Re: [SPAM] [AGA-Member] pH shock - how to support recovery?

["S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>]

I'm not sure that I'm understanding you correctly. It
sounds like you are saying that your regulator won't shut
off the gas supply. IT's not meant to do that; only to drop
down the pressure from the CO2 to something useful. In,
fact as you get way down low on the output pressure side,
the rgulator will be less stable and less accurate. That's
normal unless the regulator is speically made to work at
very very low pressures, like just 1 or 2 or 3 psi.
However, Victors are generally expensive, high quality
regulators.

The Valve on the CO2 tank should be the one used to shut
off the CO2 completely.

Now if the problem is that the regulator won't regulate,
won't maintain an even low side pressure down in the range
you want, that's a diff issue. Whther the CO2 tank valve is
opened jsut a tad or all the way, it presents the smae
pressure tothe regulator. If open jsut a tad, then the tank
won't be able to supply a very high volume of gas, but for
aquaticf gardening purposes, only a very tiny volume of CO2
is desired.

The regulator won't control the amount of gas flow; it only
controls the pressure on the output side. At what pressure
it holds the output (or low pressure side)  depends on how
far in or out the knob or adjustment screw is turned.

To control the amount of flow, you use a metering valve
after the regulator. You have one of these in your setup?

The order is:

CO2 tank with valve -- the valve is used to turn on or off
the supply of CO2 to the system, like when you are changing
tanks for a refill, you want to shut off the CO2.

Regulator -- drops the pressure from the CO2 tank (usually
about 650 to 850 psi) to a usable pressure (somewhere
around 5-30 psi). If the regulator has two gauges on it,
then one shows the pressure on the high side of the
regualtor (i.e., the pressure from the CO2 tank) and the
other the pressure on the low or output side of the
regulator.

Metering valve -- controls the amount of CO2 that passes
through the the system in a given period -- i.e., allows
for a high or low volume of gas flow.

Solenoid (if you use one) -- an electrical low-pressure
valve that shuts off/turns on the low side flow -- usually
connected to a timer or a pH controller.

Is your problem that you can't control the amount of CO2
that's going into your aquarium? If so then it's the
metering valve that's probably at fault.

If you use the Milwaukee regulator, bubble counter,
solenoid combo, I believe that combo doesn't have a
metering valve so you need to add one to complete the
system.

Trying to run without a metering valve is difficult becuase
regulators tend not to be very stable at very low pressures
and trying to limit the CO2 flow by output pressure alone
generally requires very low pressure or an injector that
present high resistance to gas flow. The eheim diffusers
are pretty high resistance but you'll want a metering valve
with one of those setups anyway to prevent rapid tank
dumps.

sh
--- Heather J Gladney <hgladney@comcast.net> wrote:

> Now that I'm deep in the regulator replacement, with the
> welding gas 
> supply shop and the Victor Company and the Airgas
> distributor all closed 
> for a holiay weekend, I'm finding that the regulator
> won't shut off 
> completely when I've barely cracked open the main tank
> valve.
> I can't turn on the main tank valve any further without
> chilling the 
> regulator and running amazing amounts of gas out.
> I think I've got a bad regulator, although it's brand
> new.
> It's a Victor Medalist SR5B-320 0780-2544 for carbon
> dioxide, to be precise.
> The last one got killed by an overfilled CO2 tank.  That
> blew the 
> overpressure valve on the Milwaukee regulator/needle
> valve/bubble 
> counter setup, and the regulator couldn't be fixed from
> that.
> My family is pushing me back toward yeast bottles, and
> this isn't helping.
> Any suggestions from any experts in the house?
> 
> Heather J Gladney wrote:
> 
> >
> > I ran into this problem myself when first dealing with
> a weird import 
> > CO2 pressure regulator, and I'm trying not to do it
> again this weekend 
> > replacing it!
> >
> > Kirsten Klinghammer wrote:
> >
> >> I was kind of thinking that, but I wasn't sure.  I
> will leave the pH 
> >> alone
> >> for now - ixnay on further water changes, CO2 use, or
> anything else for
> >> today.  I appreciate you sharing your experience,
> Troy.
> >
> 
> 
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