I have a co2 Tank only 20 ounes

[siymdapolio]

Now I was thinking since i probably could not afford a big co2 tank and afford all the rest of the things needed. I have the 20 ounce paintball co2 tank. Not huge but maybe it would work for a week??
I have no idea :help:
I am not sure on how to do this and would love some info on this! What I want to do is set up a co2 sytem for my 35 gal show tank and thought maybe i could use my co2 tank(paintball tank) and hook up a regulator and a diifuser for the c o2 in water.

Would this work guys or would I have to keep running to the lfs or hardwear store to get more co2??

Thanks for the help guys!:19:

[siymdapolio]

Can anybody help me?

[cocoa_pleco]

*shines Digital3 and punishervette symbol in sky*

[siymdapolio]

:D thanks cocoa! haha I sent a pm to digital but no response yet!

[digital3]

Sorry, got a little busy lately. I think Drs. Foster and Smith sells a setup for paintball cylinders here:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

It looks like it comes with everything you need, including a drop checker. However, for that price, I think you're only paying a bit more for a full sized #5 cylinder and a Rex Grigg Regulator.

Some people have been against the paintball setups, but I saw a nano tank setup at my LFS with one and it looked pretty cool. I'm thinking you might blow through refills quickly, but I think refills are only 5 bucks.

The only kicker is if you buy the gear for it, it looks like it's only designed for the smaller cylinders and you won't be able to upgrade your tank later. What kind of budget do you have? It will cost a bit up front but operational costs are way cheap in the long run.

[siymdapolio]

Sorry, got a little busy lately. I think Drs. Foster and Smith sells a setup for paintball cylinders here:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

It looks like it comes with everything you need, including a drop checker. However, for that price, I think you're only paying a bit more for a full sized #5 cylinder and a Rex Grigg Regulator.

Some people have been against the paintball setups, but I saw a nano tank setup at my LFS with one and it looked pretty cool. I'm thinking you might blow through refills quickly, but I think refills are only 5 bucks.

The only kicker is if you buy the gear for it, it looks like it's only designed for the smaller cylinders and you won't be able to upgrade your tank later. What kind of budget do you have? It will cost a bit up front but operational costs are way cheap in the long run.

Thats the problem is the costs that set up cost a good 140 and i am on a low budget for now, Just got a job so getting some more pocket money will help!That set up looks great but isnt there a cheaper way to set these up and I dont know if it would fit

I have the 20 ounce can, I will go check the sizes and all that sort and get back to you digital! Thanks so much for the help

[digital3]

If cost is an issue, you might find some cheaper alternatives on Ebay, at least as far as a regulator is concerned. Then maybe you can look into a DIY reactor. It's true pressurized Co2 isn't cheap. And to tell you the truth I really wouldn't skimp on the components. Co2 gas can be dangerous to your fish and even you if a piece of equipment fails.

Save up those pennies!!!

[PUNISHER VETTE]

on a 35g have you tried the DIY yeast method? it worked well for me. I'm afraid a regulator and the weekly fill ups on the little tank is going to cost a lot. And you definitely don't need a huge tank for the 35gal plus that cost even more.

If you can find a regulator and a cheap diffuser/reactor then i'd go for it as it would be great. But doing the sugarwater yeast method is cheap and easy as well.

[digital3]

I agree with Punisher. Maybe pressurized is something you can look into in the future. DIY would definitely be cheaper and would provide the plants the Co2 needed in the meantime.

[siymdapolio]

Hey guys sorry havent checked on this thread in a while. I have been studying and researching like mad! And the problem with connecting a paintball co2 tank to a double gauge is that they all have a different thread. I was calling everywere and people just thought i was stupid but after explaining they said oh threads are wrong that wont work. So i decided to go to the lfs and ask the guy there and he refered me to this[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] he says he wopld sell it to me for 140 and i saw what he payed for it... 119 or somethin so i will look around or might have to break down and buy it but i am saving pennies mate!... Looks really cool and with my 20 ounce co2 tank i would have to fill probably around once every 5-6 weeks.

and see i found one for 119 but would have to pay shipping to here is a link if yall want to check it out. what do you guys think should i go for it??? [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[PUNISHER VETTE]

or $4 in sugar and $3 for yeast will last you 5months......
along with a 2ltr of pepsi you get to drink first and $.10/ft hosing....
I had my 2 liter bottle last for more then 3 weeks and when i went to change it it still had plenty of pressure.

But it's your money and spend away if you'd rather have the advanced system. You don't have to spend much more and you can upgrade to the actual 5lb tank so you don't have to go through it all again if you upgrade.

