CO2 system for 10g tank?

[Daave]

I'm looking to venture into CO2 injection for my 10g betta community tank, and am having trouble finding a good quality system for this size aquarium. 

Any suggestions for where to look or the system to buy?

[Mmiller2001]

CO2Art has a pretty good price on packages and they are pretty solid. GLA are good too, for a bit more money.

[Irene]

I don't have much experience with different brands of regulator kits, but when I asked@Lizzie Block what size CO2 tank to get for a 10G tank, she recommended a 5 lb. tank. I went to a name-brand, commercial welding store and it was priced at $135 (to get a brand-new, filled tank). Then I went to a mom and pop home brewery supply store and the same product was only $99. So, it's definitely worth shopping around a bit when it comes to the CO2 tank. Good luck with your new setup; I've had a lot of fun with my first high tech tank!

Edited March 30, 2021 by Irene

[Jungle Fan]

CO2Art, or Green Leaf Aquariums for the regulator. I would go with a decent dual stage regulator, with bubble counter, and solenoid that will help you prevent end of cylinder dump and you will be able to put it on a timer and to use it again regardless what size of tank you are getting next.

https://greenleafaquariums.com/categories/co2-equipment/gla-co2-regulators.html

https://www.co2art.us/collections/co2-regulators

I've had good luck with cylinders from online brewer shops for anywhere from $60 to $80 including shipping, like:

https://www.kegworks.com/5-lb-aluminum-co2-air-tank/

Make sure you get a good CO2 check valve to prevent your regulator from getting flooded with water and ruined, I use the one from Dennerle, and don't forget to use CO2 line instead of air line because CO2 is corrosive to tubing and check valve membranes in air line equipment.

The best diffuser in my experience is the Aquario Neo available from Aquarium Co-Op:

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/plant-supplies/products/aquario-neo-co2-diffuser

It produces the finest mist of CO2 I have seen in all my years of using CO2 in my tanks and it's not as easily breakable like the glass diffusers with the ceramic disks.

Finally I'd also recommend getting a glass drop checker to be able to see if your CO2 level is in the ballpark.

 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Jungle Fan

[Lizzie Block]

@Irene Yes! We just had this conversation. More people are getting hyped about CO2 lol. 

@Daave I run 5 lb cylinders on 10 gallon tanks. Paintball cylinders for smaller nano tanks. If you're just getting into CO2, I wouldn't start off with a paintball cylinder. It can get tricky with different regulators and adapters and you're more prone to leaks, have to refill more etc etc. For a 10 gallon, I've gotten a 5 lb cylinder to last 6+ months easy before the tank even got low.

There are lots of different types of regulators out there, it's hard to know what you want until you start playing with them lol. Amazon has a lot to choose from. CO2Art has been in the game for awhile and makes reliable products. I tend to lean towards CO2Art - their dual stage reg with solenoid and bubble counter is my favorite. However, I did replace the inside plastic ring with a rubber one to prevent leaking. And I generally recommend having some thread tape handy because it can help you stop leaks too. 

It's super important to remember that adding CO2 to an already established tank will affect your water parameters as the dissolved carbonic acid lowers the pH of your water. Depending on how high your pH is now, it could be a significant change if you start pumping lots of CO2 in suddenly. I always recommend a longer term, gradual change so that livestock can get used to their new water conditions. 🙂

[Daave]

Thanks so much! 
 

I’ll check around for a local brewery supply store for a cylinder. I’d like to support local before I go to Amazon. 
 

Can I usually go to the same place to refill? 
 

It sounds like CO2Art is the way to go for the regulator. Do any local (Seattle) retailers carry it? Or do I need to order it? 

I’ve been using the ISTA passive co2 kit that the co-op sells for a few months, so I’m hoping that’s enough of a transition to get an injection system set up starting with something like 1 bps or something. I’m not looking for explosive growth, but am tired of the struggle for a carpet with low tech. And I feel that there are a lot more possibilities for scaping with co2 injection  

Really good info here. Thanks again! 

[Jungle Fan]

I like the Green Leaf Aquariums Regulators best because of their lifetime warranty, and because they are made in Gainesville, Florida, whereas CO2Art is a German company. Their customer service is extremely responsive and when I had a question I sent in on a Saturday evening I was surprised to get an answer back within 15 minutes. Now this might have been an exception but I sure was impressed.

[Irene]

@Daave The local brewery supply store I bought my cylinder from just started offering refills, but previously they didn't. I believe a 5lb refill costs $15 at their place, and they said they would give me back my same cylinder (which is pretty unusual from what I've heard).

[Jungle Fan]

@Irenemine also returns the same cylinder, in my experience the places where you don't get the same cylinder back are generally compressed gas dealers that usually deal with large orders from welding shops, hospitals, micro breweries,...; they don't want to bother with one-sies, two-sies and what you get back from them is usually pretty rough looking and dinged up like whoever used it didn't have his own money invested in the cylinder.

[DShelton]

If you are just going to do CO2 injection on a single tank, there are some Citric Acid/Bicarbonate kits that steel/aluminum cylinders and dual stage regulators. They can be had for ~150$ plus the citric acid/bicarbonate supplies (which are cheap, comparatively). They require a bit more maintenance and have to be home refilled more often, but they are far and away more economical and much more reliable than the traditional DIY Soda Bottle systems.

If you are going to inject into more than one tank, then the bigger cylinders make moire sense IMO. If your tanks are close together ~50' or so, you can buy a regulator with multiple needle valves/bubble counters from CO2Art and Greenleaf Aquariums that will allow you to feed multiple tanks from a single tank.

AquaTek is another brand of regulator/solenoid combo that is a bit cheaper than some of the premium brands. I have previously used them and had no complaints with them (just ordered a new one for a new setup). There is also a COOP video

where @Coryis installing one in the plant rack in the retail store or the warehouse. He specifically mentions AquaTek by name, and AquaTek is the brand that they used to sell.

The video is a few years old, but in my limited experience the quality of their equipment has not changed appreciably since that video was made.

 

Cheers

[Frank]

On 3/30/2021 at 4:25 PM, Daave said:

ISTA passive co2 kit that the co-op sells 

Is that 'in store' only?

Edited April 1, 2021 by Frank

[Daave]

16 minutes ago, Frank said:

Is that 'in store' only?

I believe so yes.