# 10LB pressurized tank only last 3 weeks



## wlee618 (Dec 15, 2011)

hi~
i have recently decided to spend money and get the right setup for my plant tank and got myself a 10lb and the whole setup. i had it on about 1-2 bubble per second count. but the tank only lasted for about 3 weeks.. i checked the everywhere for leakage, but none found.. where else could be the problem?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I had the same thing happen. I also couldn't find a leak, but it definitely was leaking. The shop adds 10 pounds of CO2 in the tank which they measure by weight so it is in there when it comes out the refill shop. What regulator do you have and how is it set up? Have you tried soaping the entire regulator and top of CO2 tank? A 10 # should last over a year.


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## wlee618 (Dec 15, 2011)

I am using a aqua-tek regulator. That's what I suspect of happening(leaking) but when I used the soap water, nothing happened. Can I use some soapy spray water on the regulator?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Yes, soapy water spray is usually how they find it at the welding supply shop where they do the refills. Just spray it all over the regulator. It must be a pretty large leak though to drain the tank in a few weeks.


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## DerekFF (Nov 21, 2011)

+1 it's leaking big time, try the soapy wated

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## wlee618 (Dec 15, 2011)

the only thing i have done lately was changing out the tubing and put a check valve. and seems like it has been working. the only thing i think different is there were no check valve and the bubble counter, i noticed the water 'reduced'. could it somewhat convered/reduced the CO2? weird~~


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## singolz (Oct 27, 2011)

my 10# lasts me a week at best. I finally found the leak at the gauge. I'll let you know what happens when I take my regulator in Monday. I'm using an aquatic life regulator


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## jackgood (Feb 9, 2007)

You could try filling up the bathtub and dropping the whole thing in.  I'm sure you'd find the leak that way.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

That is what I do now except I dunk the top half in my fish tank. Its probably not good for the regulator though since it gets wet inside the gauges...



jackgood said:


> You could try filling up the bathtub and dropping the whole thing in.  I'm sure you'd find the leak that way.


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## wlee618 (Dec 15, 2011)

wlee618 said:


> the only thing i have done lately was changing out the tubing and put a check valve. and seems like it has been working. the only thing i think different is there were no check valve and the bubble counter, i noticed the water 'reduced'. could it somewhat convered/reduced the CO2? weird~~


believe it or not, ever since i installed the check valve and remaining of whatever left in the tank, i still got co2s out of it..


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## lilobee (Mar 28, 2012)

jackgood said:


> You could try filling up the bathtub and dropping the whole thing in.  I'm sure you'd find the leak that way.


I like! :roll:


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## Tot3nkampf (May 10, 2012)

dunking a quality regulator wont hurt it, even if the indicators get water in them. they are typically designed to hold fluids in case you need to fill them with glycerin. if you are bleeding off that much gas and still only seeing a couple bps downstream then you can be sure that the leak is on the high pressure side of things. the most common errors that i see are (1) stacking multiple teflon seals in between the CGA fitting and the cylinder valve output and (2) putting teflon tape around the treads of the cylinder outlet where the CGA connects. you need one gasket here, the two flange faces should be free of debris and have no nicks and since it seals at the disk you are actually causeing a leak by taping the straight threaded connector. sometimes if u have a bad enough leak it will blow the soap off so quickly that it wont bubble. generally speaking, buy a quality regulator set up and save yourself some grief


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