Ok, I keep planted aquaria as a hobby, and one of the items that is very beneficial in this hobby is the addition of CO2 to the water column to promote plant growth.
The most effective way of doing this is to use a pressurized system essentially comprising of a CO2 tank feeding CO2 into the water at a measured pace. HOWEVER, this equipment is pretty darn expensive and I have made do with DIY systems for a while.
Recently I was given a pressure valve (formerly used in an O2 tank for medical reasons). These valves are one of the most expensive items in setting up a pressurized CO2 system so I was very happy to get it.
HOWEVER…
This valve was accidentally damaged resulting in the gauges being all smashed up (the glass and needle apparatus only. The fittings and connectors all seem to be in perfect shape. Basically the thing fell from the shelf it was on, onto a concrete floor). :smack:
The Question:
Is it usable? Can I proceed to get a tank for it and carry on as normal given that a)its original intention was for medical O2 and
b)that the gauges are totally smashed? (ie will it leak?)
I would l really like to use it, but not if its a hazard.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I wouldn’t take the chance. You don’t say what the tank pressure is, but CO[sub]2[/sub] is highly compressible, so it can be considerable. You do NOT want a valve blowout at high pressure - it could conceivably send bits of valve flying at speeds high enough to punch through brick walls. Or you. If the tank is fairly large, there is also the risk of a slow leak leading to death by asphyxiation as the gas displaces oxygen. This happened recently at a McDonald’s (Pennsylvania, IIRC), where two crewmembers were killed by CO[sub]2[/sub] asphyxiation when a carbonation tank leaked. Frankly, I couldn’t in good conscience suggest you continue using the valve. It might be alright, but it might not.
I’ve found small (~1-3 pound) CO[sub]2[/sub] tanks and valves for filling paintball and BB gun carts on eBay for between $20 and $40. I don’t know if you could adapt one of those to your purpose, but I don’t see why not.
for an economical commercial C02 set up, contact you local fire extinguisher company. explain to them what you are attempting to do. they may have some used components that would be less expensive.
Q.E.D
Hadn’t thought of the paintball equipment before. Never actually even seen one up close truth to tell. Could it be modified to bleed a bubble of CO2 every 3-5 seconds through aquarium hose?
Longair75
Yah, I’ve had this suggested to me before, but unfortunately when I’ve tried contacting various companies (fire extinguisher, carbonated beverage, etc), I either get a “that’s not an approved use of our equipment” (which usually ends with either a refusal to sell or being passed around from person to person) or it just costs too much. The cheapest Ive had offered worked out to about CAD$130 for tank and valves. No way can I justify that expense for what I use it. Since the greatest cost came from the actual valve I was very happy when I got this one free. (And it was actually in perfect condition till I knocked it off the shelf. )
Don’t see why not, provided you can acquire the necessary fittings and whatnot. If the main shutoff valve isn’t sensitive enough to allow the necessary control over the flow rate, you can install a secondary inline valve to further control the flow. A simple ball valve would suffice for that purpose.
Leaving aside the damage aspect, and turning to your point about specs, the following is probably fairly obvious but for what it’s worth: I had a similar difficulty regarding a gas regulator. I found that the manufacturers had good websites with full specs from which I could work out what pressures (in and out) my regulator was for.
