CO2 Question.

[Anonymous]

I saw this idea a long time ago.
http://www.plantedtank.net/co2diffuser.html

I am adding a closed loop with a 15 gal. drum and a 5gal drum. Just because I want more water and this will allow me to do water changes easier. If I plumed the 5 gal drum with the input in the bottom and the out put (going the Tank) in the middle.

Could I add CO2 so it gets traped in the top and is used as needed or will I over dose the tank?

Before you roll your eyes, I am just throwing ideas out. The closed loop should be done in 2 weeks and I can make changes to the CO2 part any time.

Thanks
Teddy

 

[Anonymous]

Is this idea just to "far out" to consider?



Teddy

 

[gpodio]

Teddy, looks to me like a glorified co2 bell that used to be popular some time ago. Honestly today there are far better, cleaner and more efficient methods to dispense CO2. The two that are at the top of their game and won't bust the bank are glass diffusers and feeding the CO2 directly into a canister filter. The bell design can only do so much as the surface area in contact with the water is very small (it's a single bubble compared ot thousands produced by a diffuser or reactor).

I have more details here if they can be of any use to you:
http://www.gpodio.com/co2_setup.asp

As for your closed loop idea, it sounds more like an open loop sump than a closed loop, am I correct? In an open loop sump you will experience a lot of CO2 loss due to the increased gas exchange the sump's intake will generate. If you're going to be using a sump then your best bet is to make a DIY reactor and plumb it in series with the tank's overflow down to the sump. There's a link to it in my article above.

If indeed it's a sealed closed loop then a glass or ceramic diffuser would work quite well within certain limits (such as tank size). Feeding CO2 into a canister filter is my preferred method, it's clean, out of sight and extremely efficient.

Hope that helps

 

[Anonymous]

It will be like feeding it into a canister. The bubbles will get caught in the top and remain there until they are used.

I will try to get some pictures soon and definately before I hook it up.

Thanks
Teddy

 

[Anonymous]

Here is what I am thinking of doing.

The water will go to the 15 gal drum.
Then go to the bottom of a 5 gal with a 90 fitting pointing down.
the top will have CO2 trapped and then the water will go out about half way up to go to the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Right now the CO2 can be injected anywhere because I haven't started yet.

The pipe that goes into the 15 gal drum is 1 1/4 reduced to 3/4.


Thanks
Teddy

 

[gpodio]

Is the purpose of the 5 gal drum just to diffuse CO2? If the 5 gallon drum is sealed it will end up filling up with gas and running the return dry...

Thought you were going to run it in to a canister? If not you'd be best to put an inline reactor in the downtube between the 15g tank and 15g drum. One of these to be precise:

http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/co2reactor.htm

Hope that helps
Giancarlo

 

[Anonymous]

Giancarlo,
I think I could add that inline reactor pretty easy.

Can you see any ways you would have the 15 gal drum. I am wondering what type of maintenance there will be for it. I have to have it on its side and I can have it turned so that the 3/4 npt is at the bottom.
This way I can drain all but maybe 1.5" of the water. Do you think this will matter?

Thanks
Teddy

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks
Teddy

 

[gpodio]

I don't know, I'm still al little confused as to the purpose of having the 5 and 15 gal drums to start with... Are you planning on having these two sealed so that you don't need an overflow box or have too much aeration down the drain pipe which would present a considerable loss of CO2?

With such a small tank there are actually several diffusion methods to choose from, however none are out of sight like an external reactor...

Giancarlo

 

[Anonymous]

The main purpose is its only a 15g tank. There are 23 fish and alot of plants. This tank is about 1 year old and the last addition was 6 ghost shrimp. I am nervous that if I miss a WC or get anything out of balance then something might happen to it. I know its small but we like it alot and it fits nice where it is. So I thought that if I could add more water volume then the fish would be happier.

I want every thing closed so I don't have to drill or mess with overflows.

After I thought about the 15g drum then I thought I would just add a water line and Tee it at the drum with a valve.

The 5g drum was thought of after remembering the artical in the first post. I thought that its such a small tank if I traped the CO2 in the loop some how it would use it as needed. The way I traped it if there is to much gas then it will just gurgle out into the tank and be released into the air.

