CO2 Setup

[Pat7676]

Does anyone have a good article on setting up a pressurized CO2 system? I want to make sure i have mine hooked up right because i think i might have a leak. I have a 5lb bottle and its half gone in 3 weeks. I used the tubing that came with the regulator and it runs to a spiral diffuser. The regulator has a slinoid that cuts it off at night time. I tightened the regulator as much as i could with pliars. I however didn't use tape on the threads like they said to do. I have read somewhere to not use tape on the threads.

[Hoppy]

I don't know about any good article on setting up a CO2 system, but I can say you very likely have a leak. When I first set up my CO2 system I thought hard about leaks and the first realization I came to was that it only takes a tiny, tiny leak to deplete the supply in a few days. We use mere bubbles per second of CO2 - put soap solution on the end of the CO2 line and you should see a few bubbles per second soap bubbles form. So, the leaks we are looking for are likely to also be that small or smaller. This means to me that I need to soak every single joint in the system with soap solution, similar to that used for children's bubble blowing games, and look for an accumulation of bubbles over several minutes. Once I realized that I found several leaks in my setup. Fixing most leaks just means tightening the connection better.

My Milwaukee Regulator came with a bubble counter, and it leaked at the base from the first day I installed it. I eventually just scrapped the bubble counter. Then, later I found that I had to retighten the regulator to CO2 tank connection a few times after installing it to stop leaks there. I'm still not sure all of the leaks are gone.

[Pat7676]

Are you puting the parts into the soap water? Or are you just getting a rag and letting the solution drop onto the parts?

[SuRje1976]

Just a soapy rag - don't submerge it!

Check out this article.

Quick question. When you say that your tank is half full, are you getting that info from your guages?

[John N.]

Definitely don't submerge your equipment. Soapy water on a rag, and wipe around the connections. You'll see a little bubble form indicating a leak.

Are you using a washer between regulator and cylinder? Most leaks are between this connection.

-John N.

[Hoppy]

When you refill the CO2 cylinder you get a very, very cold cylinder. I found when you connect the regulator to such a cold cylinder you have to keep retightening the nut that attaches it to the cylinder over and over. Lately I have been letting the cylinder warm up a bit before I start to use it, then I use a big wrench and tighten the nut as hard as I can. I recheck it in an hour, but rarely find I need to do it again a day later. That nut needs to be very, very tight - at least a 12" long wrench tight.

[Pat7676]

Yeah im using a washer between the regulator and the tank. I will try the soapy water maybe tonight and let you know how it goes.

[Orlando]

You can add soapy water to an empty spray bottle. You can achieve better coverage with this.

[Pat7676]

I will try the water bottle out tonight didn't get a chance to do it last night.

[Hoppy]

Don't expect to see a soapy bubble right away, even with a bad leak. It takes a few minutes to build up a little mound of bubbles, so the leak is more obvious. I usually use a brush instead of a spray bottle, but the spray bottle should work better.

[Pat7676]

Did the test tonight didn't see any bubbles any ideas?

[Orlando]

Do you have a bubble counter? Im wondering if your blasting co2 out. Probably not as you would notice mass amounts of bubbles. Do you think your cylinder was filled completely?

[Hoppy]

I would still suspect the connection between the regulator and CO2 cylinder. That nut has to be very tight, so you are compressing the hard nylon or fiber washer to act as a seal. If you use a Permaseal, The Best Aquarium Regulator & CO2 Parts, the connection doesn't need to be that tight. I can't use those seals on my setup, because there is a grove in the face of the cylinder half of the connection that is in the way of the seal in the Permaseal, but if I could use it I would be doing so, for sure.

[goalcreas]

How long hat you had the tank before you set it up.
I had a completely filled 5 gallon tank but held onto it for about 9 months before using it. I went thru it in about 3 weeks, then filled it, set it up and it had run for the past 4 months and still going.

If you filled it and it sat around, open just a crack, it could slowly leak.
I don't remember if it will dissipate on it's own over time, but I know it must have been something for me.

[Pat7676]

Im going to get it refilled today it was almost empty this morning. This time i am going to tighten the heck out of the fitting between the CO2 tank and regulator. Yeah i have a bubble counter set at 2 bps. What should the reading on the left meter show when you hook up your regulator to your tank when you have a full 5lb tank?

[Hoppy]

A "full" tank really isn't full. It has 5 pounds of liquid CO2 in it, with the rest of the volume filled with CO2 gas, and the pressure of that gas depends on the temperature. At room temperature it is around 800 psi - those gages aren't terribly accurate, so just look for about 800 psi. When it is cold, right after being filled the pressure will be lower.

It is hard to overemphasize just how tiny a leak is involved when the tank doesn't last long enough. A two bubble per second rate, which is comparable to what we run into the tank is not easy to see with soap solution, unless you let bubbles accumulate, but that would reduce the life of the tank by half. A much lower leak will deplete the tank in a few months, even if none goes to the aquarium. It isn't just "hissing" noises that are the leak signs to be searched for. When I first set up my CO2 system I was amazed by just how small the leaks I finally detected were, and one time my 5 pound tank was empty after only one month!

[Pat7676]

Got another tank about a week ago seems to being doing ok so far we will see how it goes. I tightened the mess out of this one.

[Pat7676]

Tank is doing good now Hoppy i guess doing like you said worked. Made sure it was really tight.

[skinni]

from what i have read a full 5# bottle weighs 17lbs, so you can weigh your bottle to see how much is in it and of course its a 5lb bottle so empty it would weigh 12lbs

edit: old thread opps