co2 system shopping

[Skyrmir]

Ok, so I'm finally sick of home made co2 and ready to put a real system on my 75 gallon tank. Plus, the wife finally said I could.

And of course I start looking around and warped my little brain trying to make a list of all the parts and figure out what's the best kind of ph probe, and what kind of tank should I go for, the paintball or regular welding style tank. And a dozen other little questions.

At this point I'm pretty sure most of my worries are pointless wanderings of a work addled mind getting to close to weekend. So to preserve my sanity, can anyone suggest a complete co2 setup, or someplace that sells them?

[pitt420dude]

I think it is possible to buy a compelete setup, but you will surely pay WAY more than if you shop for bargains.

I googled "welding supply, (insert your city here" and found a list of phone numbers and just called and price shopped. I got a tank for 80.

For my regulator, controller, reactor, I got it off of the classifieds section of AA. Milwaukee is good stuff, or check out Welcome To The Home Of The Best Aquarium Regulator.

Ebay is useful here too for dropcheckers and other misc. stuff.

[neilanh]

I run the milwaukee brand. got it on ebay for $78, included the reg, solenoid, needle valve and bubble counter. Then, I picked up a tank locally at Robert's Oxygen for around $80. Only other things you'll need are tubing, check valve, and some diffusion method.

There's no need for a pH controller. It's a nice to have, but definately not necessary.

With that size tank, definately do not go for the paintball setups. They're not that much cheaper, and you'll be swapping tanks almost monthly.