Beginner to planted tanks

[Pcollins0901]

Ok guys, it's been awhile!! I ventured into marine aquaria and my planted tank has been neglected. Iv still been keeping the tank up but not like I had been. Anyways, my DIY citric acid/baking soda has failed and my tank is suffering the consequences. I'm
Dosing with Excell but things are not looking near as good as they were. When my CO2 levels drop my plants don't photosynthesize as much, thus not take in as much nitrate, thus lead to an algae bloom. I need a pressurized CO2 system but I'm not looking for anything like the GLA. That's more expensive than I want to spend since I really fell in love with marine but don't want to do away with my planted. If anyone has an old CO2 system and wants rid of it I'm interested. If u know of a good well priced reliable system, please let me know. Thanks

 

[fishenthusiast]

You could go with a paintball CO2 setup, which is cheaper. Some members on here have that and will probably chime in on it.

 

[Pcollins0901]

You could go with a paintball CO2 setup, which is cheaper. Some members on here have that and will probably chime in on it.

Yeah I considered that. I'd be interested to see how long a tank lasts. If they last awhile I'd go that route

 

[Fresh2o]

I'm using a 24 oz paintball tank (Valken via Amazon) with an adaptor and at 2-3 bps I'm getting about 3-4 months per refill (which is about $5).
The regulator is an AquaTek Premium w/ Cool Touch Solenoid (~$89 at the time). Been using it for over 3 years. No complaints except for the needle valve (very sensitive/ tricky).