CO2 kits in aquariums

Hi all.

Just set up a planted aquarium with a CO2 kit and all that jazz. My question/query is this:

I have a solenoid switch on tyhe regulator, to stop the flow of CO2 through the night. Whe I switch the thing back on in the morning, there are no bubbles being created. I am leaving it alone for half an hour to see what happens, then having to turn the regulator right up to get tha gas flowing, before spending ages setting it back to correct bubble flow.

Should this be happening? Should it take time for the gas to come through of its own accord (ie more than the half hour I give it)? Or do I have a faulty system, or low pressure in the cylinder?

Any ideas/advice gratefully accepted.

Hrmmm, thats an odd one. do you have pressure gauges on the regulator on top of the cylinder? if so what do they read? the pressure in the clyinder should be about 1200-1300 PSI and the outflow side should be about 30 PSI. if those are right then you have plenty of CO2 in the cylinder.

The next question is how is the whole thing set up? Is the bubble counter attached to the regulator or is it further up the system in-line? if it is up further, is there a one way valve at any point to stop water flowing back up the system? are using the black hose? i ask becuase it means you cant see the water inside it. If water is flowing back up the CO2 tubing and down to the one way vlave then all that water has to be pushed out before gas will flow. I suspect thats what might be going on here.

If you have a one way valve move it right up behind the bubble counter so the gas/water interface is nice and close to it. That way when you turn it on the gas only has to force out a bit of water, not the entire tube worth.

My system used clear tube so i can see where the water is and the when they system is not presurised (my is automated so it turns on and off on a regular basis) the water quickly flows back up to the one way valve from the pressure from the reactor.

if not then give us an indication of how it is set up...e.g.

Mine goes clyinder -> regulator -> solinoid -> one way vlave next to the solinoid - (1 metre)> one way valve next to bubble counter - (10cms)> bubble counter -(20cms)> Reactor (external) -> CO2 infused water goes into the tan via outflow of one of the canister filters.

Hope that helps

Oh, one final thing, make sure you have a one way valve at some point, dont want water getting into the solinoid or regulator...bad news

Thanks. You've covered it. I waited 2 hours this morning and bubbles started coming through. I have a 1 way valve but its right downn by the solenoid, so I expect the water gets a long way overnight. I'm using black pipe. I may well add another valve like you have near the diffuser (I dont have a bubble counter, as I can see the bubbles entering the diffuser).

Thanks again!

Ur welcome!!!