CO2 Regulators (yes, another topic)

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threnjen

threnjen

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Messages
1,611
Location
Portland, OR
So first off, yes I did run a search on regulators, and read lots of threads! But I'm still confused/undecided :(

I'm having a very tough time convincing my hubby to go to CO2 because he's afraid of the fish getting gassed. It seems like a somewhat reasonable fear due to EOTD.

I'm looking into my various regulator options. I would really like a dual stage regulator, because then I can better convince him that the tank will be protected from EOTD. But obviously, these cost a lot. Google searches tell me that people used to buy all these cheap Victor dual stage regulators on eBay but obviously, that age is over. I've also noticed from my searches that GLA dual stage regulators are very well regarded but shew... pricey!! I am sure they are worth it but just out of my price range :(

So here are configurations I have considered.

1) Basic regulator (Milwaukee, Aquatek)
New Premium Aquatek CO2 Regulator with Integrated Cool Touch Solenoid | eBay
http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-Instruments-Solenoid-Regulator-Counter/dp/B001DTNWF2
For reasons already stated, I probably won't do this option alone. I just can't risk killing hundreds of dollars of stock due to one bad EOTD, when I could just spend another hundred dollars up front to prevent it.

2) Basic regulator + pH monitor/controller
A regulator from option one, plus the Milwaukee pH monitor: http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/milwaukee/monitor/mc122.htm
It's my understanding from other reading that the solenoid plugs directly into this pH monitor, and then if the pH drops below a preset point (such as from EOTD, or even normal daily function?) it will turn off the solenoid.
So an electrical solution to a potential mechanical problem. Plus, would the pH monitor basically run the whole system on autopilot? Turning the CO2 on and off as needed?

3) Entry GLA regulator
GLA Gro CO2 Regulator | Green Leaf Aquariums
This is just a single stage regulator so I'm not clear how it prevents EOTD, although it claims to.

4) Dual Stage regulator + other parts needed
I found this one: Uniweld RHT8013 Medium/Heavy Duty Two Stage CO2 Regulator with CGA320 Inlet - Power Brazing Accessories - Amazon.com
Or other eBay dual stage regulators, but I wouldn't even know what to buy. But with these I recognize I will need to add a solenoid, needle valve and bubble counter.

5) ??? Anything out there dual stage for $200ish?

Opinions? Advice? Anecdotal evidence?
Thanks in advance
 
Last edited:
I use the Aquatek premium you have listed.

I was terrified of gassing my fish but so far it's only happened once and that was 100% due to me changing from a glass diffuser to an inline reactor and not adjusting my bubble count to compensate for the added co2 dissolved into the water.

The only complaint I have about the Aquatek, and it seems like a very common issue, is that the needle valve is EXTREMELY sensitive. I'll go from 2 bps and turn the needle valve very lightly, to where I'm not even sure if I have turned it at all, and all of a sudden there will be so many bubbles that it's spraying the water from my bubble counter.

Once you learn to deal with the sensitivity though and get a good feel for how much to turn it and what bubble count you need, it remains constant. I've had mine set at its sweet spot and haven't had to adjust it in months. I feel like if you have your drop checker, you have your bubble counter, you monitor for the first couple of days and nights, you really shouldn't worry about gassing your fish.

That being said though, if I didn't just have to buy a new filter and hadn't just spent so much at BML I would be buying one of GLA's regulators. There's one woman on here, I think DeeLee or something was her name, and she had just replaced her Aquatek for GLA and was looking at getting a pH controller awhile back. I know Brookster and Fresh2O were both pretty active in her thread about it, if I can find it or they can point you her direction she may be worth speaking to about her experience with each of the options.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
 
Thank you! That was a really helpful response.

Right now I'm leaning toward the Aquatek + pH Controller (I know... I can't help but add the controller redundancy, because I'm paranoid, plus hubs and I both like the idea of having the system controlled by the pH monitor). While waiting for other opinions, now looking at various methods of diffusion/reaction/etc. I use a sump so I can't put anything on my intake line or it will all get gassed out in the sump, so need to put something on the return line back up to the tank. I've seen a lot of the DIY stuff although the Ista Mix Max Large shows being plumbed specifically to the return line and it's only 11-12 bucks so I might not even take the time/bother to DIY.

I'm also considering just using an inline atomizer like the GLA one... I know it's not as efficient though. But it would be easier to plumb in for sure.

