Pressure guages?

[damien]

I've been using my 1.5kg co2 cylinder with manual regulator w/o the pressure gauges(passover from a colleage) and glass bell diffuser for my new 2 mths old 2ft setup. The co2 output is only by estimation. I check the ph occasionally and kh after water changes. The riccia are doing very well with fishes except the 'moss' plant(can't identify by the lady in Keong seong).
My main question is, are pressure gauges really necessary cos when the 2nd fillup of co2 at Bioplast, the man said it is dangerous not to have gauges w/o elaborating further.
Can some expert here enlighten me about the dangers cos I'm ignorant about the pressure readings.
Also noted that after fillup, the cylinder is heavier than the 1st time done at Aquamart. Just wondering why?
Hopefully this time can last longer.
Thanks in advance.

[spilopterus]

Aquamart fills up with liquid CO2, so you'll feel it heavier. More compact in small space mah.

Anyway, the metal tanks can withstand gas pressure really well. It can look a little threatening at first, but you get used to it.

[juggler]

Moved discussion to Equipment forum.

[Simon]

i think david will be in a better position to tell u the dangers of over pressure.. [] he even have the scars to see u.. if u look closely at the cylinder without the regulator, where the screw tread is, u see a octagon knob at the side, thats a safetly valve, when over pump.. that device is supposed to release the gas.. but in david's cases it didnt and the CO2 leaked thru the side and on his hand... handling of the cylinder is imprt too.. try dun to put in the boot of the car... very dangerous.. i think someone from plantnutx did that and the CO2 released caused the whole car filled with white cloud of gas inside the car.. i think it happen somewhere in the CTE tunnel

[joestoys]

sound very serious..... dun play play...it is better to get a reliable refiller.... which is the best???? boon keng one??? or the one at AMK???

[Simon]

IMO, it depends on the size of the cylinder, bigger tanks I supposed can withstand more pressure than smaller ones.. to be safe try SOXAL or other industrial gas co.

[David]

see simon....always like that one[] unfortunately have to agree....got badly burnt because of the incident....damien pressure gauges are important the one i would recommend is the two gauge ones one for the main tank pressure while the other is the needle valve pressure. a good regulator will 'automatically' shut off the needle valve when it exceeds 1000psi(i think). CO2 tanks should not be pressurized beyond the 1000 mark. and should be inspected once every year if possible.

The main valve is gives very inconsistant air pressure when trying to fine tune to release bubble counts....the regulator on the other hand is for fine tuning. To go further get one with a solenoid this will help you turn on and off via timer, and finally the ultimate equipment the PH controller.