# Victor CO2 Regulator Suggestions?



## Ben7 (Jun 10, 2003)

Hey guys,

My JBJ regulator finally seemed to spring an unfixable leak. From reading posts on this and other sites, it seems like the Victor regulator, ideal needle valve, burkert solenoid, and burkert plug are the way to go. Two questions:

1. I am hoping to spend a few more bucks and avoid headaches and buy a new regulator (unless strong opinions suggest different). Looking at the victor website, there seem to be a lot of choices based on PSIG and A/B/C/D preference etc. Any recommendations on which is the best regulator to buy or a different site to recommend. If it makes a difference, it will be on a 20# CO2 tank and be used on a 90g heavily planted tank. I will likely be upgrading the tank to 180g or more in the near future and perhaps the cylinder to a larger size too and would like it to work for that as well.

2. Bubble counter suggestions? I have had bubble counters that fell apart on me in the past... not fun.

Thanks so much for the advice!

Ben


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

I don't think you can buy a victor regulator from the company themselves per se... maybe a industrial gas company/retailer might be willing to order for you but other than that I don't think that's going to happen. Best bet is to buy one off ebay. Matt F over on barrreport does custom builds (~400-500 dollar range) and orders new victor regulators from the factory but I don't think he sells individual regs... 

that said, ideal and burkert solenoids are good but they are by no means the only and the best options. There are other options that are cheaper and you get the same or better quality but that's a whole nother can of worms. So really the options you have right now are to 
1. buy a regulator setup from a retailer (e.g. green leaf aquariums)
2. have someone custom build you a regulator 
3. build one yourself, get regulator off ebay

and to answer your questions...
1. I recommend the victor hpt100. the victor hpt 500 works as well. But these are the nice regulators... the vts 252, 253, 450, 452 will all serve the same purpose and you won't notice any difference when using them. The victor hpt series just looks sexier and uses ultra high quality stuff. 

2. get glass inline bubble counters. jbj bubble counters suck and as you've experienced they spring leaks when the check valve fails or when the cheap plastic breaks. 

A word of advice, plan to drop atleast 200-300 dollars on the regulator setup alone. If that's out of your budget strongly consider building your own.


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## alanle (May 8, 2013)

You can get a regulator on ebay. They have new an used. It all comes down to your ability to negotiate. Of course there is a chance of getting a bad unit when you buy something used. It's important to check out seller's warranty program or contact them regarding the item you want to purchase. I know a seller on Ebay, he has a nice Concoa 212 for $45 shipped. Shoot me a pm if you are interested.


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## herns (Aug 28, 2007)

Ben7 said:


> ... it seems like the Victor regulator, ideal needle valve, burkert solenoid, and burkert plug are the way to go.


This is the one I have.
I got two of these set up. very solid. Though some prefer over 30 psi on the working gauge because of the atomizer, I dont see any problem with it.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I cleaned this thread up. Let's keep it on topic and civil guys. *Points finger at self.*


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