# how long does a 5lb co2 tank last??



## stu77

so i thought that a 5 lb co2 tank would last a little longer than 2 months....is this normal? starting to assume i have a leak but when i try the soap water trick i cant find one. i inject at a 3 bps rate and i have the milwaukee ma957 regulator. im going to go fill this thing back up. any advice or input would be much appreciated. thanks


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## larams67

Just for reference i have a 1bps rate and my 5lb tank lasts me well over a year.


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## Bettatail

check for leak


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## Vancat2

i do about 1bps and a 5 lasts me 3 months. Don't think "a bubble" is a real precise measure. perhaps bubble size depends on your equipment & tubing?


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## fresh.salty

About what I get from my 10# cylinder split to twin reactors. CO2 is on about 10 hours a day.


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## Vancat2

yeah, now there's another factor. How many hours a day is it on? mine about 10 too.


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## Rockhoe14er

my 5 at around 3 bps 8 hours a day 30 psi working pressure last about 3+ months.


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## kevmo911

You have a leak. Absolutely, positively, no question.


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## stu77

hmmm well that bites the big one... i hope i can find this stupid leak, im having no luck so far.


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## Rockhoe14er

that's interesting to have a milwakee leak because they use locktight on all the connections making it almost impossible to tighten/ unscrew. I think the most likely problem is your connection between the bubble counter and your tubing, or your regulator and your co2 tank.


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## fresh.salty

Cylinder and regulator I can see. Beyond that I'm only running 10-12 psi so any leak would be minimal feeding the DIY reactors with next to zero back pressure.


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## larams67

Doh I just realized I have a 10lb tank not a 5lb.


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## stu77

i filled it back up and made sure to tighten the regulator on with 2 wrenches this time hopefully that will do the trick because i still cant find any leaks


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## Rockhoe14er

If you turn your working pressure up leaks will become much more obvious.


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## talontsiawd

A good way to check for leaks is using soapy water. I first do it with the solenoid closed to see if the fittings are loose, then open to see further down the line. 

Also, remember to change your O ring out if you are using regular rubber ones, I had a leak there that I just could not find, then I got mad, took of the regulator to check it out, then had an "ah ha" moment.


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## jrman83

Maybe it wasn't fully filled to begin with.


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## 150EH

That a good question, how big is your bubble??? That's why I want the CO2 doser from Aquarium plants dot com, electronic bubbles per second and you can control the size of the bubble. I also want their reactor 5000, one review stated that they had tried other reactors such as the Aqua Medic 1000 and save over 50% on their gas with the AP.com reactor 5000 and use it on multiple tanks.


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## vespers_

i've had my 5lbs running for over a little over month now at about 1.5 bps on a 10g and the gauge hasn't changed at all. according to my dad, who built the co2 system, it will last well over a year. 

one thing to note though, is that it costs about the same to fill a 20lbs tank as it does to fill a 5lbs. here anyway.


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## kevmo911

vespers_ said:


> i've had my 5lbs running for over a little over month now at about 1.5 bps on a 10g and the gauge hasn't changed at all.


It won't change at all. Not until it's within a week of being bone dry. And at 1.5bps, a 10g tank will probably last close to a year, give or take a few months, depending on a lot of stuff.


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## ceiji

i had my 5lb running on my 75g for about 6 months.. at 2-3 bps.. it completely drained out yesterday


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## stu77

I FOUND THE LEAK!  well there were two actually... one on top of the bubble counter and the other was on the check valve. so dont buy the cheap plastic 5 dollar check valve because its already broken after about 2 months


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## OverStocked

kevmo911 said:


> You have a leak. Absolutely, positively, no question.


I'm not so sure. 

Running 11 hours a day at 5 or 6 bps I got less than a 6 weeks. Without a doubt I didn't have a leak. Tested and tested and tested. 

Bubble size is relative. Pressure is relevant.


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## Vancat2

OverStocked said:


> Bubble size is relative. Pressure is relevant.


YES! as is the amount of time it's on.


