# Just how much C02 do you use!



## foxfish (30 Sep 2013)

My 200l uses about 2kg every 10 - 11 weeks.
How much gas are you burning?


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## sa80mark (30 Sep 2013)

My 30l cube is running 5- 6 bps and im using 2kg every 12 weeks if I had less surface movement im sure I could lower bps and maybe double the 12 weeks but I would rarther use more gas and know everything is happy


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## nbaker (30 Sep 2013)

My Rio 125l uses around 600g every 8 weeks at just over 1 bps


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## Tim Harrison (30 Sep 2013)

2kg usually lasts about 6 months feeding a 70 litre - lime green all the way.


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## tim (1 Oct 2013)

2kg around 8 weeks on 180 ltr


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## foxfish (1 Oct 2013)

This is really interesting, please keep the reply's coming


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## John S (1 Oct 2013)

500g about 8 weeks on 65L (using reactor, Co2 on 7 hrs per day)
2kg about 6-7 weeks on 165L (using UP inline, Co2 on 7 hrs per day)


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## Lee Sweeting (1 Oct 2013)

I'm using about 500g a month on my 125 ltr (inline diffuser, co2 on for 7 hrs).


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## ian_m (1 Oct 2013)

This is how long the 5 off 2Kg FE's on a 180litre tank have lasted me. Spot the times when I had a leak !!!

255 days
137 days
60 days
23 days
98 days
No.1. bubble rate was possibly too low.
No.2. Better
No.3. Bubble counter plastic "crazed" and cracked.
No.4. Leak from disintegrated locking nuts on JBL bubble counter.
No.5. Leak from one way valve.

I weigh mine (cheap £9 set of digital scale from Argos) and start at 5.8Kg when full (+regulator attached) obviously dropping to 3.8KG when empty.


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## LondonDragon (1 Oct 2013)

5Kg Bottle lasted 9-10 months on my Rio 125.


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## Yo-han (1 Oct 2013)

10 kg lasted about 5 months on my 400L
0.5 kg lasted 6-11 months on my 27L depending on the amount of light.


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## tubamanandy (1 Oct 2013)

2Kg Fire Extinguiser 3-4 months on a 90 Litre - 1-2bps


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## NatureBoy (1 Oct 2013)

ian_m said:


> This is how long the 5 off 2Kg FE's on a 180litre tank have lasted me. Spot the times when I had a leak !!!
> 
> 255 days
> 137 days
> ...


 
might sound funny, but how did you find the leaky section?

cheers


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## Martin cape (1 Oct 2013)

Bloody hell. I'm using a BOC 5kg cylinder with gas on for 6 hours a day at a bubble rate faster than I can count. This going into a reactor chamber. 

I started using this very beginning of January. It's still going strong! 

Drop checker is always lime green 

Forgot to say, it's a 180L tank.


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## ian_m (1 Oct 2013)

NatureBoy said:


> might sound funny, but how did you find the leaky section?


Water and fair liquid where CO2 pipe leaves regulator and enters diffuser and having pipes long enough to be able to dunk bubble counter and one way valve in a jug of water.


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## Iain Sutherland (1 Oct 2013)

BOC size b gross weight 22kg last 10 months on 300ltr and 70 ltr.


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## Mortis (3 Oct 2013)

My 3.5kg cylinder has lasted me a year and a half and is still going strong on a 125lt at around 4bps for 10hrs a day ! To think I almost gave it for refilling last Christmas cos my cylinder guy was going to be closed for a week and the cylinder felt quite light and almost empty ! That would have been 10 months of gas down the drain !!.

But to even it out my old 2kg FE and reg were so crappy they barely lasted 2 weeks to a month and a half tops on my 60 lt and later on the 125lt too. This was after sealing all the leaks I could find too.

