PaigeIs Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Hi, I have a 20H planted aquarium, and I've been using a CO2 generator (baking soda + citric acid) for a couple of years. For various reasons, it's time to use pressurized CO2 canisters instead. I want a reasonably small CO2 tank, but it must be refillable. Does anyone recommend a particular canister and/or regulator I should get? Any tips and tricks? I'd love a kit for the easy setup. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I’d just go with a 5 lb c02 tank and a regulator. I have a 5 lb tank with a dual regulator, and 2 citric acid/baking soda generators. I’m about to ditch the generators for another 5 lb tank and regulator. While I can’t refill the 5 lb tank myself, I can take it to the local welding store and swap it for a filled tank for $15 bucks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creedmoor Aquatics Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I'd first figure out how you're going to get your refills. Who you'll be buying your CO2 from and how they handle refills-- some places will refill your tanks on the spot and others want to swap them out with pre-filled tanks. If its the latter you definitely won't want to buy brand new tanks, or a size of tank they don't normally carry. I personally refill my CO2 tank with dry ice. Its cheap, easy, and doesn't require driving all the way to the welding store. That said, while if done correctly its perfectly safe if done *wrong* (overfilling the tank) its incredibly dangerous. I use an Aquarium Co-Op regulator but bummer they no longer sell them. Too hard for Customer Service to support people who don't understand how to use CO2. Basic features I'd be looking for in a regulator are Two-stage; stepping down from the high pressure tank to a low pressure regulator you can then fine-tune Integrated solenoid to turn off CO2 with power switch (that you can set on a timer) Expandable manifold to potentially add future aquariums. Even if you can't imagine a second aquarium in your current space/setup, five years from now you might Precision valve with bubble counter-- its so much easier to fine tune when you can count the bubbles 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Have a good discussion with wherever you get your co2 refills before deciding.. I originally got a 5 pound tank. The tank cost me $100.00 roughly. Refills are an exchange rather than a refill. It cost $38.00. It covers the co2 itself and the labor as well as maintenance and testing of the tank and valve. I have 2, 29 gallon tanks and a 20 high. I was exchanging tanks every 6 weeks… I upgraded to a 20 pound tank… which gives me roughly 6 months between changes. The company credited the full 100.00 from the tank toward the upgrade to the $200.00 20 pound tank. The best part is that an exchange only costs me $48.00. So $10.00 more for 4 times the product. That is because the labor to refill, test handle, maintain the tank is virtually the same as a 5 pounder. always helpful to see the visual difference in tank size… My first regulator was a co op one. When I put it on the tank it had an internal gas leak inside the regulator itself. Not a user error issue… Candi promptly shipped out a new one. The replacement worked fine for 4 days and then there would be no pressure on secondary side. Primary guage showed pressure, secondary showed none. Shut off the tank valve, take the regulator off and put it back on and open the valve and secondary pressure would be back for another few days, and then a repeat… again no user error at play… The coop offered another replacement, but I opted for a refund instead and bought a Co2art regulator instead. Given that a regulator failure can kill all of your tank inhabitants 2 failed regulators in a row was more than I was comfortable with. This was within weeks of the co op offering the regulator for sale, and they did not yet have a lot of experience with it to see what their problem rate would be, but they did say I was not the first to report both problems… The Co2art elite pro with three bubble counters feeding 3 tanks has been working flawlessly since I got it. It comes with a 10 year warranty. I also found the needle adjuster to regulate the bubble count much more precise on the Co2art model over the co op model. They are much easier to adjust. Since having bought it however, @Mmiller2001 has made known to me the benefits of buying a regulator from Alan Le, going from memory on the name here, with a flow guage as opposed to a bubble counter. I plan on buying one when I start up a 75 gallon tank… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaigeIs Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 On 2/17/2024 at 9:14 PM, Creedmoor Aquatics said: I'd first figure out how you're going to get your refills. Who you'll