Sera Complete CO2 Kit - Problems with Installation

[ikavia]

Hi... picked up my Sera Complete CO2 kit yesterday. I went to my local home brew shop to get it filled on the way home as I thought the bottle was shipped empty for safety reasons. The guy at the home brew shop said it was full and actually showed me gas coming out of the bottle. I'm a bit confused as I thought they had to be shipped empty under the law.

Anyway so I get it home and start putting it together. I got as far as putting the regulator on... and then I came to a grinding halt. I couldn't even undo the valve on the bottle! I think it is in Danish or German or something - arrow pointing clock-wise with ZU (which I am thinking is On) and an arrow pointing anti clock-wise with AUF (thinking this is off). Problem is that the valve only turns like a third of a turn in either direction. Even my partner couldn't get it to move. Should I expect it to be so hard to turn for safety reasons or something or am I being daft?

HELP!

[ikavia]

Ok... AUF in German translates to ON.... whilst ZU translates to TO.....

so I'm trying to turn it anti-clockwise like a tap....

[ILLUSN]

My JBL bottle is the same when i first got it, I was told by a good LFS that these valves can become sticky if ever overtightened. i forced mine opened and now never turn it past 3/4 open, it hasnt been a problem since.

[Proteus]

I'm a bit confused as I thought they had to be shipped empty under the law.

That is for Aluminium bottles. Steel C02 tanks are generally ok (under 1-2kg's) so long as they are purged prior to shipping, which Sera, JBL, & Dupla do before they are sent from Europe (that is how they arrive from the manufacturer).

The right dial is the gas level pressure in the bottle, the left dial is the pressure of the gas going to the tank. This needs to be adjusted with the small tool (like an allen key) to get the correct level. You may lose a bit of gas getting the level correct, but once set, all should be fine.

I am just a tad busy at the moment but will try and think of all the setting levels etc and reply later in the day. I have a couple of these systems lurking around the traps, and Mattzilla bought one of me not long ago...

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/files/dscn0002_1__small_.jpg

[the german]

AUF=on ZU=off :D
to be very correct:
AUF=open ZU=closed

[JNS]

I have a sera 2kg bottle with a very sticky tap. I would take ILLUSN's advice on that one. I turn the tap on all the way on, then turn it 3/4 of a turn "off". This was actually advice I got while taking SCUBA lessons with SCUBA tanks...and I tend to do it now for all my pressurised tanks (propane, etc).

[ikavia]

I ended up taking it back to the local home brew shop... turns out the guy who had opened it the previous day when I thought it needed filling had eaten plenty of wheat bix and turned it off really really tightly. All is going well now.

Am up to the annoying stage of fiddling with BPS etc and making sure that the working pressure is ok. If all goes well I will probably get a bigger bottle cause I'd hate to have to go through the hassle of setting the pressure every month of so!

How long should I expect a 500g bottle to last at somethin like 6BPS? The instructions said 1 bubble per 10 litres, which would be 12 BPS for me, but when I had it operating like that for about 15 hours my CO2 long term indicator appeared to be light green meaning too much. So I've brought it back to 6 BPS for the time being. And comments on the rate?

Thanks.

[ILLUSN]

on my 4x2x2 (450L) i run bout 4.5-5.5 bps and my dulpa CO2 tester is always green 6 should be plenty at that rate expect your 500g to last 4-6 weeks (3 if you get a bad fill)

[ikavia]

I am going to reduce it to about 3 to 4 BPM as my CO2 indicator is telling me that there is too much in there.. although with the sera one it is hard to tell the difference between green and light green sometimes!

Gee 4 to 6 weeks! I think I will get a bigger tank.... five days later and I am still fiddling with BPM - over it!

[ILLUSN]

Thats why i now use a 6.8kg fire extinguisher :)

[ILLUSN]

Just a thought, when you run out of CO2 indicator re-fill switch to red sea. blue too low, green good, yellow too much, much eaiser to read then green and light green.

[Bald_noggin]

Thats why i now use a 6.8kg fire extinguisher :)

Did you have to do much to get an aquarium regulator on to that?

[ILLUSN]

G'day Bald_noggin, i needed 2 adapters from swagloc, a 1/4to1/2 inch reducing bush and a male to male 1/4 inch "nipple", lots of teflon tape :) will post pics tonight

[Bald_noggin]

will post pics tonight

That would be sweet thanks mate!

[ILLUSN]

Here's the pics, this was for a "QUELL" fire extinguisher thank you very much Bad inferno for all the advice.

[ILLUSN]

a shot of the reg on the bottle (a tunze reg).
this doesn't work with my JBL reg as it sits inside the CO2 thread, as a result you need to bore out the 1/2 inch bush to 13mm (use a lathe or a VERY GOOD drill press) to accomodate the JBL style regulators.

[ILLUSN]

I set this up in early Febuary and it's been running constantly at 4.5-5.5 bubbles/second since, so far the co2 tank is still full 6 weeks later, my 500g JBL bottle use to only last 3-4 weeks at the same rate of constant use (longer with the solonoid switching on and off with the lights)

[Bald_noggin]

Thanks for that ILLUSN. Great pics.

I also have a Tunze regulator so this is perfect! :D :D

I'll have to tackle the Wormald's guys next time they come to check the extinguisher's at work.

Cheers,
Col.
aka Bald_noggin

[Miracoli]

on my 4x2x2 (450L) i run bout 4.5-5.5 bps

:shock:

4-5 bubbles per second? That seems a bit high to me, but correct me if I am wrong. I am running a 570 L tank and the correct amount of CO2 according to Dennerle for the tank size is 58 bubbles per minute.

See this link (it's in German but in the top half you can enter the liter volume of your tank and the site will calculate how many bubbles per minute you need). The bottom half of the page will let you calculate your CO2 content based on you entering your PH and KH values.

http://www.dennerle.com/HG07UG08.asp

[Roy]

The amount of co2 would also depend on how many plants you have and the lighting, if they plants need more, you might need to give it to them.
Also some people may want a lower pH for particular fish.

Roy

[ILLUSN]

I also run an airstone 24/7 which is why i have to keep the co2 so high, tried going without it but my 2 big 18 inch plecs kept smashing lids :( also at 2 bps my cardinals would gasp at the surface, my swords grow too slowly to saturate the water with O2 and the rainbows and plec eat any fast growers I add( aslo swords are massive and there's isn't any space left
)
heres whats in it and a bad photo http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6358&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=20

[Miracoli]

Nice tank!

I have a gibbiceps about that size which I have decided to give away as he keeps rearranging the plants every night ;-) As beautiful as he is, but he has grown from 4 cm in November to about 16 cm now.

But you are right, keeping the balance of sufficient oxygen, little or no current, and enough C02 to keep things growing can be quite a challenge!