Some Co2 System Questions

[Paavn]

im still cycling my tank right now (fishless cycle), its a 29 US gallon tank
so i wanted to get some ricca for it (i know its messy and stuff but i love the look and the challenge)
i cant seem to find anyone around me so i'll have to get it online or at an auction, one coming up soon

anyways i was wondering what kind of diffuser i should get, theres way too many options so who better to ask than people who use them?

ohh and i was planning on using pressurized CO2 from a canister, since only one side of my tank is going to have plants on it (the other side has a plastic one) i was thinking a canister of paintballing CO2 would suffice. i'll get a regulator valve so i can turn it off at night and turn on the air pump.

equipment needed:
glass diffuser (any recommendations?)
bubble counter (do i really need one?)
drop checker (isnt this only necessary if i have a fully planted tank?)
CO2 canister
regulator valve
CO2 resistant piping

am i missing anything?

i looked into the DIY kits and i dont see how it mixes the CO2 effectively, theres generally large bubbles escaping into the air. and it seems in the long run they'll be more expensive with the cost of sugar and yeast. i can get brewers yeast for really cheap but sugar is kinda pricy, i guess the down side i see for now is the initial cost of set up... time to sell all the junk

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

I've used the Rhinox range of glass diffusers in the past, the larger the better IMO.
You don't really need a bubble counter but helps you to see how much is going in.
You'll need a drop checker to see if there is sufficient co2 in the water.

Really, if you've got half proper plants and the other half plastic, give your churning the water around it doesn't matter where your diffuser is. Plus you'll need to put 30ppm of co2 in the water no matter how many plants you have in there. So would of thought that a paintball canister wouldn't be a cost effective way of doing it, even when you consider when you get to 30ppm of co2 the plants won't uptake much.

If I were you, you should look into getting a co2 Fire Extinguisher, much cheaper option.

Don't forget to work on the ferts regime and flow as with ricca I can imagine it'll be a tough plant to get going.

 

[Paavn]

i knew i was forgetting something haha the fertilizer!
thanks, i'll go for the fire extinguisher then, does anyone know if places that sell paintball equipment refill fire extinguishers? if not i'll just drop by or call.

if im going to go for a fire extinguisher or a canister about that size, should i get something to measure the psi as well?

one more thing, is it bad to leave the CO2 on all the time?