CO2 Regulator, diffusor, and CO2 indicator

[peteypob]

Hi all,

I just purchased a JBJ CO2 regulator, dupla CO2 indicator & diffuser, hoping to put together my first CO2 system. The indicator lets me know by the color gel inside on how the CO2 is in the aquarium (GREEN=Optimal amount, YELLOW=too much and BLUE=too little). There will be NO fish in the aquarium for at least two weeks while I figure this out. With the CO2 regulator do i adjust untill I get the sweet spot or is there a level to start off with and then adjust from there? I need help to get this started and would appriciate evrything I can get!

[Wahter]

Did you get a bubble counter and a needle valve as well? Although a bubble counter won't indicate the rate of CO2 diffusion, it does let you see a flow rate. I usually have my regulators set to around 20psi, then use a needle valve to tweak the flow into the bubble counter which goes into the sintered glass (Eheim) diffusor.

[peteypob]

Yes the regulator & dupla diffusor have a bubble counter and two needle valves included. With the 20psi, is that a 55gal starting point or should it be higher or lower ???
Thanks for the help!

Pete

[Wahter]

I'd probably start out around 15-20 psi; then adjust the needle valve until you get 1-2 bubbles of CO2 running through the bubble counter per second. Again, that works for me, but I'm using the Eheim diffusor, so it may be more or less efficient.