketing men whose sole job is to sell something to people who often don't need it. Sometimes I think its validated by sources you can trust... George Farmer in his book says use dedicated airline, and I trust him more than a suit with a spreadsheet. Steve Jobs always said the most important people in driving sales at Apple wasn't the engineers, coders etc.. but the marketing team. Says a lot.