# c02 help????



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

hey gang I am in need of some advice and help from the fresshies out here .
I have a 75 gallon planted tank , recently re scaped added one new bag of soil .took out everything that was dying and looking crappy . fish I have in there are 4 discus ,3 sae,2 rams ,4 plecos , amano shrimp .my problem is I am having a hell of a time adjusting c02 in this tank I am running a fabco valve which I thought was very good but for some reason I can not dial it in , I have come home two times now with fish gasping from too much c02 can anyone help me with the pressures u are running on tank bps for a 75 gal tank and any ideas on how to dial this in . any help will be appreciated also looking for help on dosing with ferts .....


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## LTPGuy (Aug 8, 2012)

I am just wondering if the problem is with your fresh bag of soil and not the CO2.

Need a little more info on your setup as there are so many factors involved here.


Do you have a drop checker? Have you try shutting off your CO2 for a day or two? What are your tanks parameters?

It's hard to comment without more information.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*c02*

this problem happened before the soil and after I am pretty sure it is my c02 I have a drop chker just not sure if the solution I have is stale or what ....
as soon as I shut off c02 and ran a few air bubblers fish are back to normal drop chker solution is dark blue .


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

I have 2 fabcos also I know what you mean. Let me ask you this how many outputs are you running and what psi are you running

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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*c02*

one tank, 1 outlet 25 psi


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

I was running 20psi on the fabco nv and I was getting inconsistency, I upped the psi to 60psi and the problem went away, try that. 

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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*c02*

ok man I will try it ... what color should the drop checker solution be when its at a good saturation of c02


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

tom g said:


> ok man I will try it ... what color should the drop checker solution be when its at a good saturation of c02


I strive for Lime Green almost yellow. On your 75g with Cerge? reactor I think you should be doing at *least* 5bps


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*co2*

will try tomorrow after work wheni can monitor system thanks for the help ...I have some ferts from the hydroponics store , I lsot all my info on how much to fert and schedule do u have any info on a schedule and ammout . also its been a year since I used it will they go bad ...


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

Make sure your drop checker solution is 4dkh, and its green in the tank. Discuss are a bit more sensitive than most, so they will gasp at higher Co2 levels. My solution is almost yellow in all my tanks, I like to crank it up to make sure co2 is not my limiting factor. 
Take a day to adjust your co2 , remember it takes up to 2 hours for your drop checker to adjust to the change in Co2.


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## Ryan s (Jun 18, 2012)

Make sure you have enough water circulation in the tank. And you have a surface skimer to remove the oil like looking building up on the water surface. On my tank I have the spray bar pointing to the surface to create a small ripple effect.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

tom g said:


> will try tomorrow after work wheni can monitor system thanks for the help ...I have some ferts from the hydroponics store , I lsot all my info on how much to fert and schedule do u have any info on a schedule and ammout . also its been a year since I used it will they go bad ...


I think the shelf life of the chemicals is pretty long so you shouldn't worry about it, has for fertz schedule I dose mines 1 hour before lights on or same time as my co2 kicks in, amount can't help you there I don't know what you kind your dosing. I dose a modifed version of PPS pro that's specifically for my tank and the plants requirement in my tank.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*needle valve*

I think the Fabco valve is no good very hard to set up and keeps changing 
the bps .I think I am gonna try to replace valve....anyone got a spare 
needle valve they want to get rid of....


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## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Sup Tom, 

What kind of Co2 system is it? Do you have a picture? Even though the fabco sucks for flow control, it should still keep the same rate. 

Have you tried lowering your working pressure? Less pressure means better control because the force being applied to the needle is less strong.

If you can, try to get one of those Parker HR 3. They're very good and come with a venire handle. The only problem is finding someone who is selling them for a reasonable price.

They went for 23 on ebay, brand new. Someone brought a ton of them and is reselling for profit. If they want over 30 - 40, don't go that high.


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