Food-Grade CO2 vs Welding shop CO2 (1 Viewer)

[Reefahholic]

I know we went here before awhile back, but I can’t remember what we said.

The reason why I ask is because I want to know if it really makes a difference? I have only ran food grade. Anybody heard any stories?

Those of you who have ran regular…did you notice anything different?

Anybody ran both and care to comment? I have a place about 2 minutes up the road that has both CO2 and Propane refills. I think the CO2 is just regular. Might try it out.

My other place is about 15 miles each way. Let me know.

 

[Cody]

I use the stuff from the welding shop. Never had an issue.

 

[Reefahholic]

I use the stuff from the welding shop. Never had an issue.

I might try it if I don’t hear any negative’s

 

[Cody]

I might try it if I don’t hear any negative’s

@Ostentum came by a couple weeks ago one night to pick up an emergency bottle from me because his ran out. Come to find out, we get ours in Conroe from the same place. Speakng of which, I had him fill up a spare of mine. I should probably get that back from him soon....haha

 

[Reefahholic]

@Ostentum came by a couple weeks ago one night to pick up an emergency bottle from me because his ran out. Come to find out, we get ours in Conroe from the same place. Speakng of which, I had him fill up a spare of mine. I should probably get that back from him soon....haha

That’s good to know so no issues from either of you.

 

[Cody]

That’s good to know so no issues from either of you.

Yeah you should be good to go. @reeftopia gets his from the welding shop too and it's never been an issue.

 

[Stickboy97]

I get mine from Conroe welding, never heard of food grade. CO2 is CO2 right? I see beer guys in there all the time getting CO2.

 

[Reefahholic]

I get mine from Conroe welding, never heard of food grade. CO2 is CO2 right? I see beer guys in there all the time getting CO2.

I just can’t think of a reason that a gas would be harmful, but you never know.

 

[BigRick]

It's the impurities that make their way in.... not enough to justify anything.

 

[Ostentum]

@Ostentum came by a couple weeks ago one night to pick up an emergency bottle from me because his ran out. Come to find out, we get ours in Conroe from the same place. Speakng of which, I had him fill up a spare of mine. I should probably get that back from him soon....haha

I will be back sunday evening lol.

 

[Ostentum]

I just can’t think of a reason that a gas would be harmful, but you never know.

I have used welding CO2 for damn near 15 years. I have never noticed anything. Both types are only like 99.98% purity.

 

[Reefahholic]

I have used welding CO2 for damn near 15 years. I have never noticed anything. Both types are only like 99.98% purity.

Nice!

 

[foos]

CO2 is made with combustion gas so it can have all kinds of impurities from that, and the oil in the compressor. Places that carry it usually have multiple grades and home brewers will ask for beverage grade if they are picky as lower grades can have stuff in it that can cause a headache.

Really though, unless you are adding way, way, way too much of it, the impurities will likely never be an issue in a calcium reactor. Like, If you add it fast enough to suck out the oil in the container you have other issues. Sure, there may be benzine in it as well, but to add enough to cause issues would probably melt the rocks in your tank before the benzine was an issue.

 

[Reefahholic]

CO2 is made with combustion gas so it can have all kinds of impurities from that, and the oil in the compressor. Places that carry it usually have multiple grades and home brewers will ask for beverage grade if they are picky as lower grades can have stuff in it that can cause a headache.

Really though, unless you are adding way, way, way too much of it, the impurities will likely never be an issue in a calcium reactor. Like, If you add it fast enough to suck out the oil in the container you have other issues. Sure, there may be benzine in it as well, but to add enough to cause issues would probably melt the rocks in your tank before the benzine was an issue.

If my fish float to the surface, I’ll know to go back with food grade.

 

[PorpoiseHork]

I believe the only real difference between "food grade"and the CO2 you get from welding suppliers is the use of ultra fine in-line filters to remove particulate when the bottles are charged.

I see beer guys in there all the time getting CO2.

Sadly, if they did the secondary fermentation/bottling correctly they wouldn't need to buy CO2 to get the bubbles in the brew...

 

[Reefahholic]

I did a little research on CO2:

Medical-grade CO2 has 99.99% purity rating. Both beverage and food grade CO2 have a 99.95% purity rating. Industrial-grade CO2 has a 99.90% purity rating. Food grade CO2 is in fact beverage grade CO2.

The slight difference between industrial-grade CO2 and food-grade CO2 is the type of tests that are performed to qualify CO2 as beverage or beer gas-grade compared to industrial-grade. Currently, the FDA's requirement for food-grade CO2 is a 99.90% purity rating. The other .09% is made up of impurities such as hydrocarbons or nitrogen. Industrial-grade CO2 is 99% pure CO2, also containing impurities such as hydrocarbons or nitrogen. However, the nature of those impurities is extremely important. They go on to suggest that one impurity that all home-brewers should be aware of is Benzene. Benzene is a no-no for home-brewers. If the CO2 that you are purchasing has high benzene levels, it will leave you and your fellow drinkers with a terrible headache. When I say high levels, we’re not talking about much. Benzene is usually an impurity that is referred to in PPB. The benzene level should be around 20 PPB.

 

[sneezebeetle]

Hubby (who does FW planted) and myself (when I was running a CARx) both use CO2 from a weld shop. Its just easier for us because he also does alot of welding for his rebuild. We keep one of those 5ft bottles in the garage and just fill up the smaller bottles as needed. We've never had an issue.

 

[Reefahholic]

Hubby (who does FW planted) and myself (when I was running a CARx) both use CO2 from a weld shop. Its just easier for us because he also does alot of welding for his rebuild. We keep one of those 5ft bottles in the garage and just fill up the smaller bottles as needed. We've never had an issue.

I haven’t heard of any issues either. Ever. I posted on FB and we were talking about Benzene being a potential issue with industrial-grade if water changes were never done. I’m trying to get the FW guys involved to discuss it further. Looking at some of the effects of Benzene is freaky. Of course it would need to be pretty elevated, but it does make you a little concerned about it and the effects on fish.


Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C₆H₆. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, benzene is classed as a hydrocarbon.

Exposure to benzene liquid or vapor can irritate the skin, eyes, and throat. Skin exposure to benzene can result in redness and blisters.

Benzene can enter your body through your lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and across your skin. When you are exposed to high levels of benzene in air, about half of the benzene you breathe in passes through the lining of your lungs and enters your bloodstream.

Benzene poisoning can be lethal because it causes the cells in the body to work incorrectly. Benzene exposure can cause bone marrow cells to not produce red blood cells or it can can cause the white blood cells of your immune system to fail.

 

[foos]

When you read about stuff like that you have to be careful about what amounts they refer to.

Potassium is radioactive and used in lethal injections, but if you have none in your body you would die.

That being said, activated carbon absorbs benzene. Run the discharge into a co2 reactor if you want some extra peace of mind.