# need help picking a regulator



## PinchHarmonic (Mar 30, 2007)

I'm looking for a c02 regulator for my 50 and 90 gallon tank. I'm trying to choose between the following, and I know they are vastly different as far as price and performance, but since i'm new to this, I have no idea what to choose.

milwaukee regulator (cheapest) ~60?
the best aquarium regulat by rex grigg ~120
electronic regulator at aquariumplants.com 189.99

i suppose the most important aspect to me is ease of use, and dependability!

thanks


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I've not used either of the ones you are looking at, but the Rex Grigg and aquariumplants.com models have had good reviews from those that use them. I've never heard of anyone having trouble with a Rex Grigg regulator.

-Dave


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi PitchHarmonic,

I have read several posts of people not happy with the Milwaukee or Aquariumplants.com regulators. I have purchased from Rex in the past and his shipping times can be excessive.

If you are interested in another alternative call Orlando at GreenLeaf Aquarium and talk to him. He offers an excellent variety of of systems and can customize by adding or removing components to any of his stock systems. My experience is he is very prompt at responding to customers. BTW, I just run a regulator/needle valve/check valve system without a bubble counter or solenoid. It is less expensive and I avoid the sticking solenoid or leaking bubble counter opportunities....and it is less expensive.


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## PinchHarmonic (Mar 30, 2007)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi PitchHarmonic,
> 
> I have read several posts of people not happy with the Milwaukee or Aquariumplants.com regulators. I have purchased from Rex in the past and his shipping times can be excessive.
> 
> If you are interested in another alternative call Orlando at GreenLeaf Aquarium and talk to him. He offers an excellent variety of of systems and can customize by adding or removing components to any of his stock systems. My experience is he is very prompt at responding to customers. BTW, I just run a regulator/needle valve/check valve system without a bubble counter or solenoid. It is less expensive and I avoid the sticking solenoid or leaking bubble counter opportunities....and it is less expensive.


thanks seattle aquarist,

when you mention the aquariumplants.com regulator, are you specifically mentioning the electronic one? i was leaning towards that one because it seemed like an all in one solution.

do you find your setup requires more work because you'd need to turn on/off the system repeatedly because of no solenoid?


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## PinchHarmonic (Mar 30, 2007)

davemonkey said:


> I've not used either of the ones you are looking at, but the Rex Grigg and aquariumplants.com models have had good reviews from those that use them. I've never heard of anyone having trouble with a Rex Grigg regulator.
> 
> -Dave


thanks Dave. the rex grigg is about $80-100 cheaper than the elecronic one from aquariumplants.com, but then again there is no bubble counter... yet that's only $10 or so.

this pretty much crosses out the miluwaukee.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi PinchHarmonic,

Yes, I was specifically referring to the electronic one.


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## PinchHarmonic (Mar 30, 2007)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi PinchHarmonic,
> 
> Yes, I was specifically referring to the electronic one.


Thanks again. I also checked out that site you pointed out, I noticed they have two sets of regulators, corenelius and smith body. Then a bunch of various needle valves.

What's the obvious difference between the regulator bodies? smith is significantly more expensive. Also, certain needle valves are too, is there a real big practical difference?-


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi PinchHarmonic,

I haven't researched the differences, but my guess would be that the more expensive ones are two stage regulators and the less expensive are single stage. There are differences, and some people purchase the premium product, others don't.

Personally I have a single stage regulator, a top of the line Ideal needle valve, a check valve, no solenoid, and no bubble counter. It is a good basic system, rock solid and reliable. I have found that spending a little extra money for a quality needle valve helps me to maintain a constant bubble count compared to a more money on the regulator.


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

Hi, Pinch Harmonic..... 
have you considered the aquatek regulator? 
I picked one up from ebay a couple weeks ago, ($67 with the solenoid and bubble counter) 
and am very happy with it so far...

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/equipment/61754-aquatek-co2-regulator.html


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

PinchHarmonic said:


> I'm looking for a c02 regulator for my 50 and 90 gallon tank. I'm trying to choose between the following, and I know they are vastly different as far as price and performance, but since i'm new to this, I have no idea what to choose.
> 
> milwaukee regulator (cheapest) ~60?
> the best aquarium regulat by rex grigg ~120
> ...


