# Budget tank, Co2



## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Yes, you can use Seachem Excel, which is a liquid carbon source. Not a substitute for CO2, but better than nothing. If you wanted to spend less money for the same product, look into getting a gallon of Metricide or Cidex. Higher concentration of the active ingredient - glutaraldehyde - at a fraction of the cost. Which will be important because treating 40g will blow through Excel fairly quickly. And it's not cheap.


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## outcast (Jul 4, 2007)

you can also go diy with 2 x 3L canola jugs mixed with 4 boxes of jello in each it should give you around 3-5 months of solid output


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## Leichty (Jun 11, 2010)

Thank you that helps a lot! I would love to do co2 ,but I will have to save up, but I would like to get my tank started. Thanks again..


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## Leichty (Jun 11, 2010)

Thanks ! I haven't heard of the jello cocktail before, that is something to consider..!


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## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

Another option is paintball co2. You can set it up for around $70 including the tank.

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## Leichty (Jun 11, 2010)

That's not a bad price ! What will I need besides the paintball tank? I'm getting all great ideas! Thank you all.. I can't wait to get this tank started!


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## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

I believe jagged fury on here sell the regulators w/diffusers. A 20oz tank filled should only be around $20.

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## outcast (Jul 4, 2007)

before goin with a paintball, keep an eye on craigs list for co2 rigs, you might be able to pick up a 10lb or 5 lb tank for cheap. From paintball regulator to entry level pressurized regulators its not much more money. better to save the money and go for a proper set up. Paintball is great for smaller tanks but a 40 gallon will burn through the tanks quickly.

So stick with diy and/or metricide and put money aside for a pressurized rig in the future, only takes about $150-$200 for a full pressurized set up vs $100 for a paintball


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## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

I'm surprised nobody has suggested no CO2 at all. In low-tech tanks it creates more problems than it's worth. The low-tech tanks generally are designed to flourish around not having CO2...


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

CO2 doesn't create any problems. It just allows plants to grow faster and in better health. I used a single one gallon bottle DIY CO2 for a 45 gallon low light tank, and it worked fine. You just have to remember to redo it every 2 weeks or so, as a regular routine. That's pretty easy to do when you are first starting a tank. After several months it becomes a pain to do, but by then you have seen how much good CO2 does, and may have saved up enough to get a pressurized system..


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## kharma (Sep 20, 2010)

lnstevens said:


> Another option is paintball co2. You can set it up for around $70 including the tank.
> 
> Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


I got mine set up using Jaggerdury's setup and a tank online for 14$ and it was barely over 50$. So paintball can be decently cheap and saves lots of annoying bottle making!


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

outcast said:


> you can also go diy with jello


Jello recipe lasts Rolo about 3 months 
What you'll need: 
2-liter soda bottles 
airline tubing 
some kind of sealant 
drill, or a creative way to drill a hole 
water 
1.5-2 cups sugar 
baker's yeast, 1/2 tsp (Like Fleishmann's active dry yeast) 
2 6oz packs of Jell-O ( or four 3oz packages )



Leichty said:


> What will I need besides the paintball tank?


Here is info on that which I copied from here
Paintball Adapter $11.00
Needle Valve $5.00
20' of Vinyl tubing $3.00
(CO2 safe) 
Teflon Tape --------$1.00 
24 Oz CO2 tank----22.00 
24 Oz CO2 Fill -----$4.50
(Hobby Town)
Total----------------$46.50


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## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

Don't rule out Excel too quickly because of cost. I recently bought 2 litres of Excel for under $35. This would treat a 40 gallon tank daily for around 500 days (approx. 16 months). You could then decide if you want to go for CO2.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

touch of sky said:


> I recently bought 2 litres of Excel for under $35.


Where did you get it so cheap? A liter of cidex is $25.


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## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

I buy Excel from a couple of places, depending on what else I have to buy at the time.
One place is here (they ship to the U.S., as well as Canada):
http://www.aquariumsupplies.ca/plant-fertilizers-c-1_172.html

There are two other places I buy from, as well, and they are both under $35, too.


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## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

I just checked another place I deal with (they also ship to the U.S.), and the price is now down to $30.99 for 2 litres.
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c163336/p16854638.html


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

A gallon of Metricide is something like $25 from dealmed.com and is 70% more concentrated than Excel. Big Al's has a gallon of Excel for $48+shipping atm. Assuming $10 for shipping, that's 1g for $58.

So, assume $30 for a gallon of Metricide 14, and $60 for Excel, and you dilute the Metricide to Excel strength, you get 1.7 gallons of Met for half the price of 1 gallon of Excel. I have a gallon of Metricide that I mix to Excel strength and fill an Excel 250mL bottle with. That way I can keep the dosing instructions handy.

That's US prices, btw.


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

www.harborfreight.com has co2 regulators for $35, and you can try to find a co2 cylinder like someone already said on craigslist or whatever. i got the $35 regulator im going to try it out, suppost to be picking up a 20# co2 cylinder saturday for $25 then ill have to have it filled.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

scream-aim-fire said:


> www.harborfreight.com has co2 regulators for $35, and you can try to find a co2 cylinder like someone already said on craigslist or whatever. i got the $35 regulator im going to try it out, suppost to be picking up a 20# co2 cylinder saturday for $25 then ill have to have it filled.


