co2 tank

[MERTZ18]

has anyone ever used a paintball co2 cylinder for your co2 system. did it ever give you any problems? how long did it last?
thanks for the info

mike

 

[ade]

What size co2 cylinder are you thinking of using. My 5lb bottle lasts around 18 months.

 

[pprmntshrmps]

OK, this is something I haven't encountered before. What is the purpose of a CO2 system on a reef tank?

 

[ade]

Calcium reactor.

 

[manderx]

last time i checked, a fancy wine/beer store here in bburg called vintage cellar had by far the best prices on regular co2 cylinders. They are in the shopping center a block from my place, next to kroger.

 

[MERTZ18]

i got my last co2 cylinder from vintage cellar about 2 years ago and it's still running strong. that one is on the 210g. this one will be on my 50g in the wall tank with 30g sump. dont really have to much room so i was thinking of using a 20oz paintball cylinder. they cost about 6 dollars to trade out. i just don't know how long a 20oz bottle will last.

 

[Saboral]

Well 16oz to a pound. 20/16=1.25# vs. 5# (the kegerator tanks at the cellar) 1.25/5=.25 or 25%. So all things in the reactor being equal you would use the paintball cylinder in roughly a quarter of the time. Now you'll have to factor in a smaller reactor (less CO2 used). Also I can tell you as a paintball player that the CO2 in the majority of paintball cylinders in not the pure quality found in beverage bottles. Most of the paintball bottles are filled with industrial CO2 which was lower restraints on the particulate in it.

 

[pprmntshrmps]

Now see in my paintball experiance I have found just the opposite. The CO2 we always used was a higher grade than we could get if we say filled up from a soda fountain cylinder. We tried it once and it was not good.

 

[chvynva916]

People definitely use them. In fact, Red Sea sells a paintball canister and matching regulator for use with a small calcium reactor.

Related question: I inadvertantly purchased a regulator (JBJ) with a CGA 320 standard valve while my paintball CO2 canister has a CGA 320 pin valve. I've heard of cheap devices to mate the two. Has anyone else heard of these? Would this be safe? Advisable?