How often do you need to refill or swap your CO2 tanks?

[RazzVegas]

This seems high - on my 120; i use a 10 lb canister with an in tank diffuser and it seems to last 4 or 5 months. On my 40 I have a 20lb canister with in tank diffuser and it will likely last a bit over a year. Of course you might be using more co2 than myself - or there might be another problem. I have my regulator on a smart plug and it goes on about 40 minutes before lights turn on and goes off around 30 minutes before the lights go off (the lights spend an hour ramping up and down so i don't startle the fishes).

For the 10lb they charge me between $20 and $25 to fill it - the price hasn't changed in 3 years; i haven't had to fill the 20 yet.

I think I figured out why I was going thru my CO2 too fast. Im using a canister filter to feed my reactor. Never really notice that my output nozzle was spitting out too much bubbles which was going straight to the surface. No matter how much I adjusted the reactor, wasted CO2 just kept pouring out. So I added a third canister that has a lower gph. Im only using pot scubbers for media to minimize reduced flow. No more CO2 bubble are coming out of the nozzle now. I did have to turn down the needle valve a bit. So hopefully my CO2 tank will last longer than 3 months.

 

[BryceM]

180g aquarium, reactor, 20 lb CO2 tank, 10 hrs/day with around a 1.0 pH drop. A tank will last me around 3 months, give or take. I did have a leak a few months back. I lost all 20 lbs in less than a day. Interesting that I couldn't hear or otherwise detect that.

 

[HardeeParty]

I’m using a soda stream 14.5 oz canister with a dual zone regulator split between two tanks (5.5 gallon and 10 gallon) and am getting about two months.

 

[Art]

Wow, that is longer than I would have thought for such a small canister. Then again, they are small tanks. Do you mind posting a picture of that?

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Wow, that is longer than I would have thought for such a small canister. Then again, they are small tanks. Do you mind posting a picture of that?

Not gonna lie I’m skeptical myself

 

[HardeeParty]

Wow, that is longer than I would have thought for such a small canister. Then again, they are small tanks. Do you mind posting a picture of that?

I’ve attached a few photos. Needed something slim I could mount to the back of the cabinet. The last tank lasted almost exactly two months to the day. I actually swapped a canister this morning so I’ll have an exact timeframe when it runs out. It runs on a timed single solenoid for 11 hrs daily (photoperiod with a two hour siesta + an hour ramp before lights turn on) for a measured 1.0-1.2ph drop on each tank. I have two canisters so I always have a spare when one runs out. I picked up a partially filled 5lb tank off marketplace from someone liquidating their home brew setup so I’ll be able to self refill once I get an adapter.

 

[Art]

Nice. Love the manifold.