# Co2 art



## Nathanh2150 (27 Feb 2021)

Hi all,
This is my first time with a co2 art rig and I noticed that it’s gone into the red I understand the co2 is running low but how low should i let it run into the red before changing the bottle ?
Advice much appreciated


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## aquascape1987 (27 Feb 2021)

I’ve run mine right down to the end with this regulator. It still maintained the same bubble count right to the last day.


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## aquascape1987 (27 Feb 2021)

Sorry actually,  correction. Mine is the Pro Elite one. But I imagine it would be the same?

Perhaps ask Co2 Art. Their customer service is very good.


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## Nathanh2150 (27 Feb 2021)

Hi 
Thankyou for your message I didn’t want to run the co2 into too much of the red just incase it caused any problems.. so fort to reach out just incase anyone had any information on what to do regarding it being in the red


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## aquascape1987 (27 Feb 2021)

I think that  it definitely needs the bottle changing when the pressure in the cylinder gauge drops as low as, or near to your working pressure as it won’t be able to maintain the working pressure once it drops below. Yours looks to be around 47/48 psi from the picture.

To be safe, and ensure that your Co2 doesn’t run out in the middle of your photo period, I’d suggest swapping the bottle when the cylinder drops to around 150 psi. 100 if you want to push it 😁


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## alto (27 Feb 2021)

If this is a single STAGE regulator (not apparent from the number of gauges), it’s recommended to swap out the gas cylinder sooner as “end of tank dumps” are more likely (which will burst release loads of CO2 and also more of the impurities that may be present in the gas (the main difference between gas grades)) 

As above poster says


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## aquascape1987 (27 Feb 2021)

Hi Alto,

It’s a dual stage reg is that, according to CO2 Arts description of it 😁


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## Nathanh2150 (27 Feb 2021)

Shall order a new co2 bottle now to be on the safe side and change it over once it arrives 👍


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## Nathanh2150 (27 Feb 2021)

Wile we are on about the co2 subject I have noticed that I’m frequently topping up the water in the bubble counter is this normal i have read that I can use Vegetable Glycerine Liquid instead of water what’s your opinion on this ?


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## aquascape1987 (27 Feb 2021)

Yea that is normal if you are using water, because it evaporates that’s all.

Co2 Art advise to use water only, and not oil because if some oil is pushed along the pipe it can clog CO2 diffuser/atomiser ceramic membranes. This is usually caused by a sudden quick burst of Co2 making the bubble count go crazy, like if you knock your needle valve by accident.

But like you say, it’s annoying filling the water up constantly, and who wants to have to faff about unscrewing and taking off the piping to refill  bubble counters all the time, when your CO2 is set? You’ve probably realised by now the needle valves on these are mega sensitive, and it only needs you to brush passed it with your arm to accidentally knock it from what you set. So refilling bubble counters is definitely a re tweak job

So for this reason I’ve always used something called ‘bubble counter fluid’ which is a clear glycerine oil, and  it never needs refilling. Can’t even remember where I got this from now, as I’ve had it for like forever because it never needs to be refilled.

I have the co2 tubing a little bit longer, so that it travels quite far upwards before looping back into the atomisers. This is to mitigate the reason that CO2 Art say to use water, so that IF a small bit of oil were to travel up, it can’t get passed the uphill bit and into the atomiser. Also if you don’t fill up the bubble counter too much, it reduces the chance of the bubbles splashing oil upwards.

Mines like this, using oil :




Personally, I’ve never had any problems with oil travelling up and into diffusers. None ever even leaves the top of the bubble counter, so I advise oil as they way to go, even though contrary to the manufacturers recommendation.

Ain’t nobody got time for constantly refilling bubble counters and having to reset their CO2, as it takes long enough to fine tune in the first place 🙄

Just make sure to take heed of CO2 Arts fears about oil, and mitigate for them, as their fears are correct in that if fluid gets into the ceramic diffuser/atomiser, it will damage it. But this is easily mitigated as I say.


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## Zeus. (27 Feb 2021)

On my duel stage reg I always run till cylinder is empty, on single stage reg I am a little more cautious as they tend to have an end of cylinder dump of gas. Having a spare cylinder ready is always a good idea.


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## aquascape1987 (27 Feb 2021)

This is what I do with my dual stage @Zeus.
Usually replace when the gauge gets to zero or as near as dammit, and there is usually still bubbles coming out. Only reason to replace before is so as not to fully run out in the middle of a CO2 on cycle, when you might not immediately notice.

But once the bottle gets to the point where the cylinder gauge starts going down, I often find it easy to predict when it will run out, as the needle from this point tends to move down at an equal rate each day


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## Zeus. (27 Feb 2021)

@aquascape1987 very neat and tidy setup I could do with being a bit more OCD IMO, but an organised 'mess' is my normal


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## aquascape1987 (27 Feb 2021)

Ha ha thank you. It’s funny, because an organised mess is my philosophy in most aspects of life, but for some reason not on the tank 🤷🏻‍♂️


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