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CO₂

CO2 check valve

co2

Used for: Planted tanks, CO2 injection

Description

A CO2 check valve is a one-way valve on the gas line that stops tank water running back toward the regulator. A low-cost laboratory CO2 system published in HardwareX in 2021, built for acidification experiments, shows where it goes: connect another length of tubing to the solenoid output and deliver to the aquaria, and to the end of the tubing, add a check valve above the water line to prevent back-flow. Sellers of CO2 check valves say what the water would reach. One stainless listing says its valve can prevent the aquarium from water flowing back and keep the function and service life of the carbon dioxide bottle. Ultum Nature Systems describes its aluminum valve as designed for aquarium CO2 systems to stop water from flowing back into CO2 regulators or pressurized gas equipment. It is a separate row from the ordinary check valve because the sellers draw the line themselves. The most-rated aquarium check valve in our search is plastic and marked for oxygen pumps only, NOT suitable for CO2 or other high-pressure systems to avoid crack and leak. The stainless listing makes the same split from the other side: suitable for CO2 with pressurized system, not for air pumps. Fit is by tubing. Ultum's valve is compatible with standard 6 mm (3/16 inch, 4.7 mm) CO2 tubing, with threaded metal compression fittings, and the stainless one is about 4cm long. No source here says how often a check valve should be replaced or tested, so this page does not.

Sources

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