co2 regulator

[Ballinxalex]

where do i get one that is reasonable priced or can i just buy one off of ebay and what if it wont fit on the bottle
another question is do i need a bubble counter or can i just buy a simple regulator ?
thanks alot

[myjohnson]

Do you plan to turn off the co2 at night?

[eklikewhoa]

Any will work but how well is what you pay, the fitment is another

[Ballinxalex]

Idk if I should turn it off bc I am doing it on a 125 gallon tank and it's a big tank for plants

[Cheapomatic]

It should not matter how big but co2 is not used at night since there is no light.

[eklikewhoa]

I ran 24/7 since I didn't like the pH fluctuation that would occur with on/off co2, keeping it on and just diffusing it at night provided a more stable param for me.

Also the co2 was consistent.

Co2 is cheap.

[Complexity]

I run mine 24/7 to keep things stable, but rather than diffusing it, I use a pH controller. It automatically doses less at night since the plants are using less. As soon as the plants start using the CO2, the pH starts rising, and the controller starts dosing the CO2. I find it to be the best way to do it.

With a 125g tank, you don't want to lose too much CO2 at night or your plants won't have any to work with when the lights come on in the morning. If you have a small tank, it doesn't take long to saturate the water with CO2, but with a large tank, it can take some time.

Also, you can get away with a cheaper CO2 regulator when you're using a pH meter because the pH meter is what ultimately controls the dosing. Plus, it prevents the end-of-tank dump problems.

I've bought from these guys before, and they've sent out the goods very quickly without any problems. Their prices are usually the lowest I can find, and their shipping is free for this kind of stuff.

Here's a milwaukee regulator with CO2 tubing: http://www.eseasongear.com/milwaukeema957.html

This is what I prefer. It's the regulator and the pH meter (and they added some tubing): http://www.eseasongear.com/sms122ma957.html

[Totenkampf]

i buy from eseasongear a lot too and they are a good company. i dont like the SOV that comes with the Milaukee but the pH controller seems to work well (i had to pull mine out to get a new probe but plan on putting it back in) and the reg does its job. i would definately upgrade the needle valve since that is the component that will most likely fail and cause a co2 dump. i dont have experience with the pH controllers ability to respond before its too late in that case. i would be surprised if it could.

[Complexity]

i would definately upgrade the needle valve since that is the component that will most likely fail and cause a co2 dump. i dont have experience with the pH controllers ability to respond before its too late in that case. i would be surprised if it could.

The pH controller would detect the pH dropping and shut off the regulator. The regulator cannot dose more CO2 no matter what because the power to it has literally been shut off by the pH controller. That puts an immediate stop to any end-of-tank dump in its tracks.

If you have the needle valve wide open so that it can put an explosive amount of CO2 into the tank all at once, I guess the pH controller would be too late because the damage would be done already. But that's an adjustment problem, not the fault of the pH controller. There is never a reason to have the needle valve wide open like that.

You can put a better needle valve on the milwaukee regulator, but I have never seen the need. I've used a Victor VTS-253b-320 dual stage co2 regulator with a post body kit that included an Ideal needle valve which is a really nice setup, but to be honest, I didn't see a whole lot of difference when I had it controlled by a pH meter. That's because all the control is taken away from the regulator and handed over to the pH controller, wasting the extra quality of the pricier regulators.