Journal 80cm (32”) collectoritis tank

[JacksonL]

Great setup. How have you found the Up Aqua pH controller? I assume you can just set the PH in a range for a certain time of the day? I wonder does it need calibrating much?

Oh thanks for the tip I see in your earlier post about school of scape. Not that many resources here in Aus in a relative sense so more the better.

It is ok, I got it quite cheap and it suits my purpose.
You set it at the desired pH, and it will activate the solenoid until the probe reads 0.04 under that number, when it will turn off until the probe reads 0.04 above the number. Being not far off a 0.1 ph swing every cycle means it isn’t amazing to use as the main point of control for the tank.
I have mine as a safety barrier. I set it a touch under the pH my needle valve gets the tank to under normal operation.
Technically it shouldn’t ever turn off the solenoid throughout the day, and is there for peace of mind. If I change bottles over and bump something, a needle valve drifts or a regulator malfunctions, then it will shut the CO2 off before the fish are at risk.

I looked at them a few weeks back when you and Rocco were discussing them and they were crazy expensive. I was maybelooking at the wrong thing.... or wrong site. I was going to ask how you knew which one to get, but seems you're ordering a smaller one, so you weren't sure.

Yeah, if you can figure out that you have 30ppm CO2 at one mark and 50ppm at another, then it doesn't really matter what the gauge reads as long as when you put it to where you want it, you get what you expected.

This is cool. I'm not a very technical person. So you had to remove your needle valve to get this installed?

The barbed fittings at the back unscrew and there are 1/8 threads there, which most needle valves will screw straight into.
The valve on these cheapies is useless, and I have left it wide open and just use my normal needle valve, which is connected to the inlet of this flow valve.

As to which one to get, there really doesn’t seem to be a guide or formula out there. The smallest possible seems to be a good starting point!
This one is a 6-60 ml/h, most are measured in litres per hour so I doubt our CO2 flow would even register at all!
Fingers crossed the 2-25 gives a better range, although I am happy enough that the 6-60ml gives me a quick visual check that my CO2 is set about right.

 

[Count Krunk]

Great looking tank. And even better looking data on your levels/dosing.

 

[JacksonL]

The Aliexpress flow meter has been in for a week and a half now. It has held a steady measurement of CO2 flow that whole time, and has acted predictably to changes of the needle valve. The only issue has been the scale, because my flow is in the lower portion of it’s range (about 10ml/min on this meter) the measurement disc sits very low, and smaller changes don’t register much.
Today a similar model, but with a 2.5-25ml/min scale arrived.
I have installed it and it appears to be doing a similar job, but with the disc closer to the middle of the scale. Another bonus is the attached adjustment valve is far superior to the other model, and give me finer adjustment.
I will keep updating on its performance longer term, but I’m optimistic it is a decent low cost alternative to a bubble counter.
Here is the link to the specific item I purchased:
8mm Tube Glass Rotameter LZB-3WB Flow Meter Variable area flowmeter for Gas or liquid

https://a.aliexpress.com/_ms0oU29

The barbed fittings that come installed are too large for standard CO2 tubing. Unscrewing those reveals a 1/8 female thread that perfectly fits standard needle valve threads. I have used a spare needle valve (left wide open) and the outlet of my old bubble counter (left empty) to connect it in my system. I used gas thread tape on the threads, but I am sure the O-rings from the needle valve/bubble counter would have been fine also.

 

[JacksonL]

Similar readings to the other meter, about 9ml/min.