After hitting whatever I use for CO2 injection, my return line also goes up through a Coralife Turbo Twist UV light, so if I plumb the CO2 in right in the sump closest to the return pump, the CO2 should be in contact with the water for quite a while!
 
Agree with Nigel, I have an Aquatek as well and that needle valve can be quite tricky to get the hang of. I would set it up on an off day that way you can monitor how much CO2 is coming out and of course the drop checker always helps. Make sure you replace the fluid every now and then and then drop checker because it does expire.

The Aquatek is quality for how much it costs. Amazon prime helps this out even more.

As well as Nigel I've only gassed my fish once and that was when I had first set it up and had no idea how to use it then went to work. That's why suggested setting it up on an off day.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS
 
I would also agree a good needle valve is really handy, even with a ph meter. In general I think a ph meter is seen as high tech overkill however I think for large tanks it can be useful so you know what is going on. I still have a co2 drop checker and while I like the ph meter, if I'm honest could now live without it as I have a good idea.

However I've found the ph meter tells me when I'm not injecting enough co2 so well worth it. For instance at 100bpmin I don't get ph below 7.1 whereas at say 150 it gets it down to 6.8. If I was smarter I could probably recognise this from the plants.

I've found I still aim for a certain bps rate but once the co2 injection drops the ph to 6.8, the ph meter switches off the co2 at the solenoid (then switches on again once ph rises).

I've got it on a timer so the co2 starts 90mins before lights on (big tank) and stops 30mins before lights off.

Much improved growth, wouldn't go back to just glut. Still dose some glut for BBA control.

Before I forget the ph meter needs monthly soaking for an hour in one chemical and 24hrs in another chemical. I still have the ph pen to check the co2 ph meter hasn't drifted out of calibration but it has been fine for months.

Also I read a ph meter will stop an end of co2 bottle dump but I never had any problems there anyways.

I looked at inline co2 diffusers but looked messy for me so went with one in tank that has it's own power head. The guy at the lfs was happy with inline though.
 
There are some people on The Planted Tank forum who assemble and sell regulators, you will get better quality for much cheaper that what can be bought in stores. I bought a dual stage 2 years ago for 320$, same quality regulator but with a better needle valve than what GLA sells for 500$.

For diffusion you can build a Cerges Regulator, it's easy to build and inexpensive, and probably the most efficient diffusion method.

A pH monitor is useless. Just use a timer to turn it on and off a bit before the lights.
 
Idk that the ph meter is completely useless imo. I have the co2 diffuser at one end of tank and the meter at the other end 4ft away. What I found was I had to adjust the bps rate to kind of hit a sweet spot. The lfs guy set his at 6.7 to turn off but I chickened out and set mine at 6.9. But it goes down to about 6.8 before switching off. I'd say that's about 2hrs into lights on now. If I didn't have the meter I would guess I could pump more co2 into the tank than I want (and the darn stuff is a bit expensive over here).

The drop checker is ok but I understand is a lagging indicator whereas the ph meter tells me what is going on straight away. Plus I'm a test kit nerd :)
 
Like Delapool, I am a mega test kit nerd :p A pH monitor quite appeals to me, lol.

Over at Planted Tank they seem to be getting very excited about this CO2Art 2 Stage Regulator
CO2Art 2-stage prototype regulator review
I feel like I should keep a watch on this. If I wait just a little longer I could get a dual stage and spend less, it seems.
 
It looks really nice! I am curious to see how much it will cost.
By the way, oldpunk78 who wrote this review is one of those who sell regulators.
 
Oh awesome. So he knows what he is talking about, eh?

Why does everything cost so much more in reality than it does in any DIY or how-to article? :ermm: I was just calling around about CO2 canisters and they are at least twice the cost of what the articles all say. Ergh.
 
