Re: [APD] paintball CO2 for a mini tank

[Derek Parr <derekparr at earthlink_net>]

Berne Kairunas wrote:
> My big concern about using paintball cylanders for plant tank 
> injection is they use a light machine oil in that co2 mix to keep 
> your 'marker' (gun if you will) lubed during operation.  I would worry 
> about this oil being passed onto the aquarium and causing us all kinds 
> of grief.  
>
> Im not trying to say that it cant be done - i'm sure a quality bubble 
> counter would filter this small ammount of oil outa the system.
>
> i dont have any hard data to back this up, Just my $0.02 USD.


interesting point.
But, I've been using this for 6 months now and have not noticed any 
petroleum film or anything... nor any unexpected fish kills.  Plants 
grow well..
But here is a theory on why this may not be a problem for my tank. 
First of all is the fact that the tank takes about 5 months to empty. 
Also, I presume that perhaps the plantlife and/or bacterial life breaks 
down what little oil is there?  It wouldn't have to do much..  not over 
that long of a time and on so little oil that it can't be seen.

Does that make since?

As for the bubble counter...   This project had 2 goals for me.  One is 
the price ($60-$70).  Much less than a larger system.  And the fact it 
was/is the perfect size for my 5 gallon.  Adding extra gear increases 
the over all size of the system much more than it would if you were 
adding the same gear to a larger 5lb or bigger system.  I don't want it 
to dwarf the tank.

thanks again for the input.  Certainly worth adding it to the article.
-derek



   ............................................................
   derek parr                          http://www.derekparr.com
   101-B eastwood lake road                artist at derekparr_com
   chapel hill, NC  27514                          919.444.9003
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