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## stu77

took the cheap check valve off and that was the problem. now the question is do i put it back on until i get a new one from gla in 2-3 days? or do i leave it off so my plants can eat? ive never noticed water down in the tube when i had it on there but with my luck who knows


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## fresh.salty

You need the check valve so water doesn't flow back to your regulator. Does your BC have a built in check valve? With no check valve in place water "might" get back to the regulator and spoil your day.


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## oscarsx

5# @ approximately 3 bps 9 hours a day..

so far I'm in the 1 month mark, the gauge still reads the same.... let's hope 2 more months?


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## talontsiawd

oscarsx said:


> 5# @ approximately 3 bps 9 hours a day..
> 
> so far I'm in the 1 month mark, the gauge still reads the same.... let's hope 2 more months?


The gauge should not change until the tank is almost done. It doesn't slowly go down, it's going to read the same pressure and just drop off really quickly. Just so you aren't constantly looking at your gauge for any reference.


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## stu77

well now im wondering if i should put the leaky check valve back on and wait till the new one gets here or just leave it off? im unsure if my BC has a built in check valve. its a milwaukee and its filled with water so i assume it does? whats shall i do its going to be about 2-5 days till i get my new one from gla.


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## kevmo911

The Milwaukee comes with a built-in check valve in the bc, but it's not known for its sturdiness. Check Ebay for the silvery drop checkers with the black arrow on it, but check the sponsor sites here first.

If you want something high-end, you can go to the Clippard site and buy a f/f check valve with 10-32 ports, and 1/8" ID barbs to screw into the ends. Or check with one of the people here who regularly orders parts from there (some can only be bought in bulk, and the Clippard S&H charges on low-quantity orders are absolutely ridiculous).


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## FDNY911

Wait so what does it mean if I do notice my gauge slowly going down every week? I am using about 8-10 bubbles a second X2 through a dual manifold from gla for my 120 tank? Nothing but plants in the tank. Just trying to od the tank for that damn hc to grow. Leak? My 10lb tank while living in NYC lasted me so damn long, even when I moved down to va it was still at like 600 then it just consistently kept getting lower and lower. Now I have a 5lb tank and it's going pretty fast also. 8 hours a day. Talk about rambling lol


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## stu77

kevmo911 said:


> The Milwaukee comes with a built-in check valve in the bc, but it's not known for its sturdiness. Check Ebay for the silvery drop checkers with the black arrow on it, but check the sponsor sites here first.
> 
> If you want something high-end, you can go to the Clippard site and buy a f/f check valve with 10-32 ports, and 1/8" ID barbs to screw into the ends. Or check with one of the people here who regularly orders parts from there (some can only be bought in bulk, and the Clippard S&H charges on low-quantity orders are absolutely ridiculous).


 im think im buying the silvery one you're talking about. it was the only one they had on the gla site.


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## OverStocked

FDNY911 said:


> Wait so what does it mean if I do notice my gauge slowly going down every week? I am using about 8-10 bubbles a second X2 through a dual manifold from gla for my 120 tank? Nothing but plants in the tank. Just trying to od the tank for that damn hc to grow. Leak? My 10lb tank while living in NYC lasted me so damn long, even when I moved down to va it was still at like 600 then it just consistently kept getting lower and lower. Now I have a 5lb tank and it's going pretty fast also. 8 hours a day. Talk about rambling lol


For rizzle? 

From the start, or recently.... 

Mine goes from 850ish for long time, and starts dropping over about 2 weeks after that. When it starts going I plan on changing.


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## FDNY911

When I first fill up a tank and hook it up to the manifold it starts at 500 or 600. Once I start injecting co2 it jumps to 800ish after a couple minutes. I filled up the little 5lb tank about a month or so ago I'm already down to 600. I am running a high bps from two points but I didn't think it would go so fast especially when the 10 (I know dbl the size) lasted sooooo long! I am going to change out thenone cheap check valve. The other one is a steel one that I got with the regulator.


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