# 20 lb CO2 tank



## Slaz (Sep 8, 2014)

I just started to use an old 20 lb CO2 tank that I had laying around. ( used it for a pop dispensing machine I had). Had it refilled middle of October and began using it immediately on a 45 gal bow front. Had the bubble count set at 2 per second. The tank ran out in 2 months. I was expecting a longer lifespan for a 20 lb tank. Checking to see what lifespan can be expected from a 20 lb tank.


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## Riza1990 (Aug 2, 2016)

Slaz said:


> I just started to use an old 20 lb CO2 tank that I had laying around. ( used it for a pop dispensing machine I had). Had it refilled middle of October and began using it immediately on a 45 gal bow front. Had the bubble count set at 2 per second. The tank ran out in 2 months. I was expecting a longer lifespan for a 20 lb tank. Checking to see what lifespan can be expected from a 20 lb tank.


Seems like it should have lasted much longer, have you done a full leak check on your regulator? 

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## Slaz (Sep 8, 2014)

No, I didn't. Will be refilling the tank in the next few days. Will definitely check the conections. Will also check with the Liquid Air place to see if maybe the tank wasn't full. An interesting observation, is that the pressure gauge on my controller goes up to 3000 PSI. From zero to 500 PSI is a red warning label that states one should get the tank refilled. Well, when I hooked up the newly filled tank; the needle didn't make it past the 500 PSI mark.


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## Riza1990 (Aug 2, 2016)

That would definitely indicate an issue. Could be a number of things, including a leak in the high pressure gauge. What regulator is it? Also since you said it was a bit old, did they pressure test your tank before they filled it? 

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## Slaz (Sep 8, 2014)

Cheap Chinese gauge! Didn't test the tank; they replaced my old tank with one of there's that was supposedly full! That's how they work. Bring in a empty and they give you a full one.


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## Riza1990 (Aug 2, 2016)

Gotcha, the problem is definitely with your regulator then. If you can't find/fix the leak I strongly recommend looking for a nice dual-stage regulator. They can be pricey, but are worth it. You can build one yourself if you want to save some money - there are tons of resources out there on regulator builds, leak testing, all that. Just a quick Google search away! (I'm not sure I'm allowed to link to outside forums, otherwise I would post some links to get you started.)

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## Slaz (Sep 8, 2014)

Riza1990 said:


> Gotcha, the problem is definitely with your regulator then. If you can't find/fix the leak I strongly recommend looking for a nice dual-stage regulator. They can be pricey, but are worth it. You can build one yourself if you want to save some money - there are tons of resources out there on regulator builds, leak testing, all that. Just a quick Google search away! (I'm not sure I'm allowed to link to outside forums, otherwise I would post some links to get you started.)
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


Thanks


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## Slaz (Sep 8, 2014)

An update. Like I mentioned I have one of those cheap Asian regulators. Very hard to adjust the bubble count. For my 45 gal, I would like about 2 bubbles per sec. Well; I couldn't even get close to that. Just barely opening the tank valve and barely opening the regulator; I would get probably 4 or 5 bubbles per second. I tried to turn it down yesterday; and thought I did. This morning when I went to do a water change, all my fish were dead. 23 in total. I will continue running the tank and try a few things with new plants. Won't be stocking it till the warmer weather arrives as I have to utilize mail order for fish as there are no decent pet stores within 500 miles.


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