Also the kit you linked to has a solenoid under the information but it looks like it is NOT included in the "pro system" which is just more you'd have to spend since you kinda need one of those...

[PUNISHER VETTE]

For my 5lb set up here is how much it cost me.
DIY reactor= $15
Milwaukee Regulator w/ solenoid $= $90
5lb cylinder =$75
tubing =$1
CO2= $14

total of what?......um...$205 about.

So if you're about to spend $100+ on the regulator + about $70 on a solenoid on something for a 20oz bottle you might as well invest in something you can either re-sell later on or will be useful in an upgrade situation on your tank.

[garman]

Hope I'm not saying something someone else already said, But I just started a DIY co2 system for my 35 gallon planted tank. It's been up for 3 days and there's already a noticeable increace in plant growth.

I used a 1 gallon plastic container and I have the co2 running into the intake of my Rena-Filstar canister filter. I have a loop in the air (co2) tube with some water in it so I can see the relative amount of co2 entering the system as it bubbles through, and I did some calculations using the kH level and the pH to estimate co2 levels in the tank. You have to have water with no pH buffers or added phosphates to have this test be accurate, but I got a co2 level of 38 ppm in my tank. That's a little high, 30ppm being ideal, but I left it as is.

The fish are doing fine, I leave it on at night (which some say you shouldn't do), and the whole thing couldn't be easier. The canister filter works well for diffusing the co2, and the co2 is causing the plants to put out more leaves per amount of stem, that is, the plants are thicker and look great.

I didn't spend much time reading the whole thread so I didn't even see whether you had a co2 system going yet. I'll catch up! Garman

[digital3]

...I did some calculations using the kH level and the pH to estimate co2 levels in the tank. You have to have water with no pH buffers or added phosphates to have this test be accurate, but I got a co2 level of 38 ppm in my tank. That's a little high, 30ppm being ideal, but I left it as is.

What about trying a drop checker? It's far more accurate than using a KH/PH calculation and they're pretty cheap. Even having driftwood in your tank or peat can effect a KH/PH calculation. You just need to make sure and use 4dkh water for it.

[garman]

What is a drop checker? Is it like what they use in hospitals for giving fluids and such? Also, I'm sorry, what is 4dkh water?

[digital3]

A drop checker is a small glass container that you fill about 2/3 with dKH water (4dkh water is distilled water that has elements added to it to make it exactly 4KH). Then you add some drops of PH reagent (usually used when testing PH). At the bottom of the container is a hole. You place the drop checker in your tank and after a couple of hours there is a gas exchange between your tank water and the water in the drop checker. This will cause the reagent to turn a color to indicate the amount of Co2 you have. Blue means not enough, Yellow means too much and Green means 30 ppm of Co2.

That's the very very paraphrased version. Here's a better write up on it...

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
(the article also explains why the KH/PH test isn't an accurate Co2 indicator)

And here's what one looks like:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[garman]

Thanks. I will carfully read the article when I'm not so sleepy. My 6 SAE's are now getting ahead of some black brush algae I have in this tank, the plants are doing better, and the fish are staying alive, so I think I have a pretty good level of co2. It is really smart to know though.

I have about 70 mosquito fish fry and about 30 tilapia babies approx 1.25 inches long each, 6 SAE's, and 12 shrimp. I plan to replace these fish with neon tetras and possibly some others, but I think I'll start disconnecting the co2 at night. I guess that's when the plants stop using co2 and actually produce it and I don't want to kill the fish if I can avoid it.

OK!!! back to the author!

[PUNISHER VETTE]

Thanks. I will carfully read the article when I'm not so sleepy. My 6 SAE's are now getting ahead of some black brush algae I have in this tank, the plants are doing better, and the fish are staying alive, so I think I have a pretty good level of co2. It is really smart to know though.

I have about 70 mosquito fish fry and about 30 tilapia babies approx 1.25 inches long each, 6 SAE's, and 12 shrimp. I plan to replace these fish with neon tetras and possibly some others, but I think I'll start disconnecting the co2 at night. I guess that's when the plants stop using co2 and actually produce it and I don't want to kill the fish if I can avoid it.

OK!!! back to the author!


I know with my DIY it was hard to just disconnect it at night but what you can do is get an air pump and run that at night. This will create a lot of extra O2 in the water AND cause excess surface disruption which will also release CO2 thats in the water.

[garman]

That's not a problem as I have a powerhead running a venturi full blast all the time. I know that blows off co2 during the day, but I have enough co2 apparently regardless, so I just leave that on at night. I have a double male connector connected to the co2 circuit and I disconnect that and leave it over night. I stick the open tube going to the canister filter into the tank so it doesn't suck air into the filter and it's good.