Pressurized CO2 equip question

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Electrobes

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
May 5, 2003
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Greenwood, SC
I have recently come back to Freshwater Planted (from having a reef aquarium for a couple years). I was browsing around this forum and ran into a pressurized CO2 topic. I was considering going DIY yeast again, but am aiming for consistency ;)

I am considering getting the Milwaukee set up (http://www.aquariumplants.com/product_p/pr333.htm). As for a CO2 tank, I recieved from a friend a brand new paintball gun with a standard 20 oz tank, and am wondering if this tank could be used with the Milwaukee set up. If it could work, how long would you guess it would last on a medium planted 40Br with 2 x 95 watt 10K VHO set up? Again, I know it's a vague description, so I am not expecting accurate predictions :) Thanks!
 
A paintball cartridge won't last long at all, and not sure if it will work with the Milwaukee. It's best to just get a 5lb tank. It will last about 5-6 months. The paintball cartridge may only last a week or 2 at most, from what I've heard from other people. You will be constantly filling it.
 
I have heard of people having quality issues with Milwaukee regulators on a local forum. Sorry I can't link you to the thread since it is a local aquarium club on a non-public forum. The complaints were about the pressure gauges not functioning correctly and inconsistent results. More than one person reported having issues. One person lost a lot of fish due to CO2 poisoning. After reading it, I personally would not buy one. Just for clarity, these complaints were specifically regarding the regulators and not controllers or any other Milwaukee product.

I know that some people use paintball canisters for nano tanks. I don't think it would be large enough for a big tank.
 
Well I figure it to be poor math but I thought a 20 oz tank could do about a month or so if a 5lb tank could do about 5-6 months. I also figured

From what I have read a lot of people seem to be happy with the milwaukee's set. I don't mean to be cynical but more people tend to post (In a forum) bad things than they are to speak about the good things. From what people do post I've seen more positives than negatives about it, and that's impressive considering what I believe (about people posting bad things more than good when it comes to products).

Thus far I am looking at about 90 bucks for the Milwaukee set, and need to get a price for the 5 lb CO2 tank. I'll also need to get a CO2 tester... plan on leaving the CO2 on during the day but shut it off at night.

So I ended up purchasing the MA957, 5lb cylinder, and CO2 diffuser for 155.02 and free shipping from aquariumplants.com. I'm definitely excited about it!
 
Electrobes said:
From what I have read a lot of people seem to be happy with the milwaukee's set. I don't mean to be cynical but more people tend to post (In a forum) bad things than they are to speak about the good things. From what people do post I've seen more positives than negatives about it, and that's impressive considering what I believe (about people posting bad things more than good when it comes to products).

Companies do something right and people tell a friend. Companies do something wrong and they tell 10. There is definitely some truth to reading what you see posted online. Hopefully it works out for you.

Since you are looking at a regulator that has a solenoid you might want to consider getting a controller too.
 
A standard paintball cylinder will not work with that CO2 regulator. You will need to either purchase a standard CO2 bottle or a regulator made to fit onto a paintball cylinder (Red sea makes one).
 
Thanks everyone. I am really excited as I made the order and can't wait to get it in. Over all the tank is still fairly new and I pulled a newb move by sticking plants and fish in a bit sooner than supposed. The fish and plants look healthy I just have a minor algae bloom, so I do the necessary but avoidable water changes :p

The only thing I forgot to get was a drop checker. I didn't want to get a controller.. after buying the CO2 stuff I am pretty sure my wife would kill me if I got that too! Besides my system's small and I think having the CO2 on during the day only will suffice. Well that and the drop checker, which I think is a neat tool ( I like colors :) ).

Only thing left to do after the tank clears up a little and I have the CO2 set up and calibrated is to finally find some Glosso. I am trying to find someone somewhat near me to buy from but I am a bit in the boonies out here!

Thanks again everyone, after I get everything prettied up I'll post a seperate thread with pictures and updates :D
 
FWIW I am running two of those regulators on a number of tanks. So far I have not had a problem. As far as the gauges go, they are really not much of an issue in the first place. The high side tells you what is in the tank. It will pretty much read around 900 lbs until all of the liquid in the tank boils off. When you see the pressure drop in the tank you should start planning to get it filled because it is going empty and will do so within a couple days. I have heard of people setting the low side pressure any where from 2 to 30 psi. ( I keep mine about 20). That pressure is really not critical since you are only trying to produce enough pressure to create bubbles.

I did find that the needle valve took some playing with in the beginning. Once the thing was dialed in it pretty much just works and takes little or no adjustment.

For a drop checker, check out the APC forum. There is a guy that sells home made ones that are cheap and work very nice.
Good luck!
 
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