Re: 2 questions

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

> Two questions please;
> I know this has been beat to death in the archives, but, does anyone
> have any new thoughts or experiences with regards to distributing CO2 to
> multiple tanks?

Yes.

> Mainly is it better to have, in terms of ease of use and
> leak potential, a 4 or 6 way CO2 manifold or to have a chain of T's with
> individual needle valves attached. Im leaning towards the latter, just
> because it is neater.

Folks try this with silicone tubing and this is good since it has the valve
right by the tank where the CO2 reactor is.

But unless you use some non leaking high pressure tubing set up, I think
generally it's a bad idea.

I T off the regulator directly. This way the output pressure is only 1-2psi
out to the tanks.
Less chance of leaking and less diffusion through the silicone line also.

It's not that difficult to go back and forth to set the valve either. Two
people can help achieve this much easier or you can do by yourself without
that much pain. Once set in a relatively good range, minor adjustments are
much easier.

Now ask your self this question:
Would I want to spend more $ and set up a hard tubing set up, or use 1-2$ ft
tubing for something that really won't give long term ease of use?

The silicone tubing at 1-2psi is easy to set up, deal with, easiest to
install and is the most cost effective solution. It also has the lowest leak
potential since the line is low pressure.
 
> Also, by the gadd dosing calculator, I need to add about 2 teaspoons of
> k2so4 weekly to my 75 gallon. I dont dose kno3 because I get 15ppm no3 from
> the tap. Is it ok to add all of this at once, or should I dose 1 tsp on
> consecutive days and monitor nitrate and po4 usage to tell me approximately
> when to add more (maybe a tsp at weekly water changes?)

Just on weekly water change days. You likely need KNO3 even if you do 75%
weekly water change about 4 days after the water change.
Regards, 
Tom Barr

> 
> Thanks for any advice. Here's an argument against open top tanks; Your
> stinking paradise fish will jump tank and eat your M. altispinosa fry.

But I like fish chips:)
 
> Thanks,
> Zach