9 replies to this topic

[Kieran]

I have a question. This is my first pressurised system, I bought it under a month ago (thankyou Aquotix) and something has changed on the guages. From what I understand, the left-hand guage is to tell me what the pressure is inside the cylinder, and the right-hand guage is to tell me what pressure I'm decanting from it at. It's been almost a month, on between 1 and 2 bubbles per second, only during the photoperiod, and now I've noticed the left-hand guage is at zero. But it's still putting out bubbles at the same rate. Is the guage right? Or has it malfunctioned?

Here's what it looks like:

[Krystal]

Yes the left hand side will be the amount left in the bottle...keep in mind that it is an approximate. The bottle should not be empty within a few weeks at that output...Its a 3.5kg bottle. One possibility is that your airline or one of your connections is slow leaking CO2 or there is an issue with the regulator.....which is not overly common with this model.

Firstly, shut off your bottle and disconnect the regulator. Check the white plastic o-ring between the regulator and bottle (you have a spare attached to your regulator) and check all connections and fittings for leaks. Connect it all back up and open the bottle....see if it changes.

If all else fails then bring the reg back and I will try it on one of our bottles....we will go from there.

Btw...How long is your photoperiod? I assume the CO2 is run in conjunction with a timer and your lights

[Ricksta]

hey mate i think you'll find your bottle is pritty much empty there's not enough pressure to show up on the first gauge but there is enough to show up on the second gauge

[Jezza]

hey mate i think you'll find your bottle is pritty much empty there's not enough pressure to show up on the first gauge but there is enough to show up on the second gauge

mate, have you used a CO2 dual gauge regulator?
the second gauge is not a pressure indicator - but rather it is to show you what pressure the gas will be released at...
it does not change whether the bottle is full or empty - you can change it with the adjustment screw...
sorry to be harsh, but giving advise on something you know nothing about does not help anyone...it only confuses people

[Kieran]

Photoperiod was 10 hrs straight but is now 12 hrs (archaic measurement almost but 3WPG) with 2 hrs gradual step up from zero to max and 2 hrs step down at the end of the day.

I believe it may have been a leakage problem but I can't find any leaks now. I'll get it filled asap sigh. How long should it last anyway?

[Krystal]

Well there are many variables which will affect how long it will last...

My 30litre tank runs the same size bottle at approx 4bbps and the bottle lasts around 4/5 months....BUT the pH is 7.6 and I have the pH controller set to 6.5 so its on more than normal, but there are only shrimp in there so excess CO2 isnt an issue....the plants are the main focus.

A 6x2x2 should get on average of about 3months on that size bottle, providing its getting diffused adequately.

[Kieran]

That confirms it. There's no way a 160L bowfront would use that much so quickly. Is it okay for me to bring the bottle in tomorrow afternoon and pick it up the following afternoon? Just that it's a new bottle so I'd rather get it filled than swapped. Gives me yet another excuse to shop

[Jezza]

My 30litre tank runs the same size bottle at approx 4bbps and the bottle lasts around 4/5 months....BUT the pH is 7.6 and I have the pH controller set to 6.5 so its on more than normal, but there are only shrimp in there so excess CO2 isnt an issue....the plants are the main focus.

A 6x2x2 should get on average of about 3months on that size bottle, providing its getting diffused adequately.

4bps on 30L? i run about that on 600L and i still get good growth. but i do run mine 24/7 so i spose it does build up at night..

my 6.8kg bottle lasted around 9 months last time, but i have increased the bps since...

[Krystal]

That confirms it. There's no way a 160L bowfront would use that much so quickly. Is it okay for me to bring the bottle in tomorrow afternoon and pick it up the following afternoon? Just that it's a new bottle so I'd rather get it filled than swapped. Gives me yet another excuse to shop

No worries...But you cant bring it in until Tuesday unfortunately, we are shut on Mondays. We can swap it for another new bottle if you like, regardless bring in the reg as well so we can test that and make sure its working correctly

4bps on 30L? i run about that on 600L and i still get good growth. but i do run mine 24/7 so i spose it does build up at night..

my 6.8kg bottle lasted around 9 months last time, but i have increased the bps since...

Do as I say, not as I do I have always disliked that saying hahaha....

Its overkill but the shrimp tolerate it, It does need to be turned down, when i get around to it....if there were fish in there then I would not advise it due to the faster than normal pH swings.

9 months is good for that size bottle Jezza. And your plants are loving whatever it is your doing....It shows!

[Kieran]

Ok will bring in everything on tuesday. The system's actually still going at normal rate, but I've just redone all connections along the line, to make sure there's no leaks. One thing I have noticed is that if the solenoid is switched off, and the bubble rate turned down to low or zero, when the solenoid is switched on again nothing happens. No bubbles come through, not even if you turn the knob up to max. I've found I have to set the knob to approx what I want and then switch the solenoid on. Just an observation whilst I've been tinkering...