Pepere Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 (edited) As in not catching it before the tank runs out. I have to admit I am really not good at catching the low tank level before the bubbles stop rising. Since I installed CO2, I have had to refill the tank twice and missed it both times. I realized the tank was empty by seeing no bubbles in the bubble counters. This last time I noticed it Friday night at 5:30.. right before Memorial Day Weekend…. Meaning no refill until yesterday morning… The tanks had never looked so good and Algae was nearly non existent, the plants had all been thriving. Saturday morning is water change day, so I opted to dose leaner than normal.. and I bought 12 2 liter bottles of Seltzer Water. I run 2, 5 hour photoperiods a day between 4 and 9. I know seems like wierd hours to most, But I am up at 4:00 AM. And sleep at 9:00 PM. This allows me to see inside my tanks when I am home. Gone all day. I dose 1 cup of seltzer per 10 gallons of water, emptying a 2 liter bottle in to 2, 29 gallon tanks and a 20 high. I did this at the start of each photo period. In the middle of each photo period I redosed at 50% of initial. 3, 2 liter bottles a day. It is a fairly costly means of providing CO2…. Yesterday I had my tank refilled. $24.00. Roughly 3 months worth of CO2. Vs roughly $12.00 for 3 days via seltzer water route… I ended up buying a second 5 lb bottle of CO2 to have a spare to swap out so I can refill at leisure and not have to go the seltzer water route next time. Hopefully I will have the presence of mind to watch the tank guage carefully the last two weeks of August, but I am not counting on it…. bottle purchase around $90.00 plus gas contents another 24. Peace of mind? Well, not priceless, but deemed to be worthwhile by me… I contemplated purchasing a 20 lb tank instead which would give me a years worth of CO2 and using the 5 lb as backup when I ran out, but the $300.00 cost of the 20 lb tank was a bridge too far for me. $300 for a tank simply boggles my mind…. Edited May 31 by Pepere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Yeah, tank cost shot way up during COVID. I bought 2 10lb tanks and swap them when need be. When the gage hits red, I swap them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 Local welding gas store that sells food grade co2 doesnt stock 10 pounders…. 5 or 20 are your choices. No refills, only swaps…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Check beer brewing stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 Local ones all get their service from same company. I tried calling them… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Mine isn't a brewery, but a brewing supply store. They sell the material to brew beer and liquor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Lucky for me, I have a homebrew store and a liquor store 3 minutes from me that both exchange 🙂 About the hours you keep, those hours are a bit weird, 9pm to 4am is just insanity!!! Now, 8:30pm to 4am....... Perfectly normal!!! (sarcasm) 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 On 5/31/2023 at 3:55 PM, JoeQ said: About the hours you keep, those hours are a bit weird, Yes, they are out of the ordinary. Ileave the house at 6:00 AM 5 days a week to take care of my Grandson. I get out of bed between 4:00 and 4:30. I like time to myself and quiet to wake up, have coffee, watch the tanks or do things to them. Sometimes I will go in the basement and do some quiet maintenance projects… I get to my Grandsons house by 6:45 and do some light housework to help out while Mommy gets ready for work and leaves by 7:20 as she commutes to work. I get relieved at 6:00 in the evening getting home around 6:40-7:00 depending on errands I run. I then go visit my other grandson 10 weeks older in an upstairs apartment for 30-45 minutes before going back down to cook and eat and enjoy the tanks for a bit more. At times I can be asleep by 8:30 to as late as 9:30. And Pepere gets a nap in from time to time in the afternoon when the younger grandson has his… I have learned that sleeping in late on the weekends does me no favors. Far better to maintain the same schedule daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 On 5/31/2023 at 4:45 PM, Pepere said: Yes, they are out of the ordinary. Ileave the house at 6:00 AM 5 days a week to take care of my Grandson. I get out of bed between 4:00 and 4:30. I like time to myself and quiet to wake up, have coffee, watch the tanks or do things to them. Sometimes I will go in the basement and do some quiet maintenance projects… I get to my Grandsons house by 6:45 and do some light housework to help out while Mommy gets ready for work and leaves by 7:20 as she commutes to work. I get relieved at 6:00 in the evening getting home around 6:40-7:00 depending on errands I run. I then go visit my other grandson 10 weeks older in an upstairs apartment for 30-45 minutes before going back down to cook and eat and enjoy the tanks for a bit more. At times I can be asleep by 8:30 to as late as 9:30. And Pepere gets a nap in from time to time in the afternoon when the younger grandson has his… I have learned that sleeping in late on the weekends does me no favors. Far better to maintain the same schedule daily. I usually don’t need to be anywhere early. I'm just not really a big TV watcher, all told at the end of the day I eat, clean up, have a few hours to sit outside, putz on my phone, or read, get ready for the next day, ect. After that I just much rather call it a day and get up early in the morning, than to sit around waiting for a socially acceptable time to go to bed! 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neitherman Posted June 1 Share Posted June 1 (edited) I use this CO2 reactor kit: https://a.co/d/7AdSLIy I have been using it for almost 4 months and it's been effective. It also only costs the price of citric acid and baking soda to refill it. A full cylinder of this lasts my 46 gallon over a month. This way I should never have to worry about running out of CO2 as long as I have the dry ingredients on hand. Edited June 1 by neitherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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