Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V6 #228

[Michael Eckardt <mike at odg_com>]

The one thing I do not ever adjust is the needle valve. Once set, it stays set.
Usually I waste the CO2 when cleaning my reactor, or I simply shut off the 
main valve on the bottle.

Michael Eckardt
"You can only learn from the lazy."

At 04:41 AM 7/19/03 -0400, you wrote:
> A cautionary tale.....
>
> Yesterday I noticed my Eheim diffusor needed cleaning for the first time in
> 3 years, so I took it out and cleaned it.   Prior to removing it, I shut
> off my needle valve, so naturally I needed to readjust it putting things
> back together.   I set it too high, then too low, then when I was getting
> closer to just right, I was distracted.  I forgot about that task until
> this AM when I noticed my fish were gasping at the surface.  I soon
> discovered a cascade of bubbles coming out of the CO2 diffusor, so I shut
> off the needle valve.  Now I have a few dead fish (from suffocation), an
> airstone running (to diffuse the excess CO2), and a valuable lesson:  be
> darned careful when fooling with something potentially dangerous to your
> fish.  Don't just walk off and forget about it, even unintentionally.
>
> A word to the wise....