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Can you safely run CO2 24/7?

laurenb252

laurenb252

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13 Dec 2021
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United Kingdom
Hi everyone,

I’m using CO2 for the first time in my 30 litre planted tank. I’m using the Tropica System Nano, which doesn’t come with a solenoid.

Would it be safe for me to run CO2 24/7, or does anyone know of a solenoid I can buy and some instructions on how I could attach it to the Tropica system?

I can manually turn it on and off for now, but when I’m not at home my parents look after my tanks as well as theirs. They’re experienced with fishkeeping but not CO2 systems, so I’d rather put together something automatic if I can.

Thanks
 
I would not recommend running it 24/7. Overnight, your plants will respire and release CO2, consuming O2. Your CO2 levels will rise, therefore, and could stress your fish (assuming you have fish).
 
hypnogogia said:
I would not recommend running it 24/7. Overnight, your plants will respire and release CO2, consuming O2. Your CO2 levels will rise, therefore, and could stress your fish (assuming you have fish).
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply.

I’ll try and look into getting a solenoid then as it seems like the safer and more economical option.
 
Hi Ya

Wouldn’t advise 24/7.

Pretty old thread and I’m not sure the link below is going to work but if not, if you type tropic Co2 nano system into the forum search bar, a solenoid solution was discussed some back in 2019.

Note the spelling error, it is tropic not tropica in this title.

Might help!

Tropic Co2 nano system

Hi I have brought a Tropica Co2 nano system from proshrimp. Im just wondering is there any appropriate solenoid out there i can attach to this? Thanks
www.ukaps.org
 
KirstyF said:
Hi Ya

Wouldn’t advise 24/7.

Pretty old thread and I’m not sure the link below is going to work but if not, if you type tropic Co2 nano system into the forum search bar, a solenoid solution was discussed some back in 2019.

Note the spelling error, it is tropic not tropica in this title.

Might help!

Tropic Co2 nano system

Hi I have brought a Tropica Co2 nano system from proshrimp. Im just wondering is there any appropriate solenoid out there i can attach to this? Thanks
www.ukaps.org
Click to expand...
Thanks! This was really useful.

I couldn’t get the exact solenoid mentioned in the thread as it’s out of stock, but I have picked up this one instead: Amazon product ASIN B09F6LN3MZ
I’ve also bought some CO2 resistant tubing from Aquarium Gardens, so hopefully I should have a timed CO2 system set up soon :)
 
People with very large tanks often decide to go for 24/7 CO²
ukaps.org

400 gallon.

That's just plain bonkerso_O ...surely it'd be easier to grow longer arms...:drowning:
ukaps.org

But then indeed as @foxfish mentions go with a much lower PPM rate <15ppm and less light intensity and still have successful plant growth.

This is because with very large aquariums it can be very challenging to get CO² levels on point stable on time with 30ppm within the light cycle. With the generally available hobby CO² diffusers in the trade. Then going 10ppm CO² for 24/7 with less light intensity is easier to achieve and cheaper in the long run.
 
I believe the injection rates recommended on the packaging of the nano system are for 24 hour running. I used the system with a SOV previously on a small tank (you can see my setup in the linked thread above) and it worked fine but, with a small aquarium made tuning it in harder, less water means less room for error and greater swings on any water related adjustments.

Make sure you get an adaptor for linking the bottle to the SOV as that will be a high pressure area, assuming you use a needle valve. I would recommend a needle valve as the regulator valve on this bottle is a one stage and to be honest isn't the best, definitely not designed for fine tuning flow.

Also worth noting that once you stick a solenoid on these bottles there is no way to stand them up anymore, need to strap them up to something to make them sturdy.

It's not a bad system, although I found I was going through bottles too quickly even on just a 5g tank, but I didn't have the best flow so I was venting a lot at the surface. What is your filtration system like and what is your tanks size?
 
laurenb252 said:
I’ll try and look into getting a solenoid then as it seems like the safer and more economical option.
Click to expand...
See here for how people have done it. Not easy as the regulator isn't really a "regulator" and lets the full tank pressure build up on the solenoid.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/tropic-co2-nano-system.58617/reply?quote=572655

Thus you will need a decent solenoid, solid piping regulator to solenoid and a quality needle valve to control the flow after the solenoid.

My local fish ships runs CO2 24/7 on their small tanks, just have an air stone on when the lights are off.
 
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