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#1
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CO2 system components
Hello All
I have a 2 1/2 Watt per gallon planted 55 gal tank . I have been researching and starting to put together a CO2 injection system and am looking for some pointers/ do's and don't do's. I am very fortunate to have a Swagelok distributer just a few miles down the road. I have settled on the Swagelok B-SS2 metering Valve. I am not sure yet but am leaning toward the Swagelok PFA Tubing. It is supposed to be resistent to CO2 and Carbonic Acid. Have any of you used this?? Next is a Anti-Siphon/ Check valve. Swagelok sells a few but I am concerned about the cracking pressures. With a flow rate so low it can be measured by bubbles per minute will the tube have enough pressure to maintain the cracking pressure or would it cycle every few minutes as it builds up pressure and then dump into the tank?? The lowest I see in the catalouge is 1/3 of a PSI. I have the charts but I am just not knowledgable enough in these things to figure it out! If this will not work are there any recommendations?? Also I am looking for recommendations on a reactor/ chamber. I hate throwing away money so thanks for any info anyone cares to share! WF |
#3
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CO2 system components
The lady down at the Swagelok outlet was very helpfull. I went in
there with the regulator and she worked up the connections to the valve from the cataloges. The smallest adapter the weld shop had was for a 1/4" ID tube. We adapted that down to a 1/8 ID then down to a 1/8 OD then into the valve. The outlet line will be 1/8th" OD. I have a old cheap needle valve and that sucks. Can not control rate hardly at all. Looking foward to having something of quality. Parts should arrive next week. I am still worried about the cracking presure of the check valve. For these flow rates 1/3 of a psi seems a lot for cracking pressure. Thanks for the info and the link for the reactor. That looks very interesting! Definetly makes the short list! WF On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 21:44:02 GMT, "Bob Alston" wrote: Be sure you know how you want to connect the valve. If you want to connect directly to your regulator, you may want the B-SS4 with 1/4-inch NPT threads to go directly into your regulator. Next you have to get the adaptor to connect your tubing. I think you have two options: 1) One user uses a B-405-3 insert to connect aquarium tubing directly into the valve. http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plant.../msg00095.html See p.52 of catalog: http://www.swagelok.com/downloads/we.../MS-01-140.pdf 2) Option two would be a adaptor from 1/4-inch NPT to 1/8-inch hose bard. Here are some comments I found on the web on the Swagelok S-series valve: "The valve is fantastic, allowing me total extremely fine control over my CO2 flow rate. I can wind the rate from about 1 bubble every 5 minutes, to about 4-5 bubbles a second, linearly, if the inlet pressure remains constant. Changing the inlet pressure allows me a greater control range." http://www.frii.com/~gbooth/AquaticC...Co2/valves.htm "I can say that the Swagelok S has a control rate of 1 bubble/second/turn" http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.c...12&f=399606081 2&m=1326034082&r=7996026882#7996026882 I use just plain old aquarium tubing. I am very happy with the following reactor: CO2 Reactor Plant Guild Power Reactor http://www.familychest.com/plantguil..._reactors.html Note some online aquarium stores now carry the larger version of this, which is what I have. Also, I would highly recommend the following: CO2 Level Monitor Dupla monitor - Dupla CO2 Dauertest http://www.dupla.com/start_e.htm |
#4
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CO2 system components
I have settled on the Swagelok B-SS2 metering
Valve. I am not sure yet but am leaning toward the Swagelok PFA Tubing. It is supposed to be resistent to CO2 and Carbonic Acid. Have any of you used this?? Sure, so is silicone tubing. Next is a Anti-Siphon/ Check valve. Swagelok sells a few but I am concerned about the cracking pressures. With a flow rate so low it can be measured by bubbles per minute will the tube have enough pressure to maintain the cracking pressure or would it cycle every few minutes as it builds up pressure and then dump into the tank?? The lowest I see in the catalouge is 1/3 of a PSI. I have the charts but I am just not knowledgable enough in these things to figure it out! If this will not work are there any recommendations?? Well if you use a check valve, best to place it after the regulator and before the needle valve. I have never used a check valve on a single system I have set up for others or my own. I never will either. There's no need if your reactor of system is creating postive suction. There's never any backpressure so there's never any chance for backflow. Even when the gas tank runs out. If the gas is fed into the pump's/filter's intake, you never need a check valve. Check valves stick and fail. Postive suction can fail also if the pump gets stuck but then there's no pressure at all except positive unless both the pump gets stuck and the gas tank runs out. I've set this up to see if any backflow ocurrs......it did not but I put and top loop in the CO2 line so it has to come up at least 2-3 inches to back into the line(then it has to come up the height of the tank on the other end and fill the entire tubing length somehow) Also I am looking for recommendations on a reactor/ chamber. See he http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/co2reactor.htm I hate throwing away money so thanks for any info anyone cares to share! WF Give us your money, we will see to it that it is not thrown away:-) Regards, Tom Barr |
#5
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CO2 system components
Tom
Thanks very much. Still reading and looking!! I was not aware that Silicon was safe for CO2. As for the check valve it may as you describe with the line loop instead. I do noit have a external canister so I will have to think on that some more. (been thinking on getting one but not just yet when the Penguinn is doing a adequate job) WF On 10 Apr 2003 20:13:21 -0700, ) wrote: I have settled on the Swagelok B-SS2 metering Valve. I am not sure yet but am leaning toward the Swagelok PFA Tubing. It is supposed to be resistent to CO2 and Carbonic Acid. Have any of you used this?? Sure, so is silicone tubing. Next is a Anti-Siphon/ Check valve. Swagelok sells a few but I am concerned about the cracking pressures. With a flow rate so low it can be measured by bubbles per minute will the tube have enough pressure to maintain the cracking pressure or would it cycle every few minutes as it builds up pressure and then dump into the tank?? The lowest I see in the catalouge is 1/3 of a PSI. I have the charts but I am just not knowledgable enough in these things to figure it out! If this will not work are there any recommendations?? Well if you use a check valve, best to place it after the regulator and before the needle valve. I have never used a check valve on a single system I have set up for others or my own. I never will either. There's no need if your reactor of system is creating postive suction. There's never any backpressure so there's never any chance for backflow. Even when the gas tank runs out. If the gas is fed into the pump's/filter's intake, you never need a check valve. Check valves stick and fail. Postive suction can fail also if the pump gets stuck but then there's no pressure at all except positive unless both the pump gets stuck and the gas tank runs out. I've set this up to see if any backflow ocurrs......it did not but I put and top loop in the CO2 line so it has to come up at least 2-3 inches to back into the line(then it has to come up the height of the tank on the other end and fill the entire tubing length somehow) Also I am looking for recommendations on a reactor/ chamber. See he http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/co2reactor.htm I hate throwing away money so thanks for any info anyone cares to share! WF Give us your money, we will see to it that it is not thrown away:-) Regards, Tom Barr |
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