# HELP: Fluval Pressurized CO2 20 Kit



## chicago_animal (Sep 14, 2008)

I just bought the Fluval Pressurized CO2 20 kit. I set it up as 
the directions say. After putting the Diffuser under the water 
I turned the valve to let the CO2 in. I went little by little 
till I knew it was coming out as the water in the Diffuser was 
bubbling. 

What are the CHAMBERS that you are supposed to fill? I do not 
get this part? Also, should bubbles of CO2 be coming out of the 
diffuser like a normal difuser? I did not see this. 

Please help in this part as after the water started to bubble, 
I closed the vale.


*Installation Instructions* 
Make sure that the Regulator Valve is closed (knob valve turned fully clockwise).
Thread the Regulator Valve onto the CO2 Cartridge and hand tighten until the Valve pierces the Cartridge for a snug fit. Place CO2 Cartridge with Regulator Valve in the Bracket.
To connect the Regulator to the Diffuser:
Unscrew and remove the Clamping Nut on the side of the Regulator. Thread one end of the Airline Tubing Hose through the Clamping Nut. Push Airline Tubing Hose onto the Regulator fitting and then screw the knob back onto the Regulator. Hand tighten.
Push the other end of the Airline Tubing Hose onto the fitting of the CO2 Diffuser located at the top of the Diffuser.

Hook CO2 Cartridge onto the outside of your aquarium.
Place CO2 Diffuser vertically inside your aquarium and secure against the glass using the provided suction cups. *Note:* Areas with higher water movement will cause CO2 to dissolve faster.
Once everything is set up, slowly open the Regulator Valve until both chambers of the Diffuser are filled with CO2. As soon as this happens, close the Regulator Valve. *Note:* Filling the Diffuser twice a day is sufficient for nano aquariums up to 15 gallons.


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## kcharm (Apr 1, 2007)

The diffuser works by holding 2 bubbles of co2 gas in the two chambers of the diffuser. From there, the co2/water layer created by those two bubbles allows the co2 gas to dissolve into the water...so no bubbles like the co2 systems you usually read about on here.


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## chicago_animal (Sep 14, 2008)

Ok, so when I added the CO2 and it started bubbling, was I doing it right? 

I dont see where the chambers are.


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## kcharm (Apr 1, 2007)

The diffuser is made of two chambers, one on top of the other. They are connected by a tube which you connect to the airline which connects to the co2 cartridge. The co2, when you turn it on, will displace the water in the two chambers of the diffuser. When they have no more water in them, turn off the valve. That's it.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I believe the system that was described is a passive CO2 diffusion system. I would recommend that you look into a more efficient diffuser (i.e. a glass diffuser with a ceramic disc).

Please take a look at this post that I wrote as part of my pressurized CO2 article.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/p...-pressurized-co2-just-thought-id-share.html#6

It describes the different methods of CO2 dissolution available to you.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Hey, I was thinking of getting this for my Ebi. But like you said I want a glass diffuser. So would this work with that?

Edit: and how long would it last on a 7.9 gallon tank? thanks!


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## chicago_animal (Sep 14, 2008)

I have a glass diffuser but I don't think that will work with these co2 cylanders.


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## chicago_animal (Sep 14, 2008)

Sweet, the water on te bottom is empty but just a little bit if water in the top remained. I tried to get rid of it by opening the valve more but water started to shoot out of the hole on the top.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

chicago_animal said:


> I have a glass diffuser but I don't think that will work with these co2 cylanders.


Why would it not work? Glass diffusers work with DIY CO2, so there is no reason they should not work for this particular CO2 system.


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## chicago_animal (Sep 14, 2008)

Wouldn't the co2 cylinder need to be open the entire time? Wouldn't this run out the cylinder really fast?


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## kcharm (Apr 1, 2007)

That co2 cylindar runs out really fast regardless. The system is not a good one, yes, I own it. 

When the current cylinder runs out, probably happened today, I won't buy anymore. I'm working on setting up a real pressurized system. The way it's going, it'll end up costing me $150 or so dollars with enough co2 in the tank to last me a year. Using the 20g cartridges, I'm looking at $200 per year in co2 every year. The numbers don't add up. 

Now, mine came with my fluval flora, but I would never recommend anybody buy this setup. Although, it's an inexpensive way to get introduced to co2. I suppose it's like a gateway drug.


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## chicago_animal (Sep 14, 2008)

I have a pressurized CO2 but it won't work with this 5G tank as I have it at work and the big tank won't work in my office.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

chicago_animal said:


> Wouldn't the co2 cylinder need to be open the entire time? Wouldn't this run out the cylinder really fast?


Yes, the CO2 cylinder would need to be open all the time. As mentioned previously, regardless, this CO2 system will run out very quickly.

In addition, as I mentioned, the diffusion method used by this CO2 system (passive diffusion) will not really work to get CO2 dissolved into your water column. You might as well be dosing Excel, as it may be more effective.



chicago_animal said:


> I have a pressurized CO2 but it won't work with this 5G tank as I have it at work and the big tank won't work in my office.


You do not need to have a large CO2 cylinder. Even a five pound CO2 cylinder would be much better than what you currently have, and if that fails, you can always go for a paintball sized setup (granted it would run out quicker, but it is still better than the small cartridges).


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## cantsay39 (Jun 10, 2011)

the 2 valve you have to take a close look because sometimes i wont make bubbles..and stuck with the co2


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## saintjames (May 16, 2012)

I have just got my self one of these ideal for the nano tank in my sons bedroom. I just popped a wooden diffuser block in the top of the diffuser and kept it switched on. Used the diffuser as a bubble counter. The co2 is dirt cheep for these aswell if you buy them in bulk from a gun shop. I pick up 12 for about 5quid, probably a lot cheeper online if you look for co2 gun refils.


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## fishrailroad (Nov 21, 2012)

Hey, sorry I'm kinda brand new here, actually made an account after reading through this and other forums and buying one of these kits, I ended up buying 10 or so small cartridges for around $1 a piece off of amazon, but I also found out you can use a large Co2 tank, such as the ones use for paintball guns. They only cost about $5 to fill up a large one (about 20oz.) The tanks themselves can usually run about $20-30 and you can actually buy a thread adapter that has a small male end that will thread right in (same size as the Co2 cartridges) and a female end that will fit the large Co2 tanks. So far the cheapest I've found runs about $20, it's usually called a BB Gun Air Tank Adapter, here's a link to it if any of you are interested  I'll be ordering one and switching over as soon as I run out of little Co2 canisters


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

You can always toss some cig filter in the tubing for a temporary diffuser.


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