So yeah Karma... things even out and all that


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## Samjpikey (3 Oct 2013)

Mortis said:


> My 3.5kg cylinder has lasted me a year and a half and is still going strong on a 125lt at around 4bps for 10hrs a day ! To think I almost gave it for refilling last Christmas cos my cylinder guy was going to be closed for a week and the cylinder felt quite light and almost empty ! That would have been 10 months of gas down the drain !!.
> 
> But to even it out my old 2kg FE and reg were so crappy they barely lasted 2 weeks to a month and a half tops on my 60 lt and later on the 125lt too. This was after sealing all the leaks I could find too.
> 
> So yeah Karma... things even out and all that






How are you diffusing this ?? 
Cheers 


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## Ady34 (4 Oct 2013)

2kg bottle, 9 weeks on 250l tank via inline boyu diffuser. 
Short photoperiod/injection period during this start up phase....maybe 7hrs gas on per day with good surface agitation.


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## flygja (4 Oct 2013)

Same as Ady34, 2kg fire extinguisher takes around 2-3 months on a 300L tank with inline Up! Aqua diffuser. I didn't really count the bps but its about 4-6 bps.


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## Mortis (4 Oct 2013)

Sam Im using an UP inline atomizer


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## Pinkmummy79 (6 Oct 2013)

Again, it has been similar to Ady, about 9 week's running a single UP inline in a 260 litre, however, I have recently split my cO2 to both filters and 2 inlines so I would expect my 2kg FE to run out sooner
Need to get s 5 kg if it will fit in my cabinet I think

Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk 4


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## Pinkmummy79 (6 Oct 2013)

Martin cape said:


> Bloody hell. I'm using a BOC 5kg cylinder with gas on for 6 hours a day at a bubble rate faster than I can count. This going into a reactor chamber.
> 
> I started using this very beginning of January. It's still going strong!
> 
> ...


Dude, how tall is your BOC 5kg with reg attached? Need to see if one will fit my cabinet
Cheers Clive

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## Martin cape (6 Oct 2013)

Pinkmummy79 said:


> Dude, how tall is your BOC 5kg with reg attached? Need to see if one will fit my cabinet
> Cheers Clive
> 
> Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk 4



I'll have a measure up for you tomorrow pal and I'll send you a message. Size your after is VB. 

Sure my cabinet is 80cm and it gets in there but I'll double check tomorrow for ya


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## Pinkmummy79 (7 Oct 2013)

Ta 

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## BigTom (7 Oct 2013)

None.


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## George Farmer (7 Oct 2013)

80 litre aquarium, 2Kg CO2, 5 months.


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## foxfish (7 Oct 2013)

Fantastic  guys please keep the keep the info coming, if we get another 20 or so we can work out an average just for the fun of it!


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## Brian Murphy (7 Oct 2013)

I use a sodastream bottle and had it on an 80l tank for the past 3-4 weeks using an inline diffuser at around 1-2 bubbles per sec and it lasted me a week and a half.  Just moved it to my rio 400 and have it at around 4-5 bubbles per sec using a big glass diffuser so will update the results when I need a refill.  Also waiting for a 2kg FE in the post


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## linkinruss (12 Oct 2013)

I use the Sodestream setup as well and while I can't count the bubbles, I usually get through one bottle very two weeks. Ordering another FE now as I have a local place that recycles. 


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## plantbrain (1 Feb 2014)

You might consider a simpler approach that's standard and faster: 
Invert a milliliter measuring cup, eg, a cooking measuring cup with mls on it.
Place under water with all the air removed, take the CO2 line, bubble the gas into the cup and after 5 minutes, or some time frame, measure the volume of gas.

So say your rate of CO2 is 300 mls/5 minutes or something........
 300mls/300 seconds = 1 ml sec.

this is a rather high rate, maybe my 120 Gallon uses this amount.

This is much better than the above suggestions, here's why: 

1. Faster. 
2. Many use CO2 for 6 hours, 7, hours, 10 hourd per day, the per day methods does NOT factor that in to the rate of use. 
3. Measuring cup everyone has already vs a smaller weight scale.

I've used this method and estimated the mls/sec on various sized tanks from 1600 Gallons down to 70 Gallons, works quite well for me.
Everyone can do this method also even if they want to keep doing the tank time frames.


But mls of gas /sec or minute is a much better standard.


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## Martin in Holland (8 Jun 2014)

300 liter tank, 2 CO2 bottles each 2 liter empty after 5 weeks


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