# Anyway to generate CO2 and fill your own pressurized tanks?



## hadmanysons (Sep 26, 2015)

Just wondering there was some way to:

1. Make a giant vat of CO2 generation solution
2. Capture and store it
3. Pressurize it and fill a tank
4. Profit

It would be nice, since it would have the cost saving measures of DIY CO2 and the convenience of pressurized rig. 

Anybody heard of anything like this?


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## essabee (Oct 7, 2006)

I have done that before I got my first CO2 cylinder.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/20-diy/53172-co2-madhatters-diy.html


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## hadmanysons (Sep 26, 2015)

That's pretty awesome, and kind of what I was talking about but not entirely. The generation part yes, but I was wondering if there was a way to take that capture and pressurized it into a CO2 tank.


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

hadmanysons said:


> I was wondering if there was a way to take that capture and pressurized it into a CO2 tank.


I dont think there would be any easy way to pressurize it to the point of what you normally see in a co2 tank (up to 1000 psi). I'm sure the potential cost would far outweigh the benefit.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

CO2 is very cheap. The cost of refilling a tank is mostly the labor and profit cost, not the CO2 cost. Your labor and equipment cost to pressurize CO2 to the liquid stage, about 800 psi, would be way beyond any savings you might eventually get.


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## hadmanysons (Sep 26, 2015)

How much would a decent sized CO2 tank be? Say one that would feed a 55gal for six months


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

hadmanysons said:


> How much would a decent sized CO2 tank be? Say one that would feed a 55gal for six months


A 10# cylinder might do a 55g for 6 months. A 20# would be good for closer to a year. figure $70-90 for a new 10# empty aluminum cylinder, plus shipping. Aquariumplants.com has cylinders, and there's somebody in the For Sale forum selling them as well. Aluminum is cheaper than SS, and looks nicer, but will get dinged up more easily. Industrial supply places swap cylinders more often than fill them (and will sell them as well), so you'd want a cheap SS cylinder if you go that route. Depends on where you're going to get your CO2 from.


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## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Yes, CO2 is cheap. Because most places just swap cylinders, one will basically last you forever. 

I have a 20 lb. CO2 cylinder I bought 20 years ago. Originally I had steel, but they swapped it for aluminum eventually. Refills started out at $20 and have gone up to $30 over the years. Each refill lasts me for over a year.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Take the valve off the tank, crush 10lbs of dry ice, pour it in. Reattach valve. It will pressurize itself..

sorry couldn't resist..


If you want to liquify what you generate:


> Carbon dioxide is liquefied by compressing and cooling, liquefying at a pressure of approximately 870 lb/in 2 (395 kg/cm 2 ) at room temperature.


Read more: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Dry-Ice.html#ixzz3pp76Q4J1


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## hadmanysons (Sep 26, 2015)

jeffkrol said:


> Take the valve off the tank, crush 10lbs of dry ice, pour it in. Reattach valve. It will pressurize itself..
> 
> sorry couldn't resist..
> 
> ...


This seems dangerous, but I'm intrigued as well. What kind of pressures could a cylinder withstand?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

hadmanysons said:


> This seems dangerous, but I'm intrigued as well. What kind of pressures could a cylinder withstand?


No, you don't want to remove the tank valve. jeffkrol was joking. 
You don't want to mess around with pressurized gas. 

Get your pressurized CO2 from a licensed professional. They routinely check the tanks you swap so they don't leak or blow up.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Is this the same as how when I was a little kid we would take old camera film casings, put some water in them, throw in a Alka-Seltzer tab, cap it and shake it up?


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## hadmanysons (Sep 26, 2015)

WaterLife said:


> Is this the same as how when I was a little kid we would take old camera film casings, put some water in them, throw in a Alka-Seltzer tab, cap it and shake it up?


Similar, but with slightly more death


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

mistergreen said:


> No, you don't want to remove the tank valve. jeffkrol was joking.
> You don't want to mess around with pressurized gas.
> 
> Get your pressurized CO2 from a licensed professional. They routinely check the tanks you swap so they don't leak or blow up.


Yes I was joking..
By the time you get the CO2 in a state that can be easily transferred from one place to another (liquified, pressurized and weighed) you will have added more cost than it is worth.

IF by some chance you have managed to liquify and store your home made CO2 to a pressure of 600psi then you could "in theory" just do the reverse of this:

https://youtu.be/po3TIaMmyAU

BUT again, not economical nor very safe....
At least you don't need to remove the main valve and just pressure siphon your liquid CO2 from one bottle to another..


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