speakerguy

I plan on having a 50 gallon planted tank with pressurized CO2 in my bedroom. Do they add any odor to CO2 or do they make CO2 gas detectors for the home? I would prefer not to die or anything in my sleep Thanks!

Tex Gal

You'd have to have the CO2 replace the air in your room to die. With a leak that large you'd hear it. I think you'll be fine. With a 50 gal the biggest tank I'd get it a 10lb tank.

ed seeley

There's no hazard at all in having CO2 in a room. Typical atmospheric levels are about 385ppm. You're injecting maybe up to 30ppm into the tank so that's barely going to raise the normal levels. Even if your entire tank dumped into the room in one go the safe long term exposure levels are 5,000ppm (0.5%) and the level for short term harm is above 4%. These are taken from the COSHH (Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health) website over here and the NIOSH (US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health).

The biggest danger IMHO is it falling over, smashing the regulator off and the cylinder becoming a rocket which can go through walls and all you have to do to avoid this (and it takes a LOT of force to snap off the regulator as I've knocked a tank over a couple of times before) is to secure the cylinder so it can't fall over.

jeff5614

Maybe a dropchecker by your bed?

Lionsfan

It is a CO concentration you are worried about (and what is detected) and not CO2.
Hope this helps,
Scott

bigstick120

I think a lot of folks assume or mix up carbon monoxide with carbon dioxide.

CO highly toxic

CO2 not so much, you breath out CO2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide

speakerguy

Former biochem student guys, so I know the difference between CO and CO2 One results from the complete combustion of a hydrocarbon, and the other from the incomplete combustion of one

I just ran through the math and an entire 10lb tank dump into a sealed volume of my room at STP is only about 6% of the room volume. Seems really low to me, I'll have to check my math. CO2 can kill though, and it leaves a nice pink corpse like CO (although it takes much higher concentrations as mentioned).

ray-the-pilot

At 6% CO2 in your room you would be dead! Take my word for it. In a former life I managed a laboratory animal facility and the standard way to humanely euthanize an animal was with CO2. At low concentrations the animals fell asleep and died.

If your room is well ventilated you will not have a problem; so, sleep with one window opened a crack if your worried about it.

chagovatoloco

Sleep with one of these just to be safe , sweet dreams

Indignation

Get a rabbit. If the rabbit starts to freak out, time to open a window and run a fan. Animals that live underground are excellent low-O2 detectors.