Joined
·
59 Posts
Since this is stickied, but not closed, I presume posting to it is not frowned upon.
I've recently started to "upgrade" the DIY system on my 29 gal tank with new caps for the bottles based on those bulkhead fittings mentioned in the reference in the first post of the thread. I had started with just a friction fit (making the holes in the caps slightly smaller than the tubing and forcing it through so it's tight. Then I'd just built up a small mountain of silicone sealant around the tubing to try and get it CO2 tight. Result was, in the end, some bubbling coming out of the diffuser. I still think I may have been losing a lot of CO2 because two 2 liter bottles _should_, IIUC, get the Red Sea drop checker into the "green" range (or past it for that matter). But still blue and still, when I do tests using KH and pH of the aquarium water I get CO2 numbers in the 1-5 ppm range.
So I just made a new set of caps using the bulkhead fittings. "Makes an airtight mechanical seal" the DIY reference said. Put the caps on the bottles. Slid the tubing onto the barbs and--leaks like a sieve.
Now what?
I've recently started to "upgrade" the DIY system on my 29 gal tank with new caps for the bottles based on those bulkhead fittings mentioned in the reference in the first post of the thread. I had started with just a friction fit (making the holes in the caps slightly smaller than the tubing and forcing it through so it's tight. Then I'd just built up a small mountain of silicone sealant around the tubing to try and get it CO2 tight. Result was, in the end, some bubbling coming out of the diffuser. I still think I may have been losing a lot of CO2 because two 2 liter bottles _should_, IIUC, get the Red Sea drop checker into the "green" range (or past it for that matter). But still blue and still, when I do tests using KH and pH of the aquarium water I get CO2 numbers in the 1-5 ppm range.
So I just made a new set of caps using the bulkhead fittings. "Makes an airtight mechanical seal" the DIY reference said. Put the caps on the bottles. Slid the tubing onto the barbs and--leaks like a sieve.
Now what?
