Point me on the right direction, please ! lol

Lighting, filtration etc
User avatar
ddavila06
GWAPA Member
Posts: 1590
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:50 pm
Real Name: Damian Davila
Location: Burke, Va

Point me on the right direction, please ! lol

Post by ddavila06 »

ok so a few weeks back i traded a paintball co2 thing with a cheap regulator that was missing the needle valve. i got a needle valve, put it all together and surprice! the thing is for regular tanks not paintball lol...

i traded another whole set with tank and regulator that is for paintball. however the needle valve sucks! is extremely hard to get a little to come out.....

so can anyone poinr me to a good source to get a decent piece? i can post photos if needed :D
Damian Davila
"Fishes-up, chill, Plants too"
"so many plants, so little space!"
User avatar
ddavila06
GWAPA Member
Posts: 1590
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:50 pm
Real Name: Damian Davila
Location: Burke, Va

Post by ddavila06 »

nothing uh? 16 views and no answer...someone must know! anyone?? i checked dr foster and smith and they sell something but doesnt convince me...green leaf aquariums doesnt have any listed...maybe it goes by another name??
is the piece that regulates how much co2 goes to the actual diffuser..... :|
Damian Davila
"Fishes-up, chill, Plants too"
"so many plants, so little space!"
User avatar
Jim Miller
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:16 pm
Location: Parkton, MD
Contact:

Post by Jim Miller »

The cruel fact is that most needle valves are very ill suited to metering what amounts to a leak of CO2. What are you diffusing with? If using a ceramic diffuser you'll need an elevated pressure, perhaps as much as 30psi. That will be even more diffficult to adjust with a needle valve to a low rate.

If using a reactor then I've found that getting the needle valve adjusted to a reasonable compromise rate and locking it then adjusting the pressure of the regulator works better. And this is with an NV-55.

Jim
User avatar
ddavila06
GWAPA Member
Posts: 1590
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:50 pm
Real Name: Damian Davila
Location: Burke, Va

Post by ddavila06 »

im using a glass diffuser.. it is kind of important that only a little comes out because the tank is small, 7.6 gallon. so if it starts pumping out of control it could easily kill the inhabitants i think...
Damian Davila
"Fishes-up, chill, Plants too"
"so many plants, so little space!"
User avatar
Jim Miller
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:16 pm
Location: Parkton, MD
Contact:

Post by Jim Miller »

7.6 gallon doesn't leave a lot of room for errors so I would proceed with caution.

First I would start this tank without critters and make sure you get your CO2 worked out including with the expected plant load, fertilization, lighting and filtration. Your plants consume CO2 but can only do so at a rate consistent with the available other nutrients and the energy (light) supplied. The other major "consumer" of CO2 is the outgassing that occurs in the filtration and surface disturbances the filter and flow may cause.

Get a drop checker and make sure you understand the CO2 levels over a period of a few days at least.

To establish the input rate for such a small tank I would try to get the minimum bubble rate established with a pressure of CO2 set to about 15 PSI. Watch what happens on your drop checker. If it's too much I'd reduce the pressure by a few PSI and see what difference that makes. Raise and/or lower based on what you see until you get the results that are desired and stable.

The reason for adjusting the pressure rather than the needle valve is that it is much easier to adjust than a twitchy needle valve.

Go slow and be careful. You're unlikely to harm any plants, but it's easy to kill critters. Ask me how I know...

Good luck

jim
User avatar
ddavila06
GWAPA Member
Posts: 1590
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:50 pm
Real Name: Damian Davila
Location: Burke, Va

Post by ddavila06 »

i understand. unfortunately this tank is been running for about 4 months. the reason i want to add co2 is to give it that "kick" :wink:

little room for error, i will think about wheter i want to proceed or not... stems die lol :lol: crypt and other things do fine but stems wont pull it... i changed the crappy light that came with it and now i wanted to do co2...thats all
Damian Davila
"Fishes-up, chill, Plants too"
"so many plants, so little space!"
User avatar
Jim Miller
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:16 pm
Location: Parkton, MD
Contact:

Post by Jim Miller »

I've heard several folks use Excel, either branded or generic gluteraldahyde (sp?), as a carbon source. It may not give it the same level of kick but is less likely to harm critters.

good luck

jim
User avatar
DelawareJim
Posts: 1249
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2003 4:25 pm
Real Name: Jim Michaels
Location: Southeast PA

Post by DelawareJim »

For a small tank like that I'd go with either Excel or with a yeast and ladder setup.

Jim, I found gluteraldehyde can harm some livestock. I was pushing the envelope in my Endlers tank to kill off some BBA and killed about 25 percent of them. The rest had burned fins where they turned white and got all frayed. That said, this is a strain that is over 10 years old and has never had the gene pool refreshed.

Cheers.
Jim
User avatar
Jim Miller
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:16 pm
Location: Parkton, MD
Contact:

Post by Jim Miller »

I've lately given up on Excel as a BBA treatment as it wasn't getting the job done through dosing. I think I must have developed an Excel resistant BBA strain. :roll:

So now when I do a water change I directlly and carefully treat BBA areas with a syringe of H2O2. Tedious but it's working. I limit it to 0.5ml/gallon. So far the areas I'm working are wood above the water as I'm doing the change. I hope the submerged wood areas do as well.

Jim
User avatar
ddavila06
GWAPA Member
Posts: 1590
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:50 pm
Real Name: Damian Davila
Location: Burke, Va

Post by ddavila06 »

actually im not looking to get into a dosing regimen.. occasional is fine but not scheduled. i know i know im lazy :roll:

i will be on the look out for the piece, if anyone can reccomend a source please speak up!
Damian Davila
"Fishes-up, chill, Plants too"
"so many plants, so little space!"
Post Reply

Sponsors