Ista CO2 equipment for small tanks...

[teija]

Has anyone ever tried this new Ista range of CO2 supplies? I was just looking at what's new at Pets & Ponds and came across it. I'm wondering if something like this would be a cheaper solution for my under-5 gallon tanks:

Ista CO2 Diffuser Set - Pets & Ponds

Not sure how good or reliable it would be...but for $12 I might give it a go. Has anyone else tried these yet?

[Acipenser]

I would go with a home made yeast set up over this one, how long does that canister last and how much do refills cost ?

[gklaw]

Won't do it. In the long run a real cylinder is much much cheaper. Good resale value as well. I but used ones, sell them when I don't need them. You hard lose any money that way - except when someone sell you a crappy regulator

[stonedaquarium]

if you are just running a small tank... 20 gal max... and want the benefits of a pressurized system... a paintball co2 setup with a nicely made regulator does the trick for me... 5 bucks to refill and each refill lasts up to 2 to 3 months. 2 months for sure... and thats leaving it on 24/7 in my 20 gal.

[verkion]

Most people would suggest you do not leave it on 24x7. It should go on roughly 30mins to an hour before your lights go on and should be shutoff 30 mins to an hour before the lights go off. Most of the places that do refills have really cheap tanks for sale too.

Thanks!
verkion

[teija]

Maybe on a 20 gallon that would be workable, but I am weary of a "big" setup on a tank that's 2 gallons... And I certainly wouldn't trust DIY CO2 (I tried doing that for awhile when I had my 25 gallon and it was a complete PITA with fluctuating levels and half the time didn't even work).

[verkion]

There are ways to get DIY CO2 working well and stably. I had a dual 2.5L setup with shut-off valves per bottle so that I could change each one out every two weeks. I was able to sustain a 3-4 bubble per second count doing that driving glass ceramic disc diffusers...the ones people kept insisting wouldn't work. I used a super saturated sugar solution, i.e. as much sugar as I could dissolve in the least amount of water, and 1.5Tsp or yeast. I'd run the two bottles through a 3rd bottle that had a mild H2O2 solution in it as a "trap" to prevent any possibility of yeast spores getting into my tank. This was for my old 27G tank...never had ANY problems growing any of the "high-tech tank required" plants.

I think I posted it in the DIY section long ago...might be gone now since I think I posted it from before the great forum crash.

Thanks!
verkion

[neven]

im still partial to jello diy co2 if i put a tank on diy. the only issue i find with jello co2 is that you don't get in a routine of replenishing it since it lasts so long