# JBL bottles?



## LondonDragon (8 May 2008)

Hi guys,

Would I be able to use my lunapet regulator on a JBL 500g bottle? 

Thanks


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## Steve Smith (9 May 2008)

According to the AE site, the JBL 500g cylinder has the international standard valve, so I would say yer it'd work fine


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## hotweldfire (10 Apr 2012)

Apologies for the thread necromancy but have just tried to set this up and no joy.

The bottle is a JBL m500 refillable. Supposedly brand new and had a green plastic seal over the external thread. Have screwed the lunapet reg on and no pressure.

Tried the cylinder valve on the "auf" (I assume on") position and the "zu" (I assume "off") position. Nada. 

Tried taking reg off and screwing back on several times and not a hiss. Thing is there doesn't seem to be anything on the reg that would insert into the bottle to allow gas to be released. On my disposable kit there's a sort of needle like thing sticking out that goes into the bottle that presses down a valve to allow gas out. Do refillables not have this?

If so is the valve on the top of the bottle the only control on gas release? What if it gets moved accidentally? Thing is when I got the bottle home it was already in the "auf" position. Could it have been accidentally opened up and emptied in the shop? This doesn't seem very safe.

Any help much appreciated as I now have no co2 going into my main tank


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## GHNelson (10 Apr 2012)

Hi 
You sure it has Co2 in the cylinder?
Take it out side open the valve up on the cylinder let some Co2 out to check.
Or weight the cylinder should weight about 1 kg i think.
Where did you purchase from?
They may have used the Co2 in the shop.
hoggie


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## hotweldfire (10 Apr 2012)

Looking suspiciously like it does not. Just put it in some water and turned the valve - no bubbles. Weighed it too - 610g.

I won't say where I got it. Will have words with them later today.

Still I'm surprised that the valve on the top is the only release. Isn't there some sort of safety mechanism? There's a screw on the back of the bottle with 3 holes in the sides. Anyone know what that does?


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## GHNelson (10 Apr 2012)

Thought it was empty.
Can you do a picture of the cylinder...re screws.
hoggie


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## Antipofish (10 Apr 2012)

Your assumptions on 'auf' and 'zu' are correct


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## rebus (10 Apr 2012)

The screw with the three holes in is more than likely to be a burst disc i would have thought.


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## m_attt (10 Apr 2012)

rebus said:
			
		

> The screw with the three holes in is more than likely to be a burst disc i would have thought.



defiantly this


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## GHNelson (10 Apr 2012)

Hi
Can you elaborate ..me being a non welder.
hoggie


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## m_attt (10 Apr 2012)

on a burst disc??

Its basically a screw with a copper disc in, like a small thin penny. set to rupture at a certain pressure. So should the pressure in the bottle exceed that pressure the disc will rupture and safely vent the gas, rather than the bottle exploding


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## hotweldfire (10 Apr 2012)

Whoa! So you think that thing has popped because JBL filled the thing up too much? Was meant to be a new bottle. Am taking it back tomorrow to exchange for a refilled one but will take a photo of that piece first.


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## m_attt (10 Apr 2012)

no wasnt saying that mate, just replying to what a burst disc is 

are you sure the bottles that are not part of a kit come filled?


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## hotweldfire (11 Apr 2012)

Good question. Was sold to me as filled. Can't imagine why JBL would supply them as empty.


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## m_attt (11 Apr 2012)

just a thaught as paintball tanks, scuba tanks etc all come empty


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## hotweldfire (11 Apr 2012)

Yeah but these things are meant to get sold straight to the budding plant keeping aquarist right? Why would an LFS buy them if they then had to send them off to get refilled before selling them on. I know charterhouse sells them as prefilled so assume everyone gets them from JBL like that too but might be wrong.


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## AAB (11 Apr 2012)

If it helps, I recently bought a brand new JBL set (old style JBL Profi set) from eBay and got a full bottle with it.


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## hotweldfire (11 Apr 2012)

OK, there's no other way to say this so I'll just say it. I'm an eejit. The bottle wasn't empty, I just wasn't turning the valve hard enough. It twists a bit quite easily then gets very stiff, at which point you have to twist it hard to open it up. This was demonstrated by the LFS I bought it from this morning after I went in complaining about "you lot selling me empty co2 bottles". Naturally you can imagine what an blahblahblahblah I looked. Apologies to those who have wasted their time on this thread and, of course, to LFS.

Much worse is that I have had to have a blackout in the tank yesterday. Didn't want lights on without co2. Came back early afternoon to find fish and shrimp at water surface and three dead red nosed shrimp on substrate. O2 shortage. Why? Well what's the major source of O2 in my tank? The plants. And what happens to photosynthesis when you turn the lights off?

Ran an airstone under Koralia and flooded the tank with air bubbles. Looks like I avoided any further casualties. Careful with blackouts when not taking precautions. CO2 now setup, hopefully I should have mildly fizzy tank when I get home tomorrow (new up atomiser but very low bubble count to start with). I'm just going to say it again blackboard punishment stylee to make it absolutely clear:

I am a fool
I am a fool
I am a fool


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## LondonDragon (11 Apr 2012)

Removing CO2 from the tank shouldn't have cause the fish to gasp for air, should be the excess of CO2 that causes that, so its bizarre.


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## hotweldfire (11 Apr 2012)

But the amount of oxygen in the tank will have dropped significantly. There's hardly any surface movement so the tank is reliant on plants for oxygen.


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## LondonDragon (11 Apr 2012)

hotweldfire said:
			
		

> But the amount of oxygen in the tank will have dropped significantly. There's hardly any surface movement so the tank is reliant on plants for oxygen.


If that was the case most of us would be in trouble, hardly anyone uses air stones in their tanks.


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## hotweldfire (11 Apr 2012)

I don't think I'm being very clear Paulo. Airstone is neither here nor there, I just keep it around for emergencies like this. O2 crash is, I think, down to the lights being off, therefore the plants not producing oxygen. Excess CO2 means fauna struggle to take up oxygen, even if there's enough there. However, if there isn't enough oxygen there then CO2 is irrelevant.


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## Antipofish (12 Apr 2012)

Hey dude, OH to have been at the LFS as a fly on the wall     It happens to us all.  I have gone into a shop before, with the "This rubbish is broken" line and been made to look totally daft.  It's something that makes us human.  Shame about the losses though, but I totally get what you are saying about the CO2/02 levels. I will bear it in mind if I ever need to do a blackout.  I am sure you will have things rectified very quickly


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## LondonDragon (12 Apr 2012)

hotweldfire said:
			
		

> I don't think I'm being very clear Paulo. Airstone is neither here nor there, I just keep it around for emergencies like this. O2 crash is, I think, down to the lights being off, therefore the plants not producing oxygen. Excess CO2 means fauna struggle to take up oxygen, even if there's enough there. However, if there isn't enough oxygen there then CO2 is irrelevant.


Understood what you were trying to say, just find it hard to believe it was that, possibility. Have done black outs in the past without any issues.


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## hotweldfire (12 Apr 2012)

Yeah, despite feeling like an idiot I was surprised too. Just can't see another explanation.


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