I only see welding gauge regulators from Harbor Freight.
Those might not hold up to co2 since co2 eats rubber parts if not at least 90 dur. rubber..
Let us know how it works out..
Thanks


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

http://www.harborfreight.com/regulator-gauge-94841.html

this one is actually a co2/argon gas regulator, cant see it on the pic but the box says it. no rubber seals or gaskets, comes with two fitting to make it adapt to an argon cylinder and a fitting to make it adapt to co2. it comes with i think its a nylon gasket for use with co2 connection. as for the pressure cant remember in the manual that came with it but its up there, has to be for any type of pressurized gas. 

*edit actually its listed on the site- Max inlet pressure: 230-BAR/ 3335.8 PSI

found a pic of the box
http://turbofx.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Harbor-Freight-Gas-Regulator11.jpg

when i get my cylinder i will def let everyone know how it works.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

scream-aim-fire said:


> http://www.harborfreight.com/regulator-gauge-94841.html
> 
> this one is actually a co2/argon gas regulator, cant see it on the pic but the box says it. no rubber seals or gaskets, comes with two fitting to make it adapt to an argon cylinder and a fitting to make it adapt to co2. it comes with i think its a nylon gasket for use with co2 connection. as for the pressure cant remember in the manual that came with it but its up there, has to be for any type of pressurized gas.
> 
> ...


 
Cool.. That's a great price if it works...
I'll be waiting to hear from ya.
Good luck


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## PaulG (Oct 10, 2010)

You could also try a soil tank.


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## Leichty (Jun 11, 2010)

WOW you all are so helpful, thank you all so much! all this information is going to help me alot.. I love this forum.. You all are eager to help and give great information, I'm so glad I joined. and can not wait to get my tank started..


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## narhay (Feb 28, 2007)

You can manage an aquarium without CO2. Check out the low-tech section of the site. C02 is beneficial, but not essential.


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

> You can manage an aquarium without CO2. Check out the low-tech section of the site. C02 is beneficial, but not essential.


true it is not essential, yea it is beneficial helps plants grow faster and keeps algae more in check. i like running co2.


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

got my 20# co2 cylinder today for $25, got a steal on it, now just have to get it filled hopefully by tuesday. this size tank should last me about a year and a half.


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## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

scream-aim-fire said:


> got my 20# co2 cylinder today for $25, got a steal on it, now just have to get it filled hopefully by tuesday. this size tank should last me about a year and a half.


I paid $21 for a brand new tank filled.

And on a 46 gallon that tank will last about 2 to 3 months.

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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

> I paid $21 for a brand new tank filled.
> 
> And on a 46 gallon that tank will last about 2 to 3 months.
> 
> Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


what lbs. cylinder was it. my friend at my local fish store said his 5lbs. lasts about 6 months on his 100gal heavily planted tank, and his 20lbs. cylinder lasts about 1 1/2 years on his like 220gal reef tank. you talking about a paintball tank. because im talkin about the large cylinders?

edit* ah i see by your thread on your 40gal, you are talking about a paint ball tank, thats not what kind i got mine is a large cylinder called a 20 pound cylinder.


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

here is what im talkin about.

http://www.micromatic.com/beer-questions/how-many-beer-kegs-dispensed-out-co2-tank-aid-89.html


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

got my tank filled today and the reg on, it works ok, i need to go pick up a cheap inline needle valve from lowes because i cant get the bps set right on it thats about the only bad thing about it. good thing is a needle valve is only like $5. right now i have it running at about 1 bps.


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

here is the set up, def have to get a inline needle valve to help out.









By jmcb1984 at 2012-01-04


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

$7 needle valve from HD is on now the system works awsome, i got $87 total in my system now.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

How do you find the regulator compare to DIY Regulators or the brand name ones? 40 bucks for that thing is pretty good considering other ones are 50 - 150 plus.

If you can, take some pictures with the new needle valve, I'm considering this set up as well. Did you get a check valve, or a bubble counter? Do you plan on adding a solenoid or just leaving it on 24/7?


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> How do you find the regulator compare to DIY Regulators or the brand name ones? 40 bucks for that thing is pretty good considering other ones are 50 - 150 plus.
> 
> If you can, take some pictures with the new needle valve, I'm considering this set up as well. Did you get a check valve, or a bubble counter? Do you plan on adding a solenoid or just leaving it on 24/7?


for what i have it my set up im pretty happy with it :bounce: to me its way better than paying what the want for a regulator that is made for aquarium use. ill take more pics of it tomorrow i have to work today. 

i dont think you really need a check valve for pressurized plus i have the cylinder on top of my light hood. i dont have a bubble counter yet, might not even get one, right now i am running it 24/7 and running a air pump at night but i do plan on adding a solenoid later i have found 1/4inch AC power solenoids on ebay for like $15.

ill get the pics up soon for you.


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

just updating everyone that wanted to know how well the cheap regulator works, its still working fine, but to get the fine tuning you have to get a needle valve from hd or lowes, but other than that its still up and running fine, so much better than having to make up diy co2 bottles.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

So what happened with the tank? What size tanks do you have?


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