# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Co2 Bubble Counter Fluid



## Marcus Desaul (Feb 3, 2004)

Alright...what are you guys using in your bubble counter? JBJ didn't provide squat on info as to what to put in it and nor did it come on the package of the actual bubble counter.

I've read deionized water...but ...where do I get that?

First time with a Co2 Unit. Having a bit of fun setting it up.


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## Marcus Desaul (Feb 3, 2004)

Alright...what are you guys using in your bubble counter? JBJ didn't provide squat on info as to what to put in it and nor did it come on the package of the actual bubble counter.

I've read deionized water...but ...where do I get that?

First time with a Co2 Unit. Having a bit of fun setting it up.


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

i just use tap water. That way if it does happen to inject itself into the aquarium there's no problem.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Tap water is fine. If you want to use deionized water then you should be able to get it from the bottled water section of a grocery store.

Water evaporates into the CO2 bubbles little by little. Because of that the bubble counter needs to be topped up now and then.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

I usually use distilled water, unless it's all been used in the iron, then I use tap water. Water is a nuisance, because it evaporates. I've read that glycerin makes a non-evaporating fluid. I've never tried it.


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## Steve Hampton (Feb 13, 2004)

I use Glycerin USP at a 50/50 mix with tap water.

___________________
Steve Hampton

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us." 
-Oliver Wendell Holmes


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## imported_chris (Feb 24, 2003)

i use tapwater some people use aquarium water not that crucial really.chris


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Steve Hampton:
> I use Glycerin USP at a 50/50 mix with tap water.


Why do you mix it with water, and doesn't the water evaporate out of the solution, leaving you with 100% glycerin?


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

Then the glycerin fixes the nitrogen and becomes explosive. ha ha ha thump. ow. stop hitting me..


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

Fortunately, we have carbonic acid, not nitric acid!


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## Steve Hampton (Feb 13, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by gsmollin:
> 
> ...


To reduce the viscosity, at 100% glycerin the fluid is too thick. I suppose eventually the water will evaporate but it's changed very little in the past six months.

___________________
Steve Hampton

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us." 
-Oliver Wendell Holmes


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

I thought there were more suggestions on the APD so you might want to look around but,



> quote:
> 
> I use plain-old mineral oil which is, I suspect, the same thing these fluids are.


*Journal Database*


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

Mineral oil certainly won't evaporate, quickly, at these temperatures. However, I have always been concerned about using a toxic fluid in the bubble counter. If the oil got into the water, it would float on the surface, it would be an oil spill, after all.

Toxicity of glycerin is another question altogether. It certainly isn't toxic to humans, in the concentrations we're looking at, if iy leaked into the water. I don't know about fish, but I'm guessing it's minimal.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Where does one get glycerin?


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

From just about any drug store or grocery store.










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