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How long should a CO2 tank last? (kinda long)
This is one of those depends questions, so I am looking for your experience.
Here is the background on the tank:
It is a 125 gal plant tank. In it are five large sword plants, about 20
crypts, and I am looking to add plants. Its fish population includes 20
Ottos, 4 SAEs, 2 Panda cats, 2 Clown loaches. 12 Serpae Tetras, 3 SpikeTail
Gouramis, and an Emperor Tetra--all of which get along great!
To provide enough CO2, I use a CO2 tank, with an Ultralife PH Controller and
Probe to keep the PH at 6.9.
To light the tank I am using 3 five foot Aquasun VHO lamps from URI which
are on a timer set for 12 hours a day. The tank has a glass top.
The aquarium is a twin corner overflow from All Glass Tank. I use a Quiet
One pump and an Ocean Clear Consister filter with a foam insert (I found
these work a lot better than the cartidge or the polybeads).
Where I live is hard and barely drinkable, so I use only RO/DI water in
which I put the appropriate amount of Amquel and Electro-Light so that it is
ready for plant and fish.
To mix the CO2 with the water, I use a wooden airstone which creates a fine
mist. It is placed in the bottom of the corner overflow filter.
When I set the tank up I used 2 bags of Flourite and 14.1 kg of Sera's
Floredepot. I used the latter before in a plant tank and it worked well as
an undergravel fertilizer for about 2 years before breaking down the tank.
Right now I am consuming about 1.5 -2.0 lbs of CO2 per week--so my 20 lb
tank last10-12 weeks. So I am wondering "how many pounds a week of CO2
should I expect that the tank will consume?" Also, any reactions or
thoughts about the set-up would be appreciated.
Also, I have checked for leaks around the regulator fittings and there are
none.
Juan in Tampa!