Re: [GSAS-Member] CO2 Question

[Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com>]

Kypros, do you have one solenoid for the entire rig, or do you run one per 
needle valve?  And if the latter, where do you place the solenoid in the 
flow? (i.e. right at the needle valve, right near the tank, etc.)

Also, where do you obtain your metal check valves?

Remember that "super experienced" can also mean "have just done the same 
dumb things for a long time." :)

   - Erik

On Sat, 17 Oct 2009, Hostetter, Kypros wrote:

> I agree you will have to have three needle valves. I have a Sumo regulator
> with a dual manifold and I have the solenoids.  It felt better to me to give
> the co2 a break at, and they work fine for me, running about 25 feet for
> each line.  But I know that many super experienced guys like Erik go without
> solenoids.  Also it can kind of be annoying to run that many timers using
> the Solenoids.  I got the swagelok needle valves, little cheaper than the
> Ideal valves, and they seem to work pretty well. Sumo could rig it all up
> for you, including the bubble counters-makes it easy, but not cheap.  You'll
> love switching out from DIY, though.  I too use the black drip line per
> Erik's suggestion, real cheap!  If you dont like the black entering your
> tank, you can buy a small amount of flexible C02 line and just use it where
> it it visible, and connect it to your black cheap line via the check valve
> you will need anyway. By the way, get brass check valves. When I was doing
> DIY CO2 I got away with plastic check valves, but they quickly failed under
> the higher pressure CO2.  As an alternative to the reactors you can use
> cheap glass ADA knockoff diffusers, they work pretty well too. *
> E.g., *
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Rhinox-5000-Glass-CO2-diffuser-Pollen-Aquarium-Beetle_W0QQitemZ250305228880QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a475ab050
>
> Finally, if you do get the JBJ bubble counters, dont make the mistake I did
> and let them run after the water evaporates, I cracked both of mine when
> they were dry and had to replace them.
>
>
>
> On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 7:42 PM, Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi John,
>>
>> I think you'll need to have three needle valves for this to work.  You
>> cannot split the line downstream of the needle valve to two separate
>> reactors, unless each has significant back-pressure (such as a glass
>> diffusor).  What generally happens is that one of the tanks gets all the
>> bubbles, and the second at best gets none, and at worst, acts as a siphon
>> from the first tank.
>>
>> I run five tanks off the same CO2 regulator, but I recently purchased a
>> hexo-manifold (see attached photo) for about the same price as a single
>> ideal valve.  It does a decent enough job so far and it's stylish chrome
>> matches the overkill regulator I bought at the same time.
>>
>> In terms of tubing, straight vinyl airline should do the trick just fine. I
>> use black vinyl from Home Depot (for drip irrigation lines).  It's the same
>> size as airline.
>>
>> Do not use silicone tubing.
>>
>> I'm one of those folks that don't use solenoids & never have -- I received
>> one recently & considered trying it, but am concerned about the effect of
>> shutting one off upstream of the needle valves on very long runs to multiple
>> tanks.  I may try it on a different regulator that only has a single output.
>>
>> I really like the aluminum tanks.  They weigh significantly less than the
>> steel, and have a nice handle.  Get a 20# if you can afford it -- swap-out
>> cost is almost the same at Central, but it'll last longer (especially
>> feeding three aquariums!).
>>
>> Hope this helps!
>>
>>  - Erik
>>
>>
>> On Sat, 17 Oct 2009, J Clouse wrote:
>>
>>  I've been running three DIY CO2 setups for some time, and now I'm ready to
>>> step up to a pressurized system.  My research to date has me leaning
>>> towards
>>> the following, but I wanted to check with the group before I make any
>>> investments.
>>>
>>> <http://sumoregulator.com/PremierLine.html>10 lb aluminum tank (Central
>>> Welding?)
>>> Sumo regulator <http://sumoregulator.com/PremierLine.html>
>>> (2) Ideal 52-1-12 metering valves
>>> (2) JBJ bubble counter
>>> (2) Red Sea CO2 500 reactor
>>> Flexible CO2 tubing (though I'm tempted to use something cheaper...)
>>>
>>> In looking at the options, it seems like running 24/7 without a solenoid
>>> and
>>> possibly running an airstone at night seems to be the simplest setup with
>>> the least risk to pH (just uses up more CO2).
>>>
>>> I would like to use this setup to run *three* tanks.  Two tanks in the
>>> basement using the Red Sea reactors (running off of a the output of one of
>>> the metering valves.  The third tank is on the floor directly above the
>>> basement setup.  I would like to run the output of the second metering
>>> valve
>>> into a venturi on the intake of a Magnum 350 (currently doing this with
>>> (2)
>>> DIY bottles).
>>>
>>> Any mistakes you can help avoid?  Any recommendations for a simpler setup?
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> John
>>>
>>>
>> --
>> Erik Olson                                                        Sent from
>> my crusty old Linux box
>> erik at thekrib dot com
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-- 
Erik Olson                                                        Sent from my 
crusty old Linux box
erik at thekrib dot com
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