be buying your CO2 from and how they handle refills-- some places will refill your tanks on the spot and others want to swap them out with pre-filled tanks. If its the latter you definitely won't want to buy brand new tanks, or a size of tank they don't normally carry. I personally refill my CO2 tank with dry ice. Its cheap, easy, and doesn't require driving all the way to the welding store. That said, while if done correctly its perfectly safe if done *wrong* (overfilling the tank) its incredibly dangerous. I use an Aquarium Co-Op regulator but bummer they no longer sell them. Too hard for Customer Service to support people who don't understand how to use CO2. Basic features I'd be looking for in a regulator are Two-stage; stepping down from the high pressure tank to a low pressure regulator you can then fine-tune Integrated solenoid to turn off CO2 with power switch (that you can set on a timer) Expandable manifold to potentially add future aquariums. Even if you can't imagine a second aquarium in your current space/setup, five years from now you might Precision valve with bubble counter-- its so much easier to fine tune when you can count the bubbles Thank you, this is really helpful. I've already found a place to get refills. A local homebrew supply store will do it while I wait. The information about the features is useful, and I will take all these things into consideration when making my purchase. On 2/17/2024 at 9:12 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: I’d just go with a 5 lb c02 tank and a regulator. I have a 5 lb tank with a dual regulator, and 2 citric acid/baking soda generators. I’m about to ditch the generators for another 5 lb tank and regulator. While I can’t refill the 5 lb tank myself, I can take it to the local welding store and swap it for a filled tank for $15 bucks. @AllFishNoBrakes How big is the tank and how long does the 5lb tank last? On 2/18/2024 at 3:27 AM, Pepere said: Have a good discussion with wherever you get your co2 refills before deciding.. I originally got a 5 pound tank. The tank cost me $100.00 roughly. Refills are an exchange rather than a refill. It cost $38.00. It covers the co2 itself and the labor as well as maintenance and testing of the tank and valve. I have 2, 29 gallon tanks and a 20 high. I was exchanging tanks every 6 weeks… I upgraded to a 20 pound tank… which gives me roughly 6 months between changes. The company credited the full 100.00 from the tank toward the upgrade to the $200.00 20 pound tank. The best part is that an exchange only costs me $48.00. So $10.00 more for 4 times the product. That is because the labor to refill, test handle, maintain the tank is virtually the same as a 5 pounder. always helpful to see the visual difference in tank size… My first regulator was a co op one. When I put it on the tank it had an internal gas leak inside the regulator itself. Not a user error issue… Candi promptly shipped out a new one. The replacement worked fine for 4 days and then there would be no pressure on secondary side. Primary guage showed pressure, secondary showed none. Shut off the tank valve, take the regulator off and put it back on and open the valve and secondary pressure would be back for another few days, and then a repeat… again no user error at play… The coop offered another replacement, but I opted for a refund instead and bought a Co2art regulator instead. Given that a regulator failure can kill all of your tank inhabitants 2 failed regulators in a row was more than I was comfortable with. This was within weeks of the co op offering the regulator for sale, and they did not yet have a lot of experience with it to see what their problem rate would be, but they did say I was not the first to report both problems… The Co2art elite pro with three bubble counters feeding 3 tanks has been working flawlessly since I got it. It comes with a 10 year warranty. I also found the needle adjuster to regulate the bubble count much more precise on the Co2art model over the co op model. They are much easier to adjust. Since having bought it however, @Mmiller2001 has made known to me the benefits of buying a regulator from Alan Le, going from memory on the name here, with a flow guage as opposed to a bubble counter. I plan on buying one when I start up a 75 gallon tank… Thank you, this is all really useful advice. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 (edited) The 5 lb tank is the smaller one @Pepere showed in their picture. I have 2 bubble counters on mine, each one serving one tank. Between the 2 counters, it runs ~5 bubbles per second total, and lasts over 6 months. So, $30 total per year max if I had to swap the tank twice in that year. Edited February 18 by AllFishNoBrakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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