ljtan55 Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Just a quick question about CO2 setups. Been humming and haaing about getting pressurised co2 for my 255L planted tank but the different components and everything confuse me... soo.. a couple of questions 1. co2 bottles - do they come separately like gas bottles? Or do you have to buy them and can most bigger petshops refill them? 2. I get what diffusers do, but what do solenoids, and counters and ph monitors do, and how do they join up? 3. How much should my budget be for a simple but reliable system? 4. Other than refilling the bottle what kind of maintenance does it need? Thanks for all of this, I've been confused for so long and thats been putting me off buying one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hi Alan, been a while Pressurized CO2 is a big investment due to the price, but I've always been happy with the results I've achieved with it. 1. CO2 bottles can be sourced from many different places and most have a standard thread for regulators with the exception of sodastream bottles whick are in their own category. CO2 can not be refilled by any pet shops that I know of, but Cylinder Testing Stations (where you go to get your LPG bottle retested) generally fill CO2 bottles for about $7 per kg. Prices vary on location. Testing labs are a good place to source recycled fire extinguishers for an inexpensive CO2 bottle. Fire extinguisher companies such as Wormalds will happily refill your CO2 bottle but will charge much more than anywhere else. BOC won't touch bottles unless you're renting from them, which works out much more expensive than buying your own. 2. Solenoids turn pressurized CO2 on and off with the lights to save money and prevent waste. Counters give you a rough measurement of how much CO2 is being injected so you can adjust the flow. pH monitors measure the pH of the water and add CO2 to lower it to the desired level. This only works if your system has a solenoid. They all join up in many configurations - obviously you will have a co2 bottle with regulator, solenoid goes in-line between regulator and aquarium. Solenoid may be plugged into pH controller or light timer. Bubble counter may go anywhere in line between bottle and regulator. 3. Budget should be anywhere between $350 for a basic pressurized system ($200 for regulator with solenoid and bubble counter and diffuser, $150 for a 1.8kg recycled fire extinguisher bottle) or over $1000 if you want something with all the bells and whistles and a pH controller. 4. Ceramic diffusers and reactors need occasional cleaning and you should always have a CO2 indicator in your aquarium for monitoring. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljtan55 Posted March 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Hey Blue, yeah had a tank disaster over christmas and a move so I'm just getting into it again. But now i have an internal garage so the tanks are multiplying... just trying to convince the fiance to park her car outside about now. Cheers for that, would I be better off buying everything separately or just get a total packaged system ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 If you buy a total packaged system you're limited to the accessories that the manufacturer makes for that setup, while if you get the common JBJ style regulators you can do really fun stuff like add a splitter with individual needle valves - Which saves the time energy and money of buying a whole new setup when you get a second planted tank. You can get splitters to feed up to 6 tanks from one regulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneh Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Check out TM for a regulator and solenoid set-up, they appear regularly, one for $200 single tank with solenoid and one with 6 separate taps and solenoid for about $395 for 6 separate tanks, damn good value if you ask me. I agree with the "get an old fire extinguisher" idea. Hiring a bottle from BOC will cost about $40 a month, or about $28 from Air Liquide. So try and get one of your own. I have a co2 set-up on my tank, (with my own bottle ) expect about 1" plant growth on stem plants per day with the right lighting and fertilisers. It looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozski Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I don't want to hijack the thread, but there are so many CO2 threads around already. Am just trying to learn what I would need and how much it would cost for me to set up. Thought I would just do a DIY, but if all i need is a regulator, sodastream bottle and diffuser... Blueandkim, can you explain how to set up a sodastream CO2 system? I know you need the bottle, a regulator, a gas line and a a diffuser. Can you do without the other extras? My partner has a solenoid kicking around he said he can fit in with it. Where can I get a regulator from that will work on a sodastream bottle? My tank is only 170 litres btw. Or might it pay to put up a 'wanted' ad in the private T&E and get it all in 1 Sorry for thread hijacking ljtan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I don't want to hijack the thread, but there are so many CO2 threads around already. Am just trying to learn what I would need and how much it would cost for me to set up. Thought I would just do a DIY, but if all i need is a regulator, sodastream bottle and diffuser... Blueandkim, can you explain how to set up a sodastream CO2 system? I know you need the bottle, a regulator, a gas line and a a diffuser. Can you do without the other extras? My partner has a solenoid kicking around he said he can fit in with it. Where can I get a regulator from that will work on a sodastream bottle? My tank is only 170 litres btw. Or might it pay to put up a 'wanted' ad in the private T&E and get it all in 1 Sorry for thread hijacking ljtan! There's a tool company that sells through TradeMe which carries the sodastream fitting regulators - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-farmi ... 996506.htm - and I'm pretty sure you can get the reg alone for under $100 but in the end you're better off with a proper (and safer) pressurized setup with taps than the slightly dodgy sodastream way. Solenoids need to be CO2 resistant as they can be corroded by the gas. As for doing without the "extras" it's much like running an aquarium, for a proper setup you need the basics. The only extra I can recommend avoiding with a CO2 setup is a pH controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 The only extra I can recommend avoiding with a CO2 setup is a pH controller. Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I personally don't think a beginner CO2 setup really needs it. Just an opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozski Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 mmmmm ok thanks for the info. Just confusing. Reading old threads for info as I am trying to not make people have to say the same old. Whenever someone wants to do DIY, people recommend cheap pressurised. Then you wanna do cheap pressurised, and you get told do spend more money and do it properly :roll: Might go play with DIY CO2 instead, sounds more affordable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Why? and you don't need a solenoid too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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