Reef nutrition

Rich's home tank

JVU said:
Sort of a joke but sort of not- and what I said is true. Maybe you misunderstood.

The way those tanks are named is how much liquid CO2 they hold. A “20 lbs tank” holds about 20 lbs of CO2 when full, plus the weight of the tank itself. The stamped TW (or tare weight) on the tank is the weight of the tank empty. Sometimes they will also write on the weight of the CO2 it is tested to be able to hold, but it will be approximately the rated amount.
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Ah, I did misread. I missed the "of the CO2" my mistake.
 
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RandyC said:
You can use an ASM module (the one that ships with the par module) if you want to experiment. That what people have used to get CO2 monitoring in Apex Fusion.
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Ahh, cool. Never even looked into that module.

Also didn’t think of a pressure switch. That would be the easiest by far as most of those are open/closed and an easy input to the apex. Less accurate, but 1/10th the cost.
 
Thales said:
Thanks. Looks like a 20# co2 tank, full, weighs 40 pounds.
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One my guys texted me back. Look for what is called a count scale, preferably an older one off eBay. These are typically used to measure something by weight and will have an open/closed relay (dry contact) to start another action. Imagine weighing screws to a certain weight then starting a bag machine. Since you are using it in reverse, some of the newer ones will give you trouble as the microprocessor could get confused and re-Tare on you so call the manf. They are designed to run 24/7 as opposed to some random engineers scale with a digital output.
 
phatduckk said:
Put it in a bucket with an LLS ;)

I’m 99.36% joking but it would work. You’d need an ATO and I assume it’ll rust too
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What Mark said, right? Practicality aside, wouldn’t the ATO defeat the purpose of water level going down as tank empties?

Maybe use a liquid that doesn’t rust aluminum and doesn’t evaporate? Might not work with the Apex liquid level sensor but would work with a float switch.
 
Would a tank even float? I mean you can't submerge the whole thing, don't want to mess up that expensive regulator, so the buoyancy would be equal to the volume of water displaced which is extrapolating from some online numbers (a bit hard since all of them give a height including the valve stem assembly) it seems if fully submerged it could float but just barely... so would it float?
 
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sfsuphysics said:
Would a tank even float? I mean you can't submerge the whole thing, don't want to mess up that expensive regulator, so the buoyancy would be equal to the volume of water displaced which is extrapolating from some online numbers (a bit hard since all of them give a height including the valve stem assembly) it seems if fully submerged it could float but just barely... so would it float?
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I was thinking it would need a styrofoam raft or something like that.
 
jonmos75 said:
Only if your pH in the reactor rises and falls at a consistent time rate so that you can set an alarm if no CO2 to is entering the reactor dropping the pH in the reactor.
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Why not say if the pH is high in the reactor for 1 day straight. If ph>7.5 for 24h then alarm (this is assuming your reactor is set that it has to turn on every day)? I don't know the coding by heart obviously. I run a CaRx with out a pH probe, so I can't do this myself. But I think it would work.
 
iani said:
Why not say if the pH is high in the reactor for 1 day straight. If ph>7.5 for 24h then alarm (this is assuming your reactor is set that it has to turn on every day)? I don't know the coding by heart obviously. I run a CaRx with out a pH probe, so I can't do this myself. But I think it would work.
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A day isn't enough time. I want to know a week out. The pressure switch and the pH alarm are fine, but will only give an alert a day or two before the tank is bone dry.
Looking like a scale is the way most folks go, without automation.
I like the floating idea, but I don't like the extra work that entails, espically because my tank is ina crawlspace so getting it in and out of a bath might be a PITA.
I might just pick up an inexpensive scale and see how it goes.
 
A hanging luggage scale wired into the apex would be the way to go. That’s how most smaller canisters are filled by taring the empty bottles weight and the filling to the poundage the bottle can hold.
 
DaddyHook said:
A hanging luggage scale wired into the apex would be the way to go. That’s how most smaller canisters are filled by taring the empty bottles weight and the filling to the poundage the bottle can hold.
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Would a scales mechanism be worn out with it being loaded 24/7?
 
Thales said:
A day isn't enough time. I want to know a week out. The pressure switch and the pH alarm are fine, but will only give an alert a day or two before the tank is bone dry.
Looking like a scale is the way most folks go, without automation.
I like the floating idea, but I don't like the extra work that entails, espically because my tank is ina crawlspace so getting it in and out of a bath might be a PITA.
I might just pick up an inexpensive scale and see how it goes.
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Makes sense then, I keep checking my tank as it has been going for over a year now. Just waiting for it to run out.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Would a tank even float? I mean you can't submerge the whole thing, don't want to mess up that expensive regulator, so the buoyancy would be equal to the volume of water displaced which is extrapolating from some online numbers (a bit hard since all of them give a height including the valve stem assembly) it seems if fully submerged it could float but just barely... so would it float?
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Should float really well when almost empty. The tank walls are not that thick.
Might sink when full.

You cannot put it in the ATO with the float sensor idea. It must be a fixed amount of liquid. Even evaporation throws it off a bit.
Does not really have to be water though.
 
They make scales that you put under propane tanks to estimate their level. I think they are normally battery operated and Bluetooth, both of which might be issues. I wonder if you could adapt something like that.
 
Nothing says you need to monitor the tank 24-7 either. Going on vacation, when you make sure your ATO is topped off take a peek at the CO2 weight, and if really close to empty canister weight then swap it out.
 
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