Milwaukee CO2 Regulator

[Coyne]

Ive got a Milwaukee CO2 Regulator (Model MA957) that has a built in bubble counter. Im thinking of removing the bubble counter and attaching a 2-way manifold so that I can inject CO2 into opposite ends of my tank.

Does anybody know how removable the bubble counter is? It looks like it would just unscrew from the solenoid, but I thought I'd try and get a second opinion before I do something that might end with me shelling out for a new regulator.

 

[Niks76]

Could you add a splitter after the bubble counter with inline valves to control flow to each side?

 

[jetajockey]

I had to remove mine completely on my aquatek. If you are pumping into one tank, though, why not just put a powerhead near your diffuser to spread the co2 throughout the tank?

 

[Coyne]

Im trying to reduce the amount of equipment that Im putting in this tank, so the addition of a powerhead is not ideal. In fact, Im going to be using two inline diffusers, each connected to their own canister filters. I intend on having the outflows in the middle of the tank, but directing the water in opposite directions. The aquarium is 3' long, so my thinking is this will aid in providing better overall circulation than I would get if I just had everything at one end. Divide and conquer, if you will.

The folks at Milwaukee Co. got back to me and said that the bubble counter is removable, so now I just need to make sure the manifold that I get will fit. Im assuming that the port sizes are pretty universal, but Im going to do some double checking on that before I buy anything.

 

[jetajockey]

To be honest that just sounds like overkill. If you have 2 filters on there you have plenty of flow already, so the co2 is getting dispersed throughout the tank via one diffuser just fine. That method of diffusion is extremely effective as well.

You could add a manifold and run dual lines, but I don't think you'll get much, if any, of a noticeable benefit from it.

I think that the thread sizes on these regulators is universal, the aquatek 6-way went onto my aquatek regulator on the same nipple that the bubble counter was attached to. I just unscrewed the plastic part of the counter and screwed the manifold on.

 

[Coyne]

Im ok with overkill.

 

[jetajockey]

Im ok with overkill.

Well yeah, I like overfiltering myself, but the question is what purpose does it intend to serve? What benefit do you think you'll get out of adding another line?

 

[Coyne]

Turns out that Milwaukee's threading is custom. So modifying their regulator might not be possible without it getting way more complicated than Im willing.

As far as what Im trying to accomplish...
The tank is a 45 gallon, so 3' long and 2' tall, but only 1' front to back. Its kind of an odd size. In the past Ive had trouble dialing in the right amount of circulation/flow. Either I have too much or not enough.

Since Ive torn it down and am rebuilding it, I thought I'd take my time and see what I could do to tackle that (and some other) issues. So, what Ive done is purchased two canister filters that individually aren't enough, but together do a great job without creating too strong of a current that will overwhelm the small fish Im planning on stocking (ember tetras and pygmy cories) or blowing around some of the taller plants.
As I mentioned, Im trying to minimize the amount of equipment that will be inside the tank, so Ive decided to use inline diffusers instead of the traditional variety. I figured if I could do the double injection, then I could get better CO2 distribution. This might seem like overkill, but in my planted 20 long there is a difference in CO2 from one end of the tank to the other and it shows with some of the plants that are in there. I'd like to minimize/eliminate that when I get my 45gal back up and running. Especially since Im hoping to get some good growth out of the DHG and DBT that will be going in there.