I am thinking now that I will do away with the 5g and have the reactor and the 15g.

Thanks
Teddy

 

[Anonymous]

How is this?

And where would you put the pump?

Teddy

 

[gpodio]

I would place it on the return side as the intake will syphon on it's own. You really want to make sure that drum below remains sealed... oh and check that it won't be effected by CO2...

As for the idea in general, I agree more volume is better but then again with CO2 and plenty of plants you may find the tank will consume as much waste as it produces... probably more... Do you know how much nitrate levels go up between water changes now? Is the CO2 setup currently running in the tank?

Also, have you considered an upstream tank? (even side-by-side can be interesting if you have the room...) I've seen some nifty double-decker setups in that size range as they sell the steel framed stands that can hold two or three of those tanks. The extra tank if it's open can be used to grow even more plants which would have a bigger effect on nitrate levels than the increase in water volume alone would...

Also, seeing the loop is sealed and there is no reason to worry about eccessive CO2 loss, you should have no problem using a good glass or ceramic diffuser.

Giancarlo

 

[Anonymous]

There is no CO2 running in the tank now. Last month I was using Excel and most of the algae on the plants went away and there is never any algae on the glass. I have not been testing much because of the Excel and Pro.Plant seem to mess up my readings. I plan to start the Excel again soon but figured I would do something with CO2 for the long run.



Teddy

 

[Anonymous]

And its on a cast iron stand but we don't want a tank on the bottom with the kids running around.

Thanks
Teddy

 

[gpodio]

What do you mean by plants mess up your readings? Excel is great, consider using it even in conjunction with CO2 gas as it has some positive effects on algae as well as providing a source carbon.

I think if you go the heavily planted CO2 route you will have sufficient consumption of elements to not worry about the extra volume. If you already own the external pump and all then I guess it's just trivial, I'd probably just upgrade to a larger tank but I'm sure you've considered that too. Don't underestimate the potential of a leak forming... that would be my greatest concern.

The one product that comes to mind are those sealed filtration bins used for ponds, I remember when I was shopping for filters for our pond there was some cheap 'empty' canisters that you would then fill with your own media and connect to a closed loop pump... I wish I recalled the source or even the prices... They look like the pool filter canisters just smaller...

Hope that helps
Giancarlo

 

[Anonymous]

What I got was this:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...e=USPlastic&category_name=25&product_id=15699
I may not use it now but I will find out if it is CO2 safe.

As far as the pump I was going to use a MJ1200 I thought that would be plenty of gph.

So you think all I need is a CO2 reactor? I will do the DIY one you suggested.

The plants don't mess up the test the chemicals seem to. Maybe they don't. Its just that I don't get readings that seem to be right even if I test before I dose anything so that it has a day to even out. I will list every thing I dose tonight.

 

[gpodio]

Please do, and also the test results you get before and after a dosing and water change.

I like the drum you bought, My guess is it's CO2 proof but good to check to make sure. As for diffusing CO2 in such a small tank you can easily get away with a glass diffuser or ceramic airstone. An external reactor will need a certain flow which may be too much for such a small tank. Not to mention that a ractor being very efficient could be tricky to dial in the right amount of CO2 for such a small tank, could end up overdosing real easily.

Can the MJ1200 be used externally? If not I'm guessing you would have to have it pushing water down from the tank to the drum below it right? Unless you seal it into the drum somehow...

Giancarlo

 

[Anonymous]

Well sorry this took so long,
Kent freshwater pro-plant : Every 3 days
Because the LSF recomended.

Seachem Reef Iodide : 10 drops 2 times a week.
For shrimp and LFS recomended.

Flourish Tabs : every 3 months.
Just started using it along with excel but the excel ran out 2 weeks ago and I saw a big difference when I stoped so I will start that again soon. When I did the excel it was 200ml morning and 200ml evening.

I will test and do WC soon to get those numbers.

Fish food is light: Tetramenu flakes every 1 or 2 days.

Thanks
Teddy

 

[gpodio]

200ml of Excel twice a day?