Hold my hand through CO2 misting.

[Crazymidwesterner]

Okay My 25th birthday is on the 16th. The wife just completely shocked me and told me that shes gonna let me get the compressed CO2 I want It was that or a PDA which for me was no real decision lol.

I know from reading the forum that I want to do CO2 misting, but was curious exactly what I will need. I've heard many different ways to do it but was curious what would be the easiest and most effective without breaking the bank.

I plan on getting my regulator and a 20 Lbs tank from AquariumPlants.com Largest online sales / service site for the live aquarium plants & aquarium products community.. I have heard they are good quality regulators.

I have a standard 75 gallon tank or 48x18x20. What else will I need? Just 2 power heads and some CO2 hose?

Another question and I've asked this before and haven't got an answer, if I use misting how quickly would I burn through a 20 Lbs CO2 canister? I've heard some people say a year, some say six months, some say two weeks. Even a very rough estimate would be helpful.

If any of you experienced misters out there could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Frolicsome_Flora]

I have a standard 75 gallon tank or 48x18x20. What else will I need? Just 2 power heads and some CO2 hose?

Youll need a ceramic disk diffuser, Id recommend the Rhinox series, go for the 5000. Very good quality ADA copy, good quality ceramic that doesnt block with algae too fast. Ebay should do the trick without too many problems unless you have a good LFS. Powerheads are useful for making sure you have enough current flow, but in addition to your filter outlet, one should be enough depending on your layout. The KEY thing is to make sure you have ample surface agitation, this will allow you to dump alot more CO2 in during the day and have happy fish. DO NOT add CO2 when the lights are off, this can be achieved either by turning on/off the tank manually every day or get a solenoid.

Another question and I've asked this before and haven't got an answer, if I use misting how quickly would I burn through a 20 Lbs CO2 canister? I've heard some people say a year, some say six months, some say two weeks. Even a very rough estimate would be helpful.

I roughly use about 1kg (2.2lb) a month on pretty much the same size tank. Your usage will depend alot on how much light your tipping in. 2wpg should be ample and allow you to have some control over the system without problems running away from you too fast.

 

[VaughnH]

The first thing that controls how fast you go thru a tank of CO2 is leaks. The flow rate of CO2 that we use is extremely small, and a very minor leak is comparable in flow rate. So, you need to do a thorough job leak checking every single connection where a leak is possible, to eliminate all leaks. The best way to do that is with a mixture of detergent and water like you get with childrens bubble mixtures. Then just soak every single joint with it and wait to see if a mound of little bubbles develops anywhere - those are leaks. I found the real hidden leak is at the regulator to CO2 tank connection. If you install the regulator with the CO2 bottle freshly filled, and thus, very cold, that connection will loosen up in about an hour, and keep loosening up until everything is finally at room temperature. So, you need to retighten that connection repeatedly for a day or so to be sure it doesn't develop a leak.

 

[Crazymidwesterner]

Great. Thanks for the posts so far. Anymore ideas on what kind of equipment I'll need? I've seen glassware used but isn't the idea of misting to get the actual bubbles to hit the plants? I see zoo med makes an oscillating power head. Any experience with that or do you think that would be appropriate for this use?

 

[VaughnH]

One of the best ways to get good CO2 misting for the tank you have is to make a couple of the internal venturi reactors Tom designed, http://www.barrreport.com/articles/41-diy-internal-reactor-great-yeast-co2-users.html. These are misting reactors, when the venturi line is hooked up, and they work very well, in my opinion. Another way is just to use two small powerheads, with the CO2 tube inserted into the inlet, not the outlet, of the powerheads. This may require drilling a hole into the inlet pipe, but this is easy and it generates 100% CO2 mist, where the venturi reactors both dissolve CO2 in the water, and generate mist. I prefer the venturi reactors, because I had a lot more problems with BBA when I used pure CO2 misting, and the "champaign bubbles" effect didn't please me after a few months of seeing it.