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co2....End of tank dump

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  • #1

    co2....End of tank dump

    Those of us who have had co2 injection on our planted tanks for long term are familiar with end-of-tank dump. New co2 users should watch for this. It happens when the liquid co2 in the tank is gone and there is just pressurized gas left. It's easily indicated by the pressure on the high side of the regulator dropping and the pressure on the low side of the regulator increasing. The increased pressure on the low side causes more co2 to be injected into the tank, with sometimes deadly consequences. For some folks who keep their co2 concentration right at the edge of their fish gasping, end-of-tank dump can be lethal very quickly. I normally keep a close eye on my gauges but didn't look at them last night. Today when I went home for lunch all my discus were at the top gasping. I found the low side pressure increased from 20psi to 30psi. Plants sure were pearlin' nice. I quickly shut down the co2, dropped an air stone in the tank and took my bottle to get refilled.

    I think I'm gonna buy a digital scale to set the bottle on so I can see at a glance when it's time to get the bottle refilled.

    Mark
    What are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.

    Robert Anson Heinlein
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  • #2
    What regulator are you using?
    Do you have a Low pressure regulator as well?
    700g Mini-Monster tank

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    • #3
      Originally posted by eklikewhoa View Post
      What regulator are you using?
      Do you have a Low pressure regulator as well?
      I've got a Teledyne regulator; same set-up ADG uses. I bought it from them. I asked the guy at the welding shop about it today and he said it's a natural occurrence due to the way regulators work. He said the same thing happens to other gases as well; O2, Acetylene, etc. The spring mechanism inside the regulator works on a pressure differential. As the high side pressure decreases, the spring relaxes and allows the low side pressure to increase. Back when I did my first hi tech tank I'd read about end-of-tank dump at APC, The Barr Report and other sites. I'd read horror stories of folks who'd lost entire tanks of fish to co2 poisoning. Knowing what to look for, I've always kept my tank from getting to that point. I was less vigilant this time and almost got bit. I'm lookin' for an adequate digital scale now to keep the co2 tank on.

      Low-pressure regulator?

      Mark
      What are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.

      Robert Anson Heinlein

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      • #4
        Clippard offers a LPR which mounts after the regulator but before the needle valve and with it I have never experienced the "end of tank dump".
        700g Mini-Monster tank

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