Oooooo, time to spend some moneyyyy!! The aquatek has been fine for me, almost a year and counting. Had I known then what I know now i may have gone a different route but I have no complaints. I run it a little differently so my experiences won't jive with others. In a tank your size you likely be over the 2 bps finicky setting that seems to plague most. Mine only needs initial tweak after tank hook up and one after a couple.months, pretty much hands off. I'm running almost 9 bps off a splitter so I actually have 3 needle valves in play. I've gassed a betta in my 5.5. Never in my 30 long or 20tall though. Both have hobs and off gas nicely during the evening. With minimal surface agitation and a large tank I'd say ph controller would be ideal. I know the science bug crawled right up.... so the added hardware won't dissapoint;)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Brookster123 said:
Oooooo, time to spend some moneyyyy!! The aquatek has been fine for me, almost a year and counting. Had I known then what I know now i may have gone a different route but I have no complaints. I run it a little differently so my experiences won't jive with others. In a tank your size you likely be over the 2 bps finicky setting that seems to plague most. Mine only needs initial tweak after tank hook up and one after a couple.months, pretty much hands off. I'm running almost 9 bps off a splitter so I actually have 3 needle valves in play. I've gassed a betta in my 5.5. Never in my 30 long or 20tall though. Both have hobs and off gas nicely during the evening. With minimal surface agitation and a large tank I'd say ph controller would be ideal. I know the science bug crawled right up.... so the added hardware won't dissapoint;)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
Click to expand...

Ha yes you know me well. I need a T-shirt that says "OOOOH.... GADGETS!!!"

I'm getting really excited about this because I approached the hubby with a cost analysis and his response was positive so I think it will actually happen sometime soon :dance: (not that he is the boss of me, but it costs enough to be something that we should agree on)
 
One other thought was the justification I used for a larger bottle and all new, solid looking gear was that I was never worried about the bottle leaking. In fact I wish I had spent the extra $50 to double the bottle size however I've found a micro-brewery that refills for half cost (cheapness is all relative!).

But we looked at what happens if the bottle gets knocked over and the regulator/solenoid gets knocked about or off. That was about as catastrophic as I could think of. Hence new gear not second hand. At the moment the bottle is between the bookcase and stand but I did think of a cane basket or something if we get young kids over.

I talked with a lot of people here at the lfs who have large tanks and we all agreed that for some reason plants in small tanks are easy, much harder in large tanks. Which is why cichlids do a great trade here apparently.

I'm spending a lot less on plants now. I was probably spending $50 a month on plants so I think the co2 system should 'pay' for itself after a year or so.

If co2 is 10, I'd say glut was more like a 3 for me.

This morning I was thinking I could re-trim the giant hygro again to re-plant. The foxtail needs mowing and some other plant is getting mauled by the fish but is still growing.

I do wonder if the co2 is helping with element availability by getting a lower ph level as well. Unfortunately dry ferts are so cheap I couldn't say I was saving anything.
 
So I briefly skimmed whats been said so far...

I used to have aquatek and recently moved to GLA because it was so unreliable. I go out of town for work and I cannot have someone messing with the CO2. I want to set it and forget about it. +1 with the needle value being inconsistent and cheap. I've seen with this hobby you really do get what you pay for. I have and 2 solenoid fail with my Aquatek and they have no customer service. If I bought GLA in the first place they would have ended up costing the same. The biggest advice I can give you is to not skimp on a cheap regulator.

As for the pH controller, personally I am not a huge fan of them. If you are using Aquasoil they are useless since the soil is pushing your pH down and not CO2. Quite frankly in my opinion they are no more accurate than a drop checker. There is simply to much other variables in your tank that effect your controller. Get a drop checker to use as a ballpark to not gas your fish and give you an idea at first. Then once you are confident just watch the plants/fish. Take the extra money that you were going to put on your controller and put it in the regulator.

Happy shopping!
 
Brookster123 said:
Oooooo, time to spend some moneyyyy!! The aquatek has been fine for me, almost a year and counting. Had I known then what I know now i may have gone a different route but I have no complaints. I run it a little differently so my experiences won't jive with others. In a tank your size you likely be over the 2 bps finicky setting that seems to plague most. Mine only needs initial tweak after tank hook up and one after a couple.months, pretty much hands off. I'm running almost 9 bps off a splitter so I actually have 3 needle valves in play. I've gassed a betta in my 5.5. Never in my 30 long or 20tall though. Both have hobs and off gas nicely during the evening. With minimal surface agitation and a large tank I'd say ph controller would be ideal. I know the science bug crawled right up.... so the added hardware won't dissapoint;)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
Click to expand...


Is that 9 bps in each tank or before splitter? Just wondering on setup if bubble counter is at regulator.
 
Just this thing is super easy to setup, never risk of gassing your fishes in the event anything happens to the valve.
 
DIY only works in certain lighting/tank sizes. What is the lighting and tank size?
 
Delapool said:
Is that 9 bps in each tank or before splitter? Just wondering on setup if bubble counter is at regulator.
Click to expand...

Total I have a bubble counter for each needle valve.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
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