Rex has been making regulators for years and he has a great reputation. This would be a good choice.

I would not have either one of the other two. Some people like them and some people have had lots of problems with theirs.

Some people are using two stage regulators like Victor, Concoa, Matheson, Harris, etc with very good success. They use a good Ideal, Swagelok, Nupro, ******, Parker, Fabco, etc needle/metering valve. Some have a solenoid and some don't. Burkert, Clippard and Parker are some of the solenoid choices. Many times you can pick these regulators up cheaper than a beer regulator like a Cornelius and some of the others. Some of us have picked up brand new two stage regulators for $10 and $11 plus shipping. $30 to $60 are 'normal' prices for them now. Many used ones are in mint or very good condition.

You may want to know some of the differences between single and two stage regulators a little more as well as how they work or don't work in some cases. "End of tank dump" is explained even though that phrase is not mentioned. I added the brackets. The following comes from a Matheson catalog. It is well written and easy to understand.

*TWO STAGE*E regulators reduce the source pressure down to the desired delivery pressure in two steps. Each stage consists of a spring, diaphragm, and control valve. The first stage reduces the inlet pressure to about three times the maximum working pressure. The final pressure reduction occurs in the second stage. The advantage of a dual stage regulator is its ability to deliver a constant pressure, even with a decrease in inlet pressure. For example, as a cylinder of gas is depleted, the cylinder pressure drops. Under these conditions, single stage regulators exhibit a "decaying inlet characteristic" {_end of tank dump_}; where the delivery pressure increases as a result of the decrease in inlet pressure. In a two stage regulator, the second stage compensates for this increase, providing a constant delivery pressure regardless of inlet pressure conditions. The dual stage regulator is recommended for applications where a continuous supply of gas is required; such as the gas supplied to analytical instruments where constant delivery pressure is critical.

*SINGLE STAGE* regulators perform the same function as the two stage regulator using a single step reduction of source to outlet pressure. For this reason, the outlet pressure cannot be as accurately controlled as the source pressure decays. We highly recommend single stage regulators only be used in circumstances where the operator can monitor and adjust the regulator as needed or where the regulator is supplied a nearly constant source pressure.

*VICTOR Regulator Design & Construction Features*


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## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330418055214&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT
This is the one I bought and I like it. It works great. I added a 3-way valve to mine to feed 2 tanks.


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## trilinearmipmap (Mar 8, 2005)

I highly recommend the Aquariumplants.com electronic regulator.

For years I used a two-stage regulator with needle valve. Actually I had one on my plant tank and one for the calcium reactor for my reef tank. The basic problem is you do not get a constant steady bubble rate. Set the bubble rate, the next day it will be higher or lower.

A month or so ago I came home with some new fish (tiger barbs), put them in my tank and they promptly went comatose within less than a minute. Perfectly healthy fish appearing to be stone cold dead.  The fish in the tank already (gouramis) were fine. I checked the bubble rate on my regulator and it was spewing probably a hundred bubbles a second into my CO2 reactor. The gouramis were fine because they can breathe air at the surface.

I fished the tiger barbs out of my tank and put them in a vessel with heavy aeration, within a few minutes they came around. Then I turned off my CO2 reactor and heavily aerated my tank for a few hours. Three tiger barbs died and six survived. The next day I ordered my electronic CO2 regulator.

I should also mention about 5 years ago I had a similar incident where I lost a group of Clown Loaches that had been long-term residents of my tank, again due to a CO2 overdose.

This regulator is so easy to adjust and once you set a bubble rate it stays there. It costs more than other regulators. Considering you don't have to monitor and adjust your bubble rate every day, it is worth it.


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## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

Your needle valve is whats going to control your bubble stream not the regulator. You probably had a faulty needle valve if you were using a needle type valve at all or any valve to control the flow. My needle valve is so sensitive that just a slight movement adjusts my flow. I change my flow daily depending on my ph. I don't just ignore that once I set my bubble count. I'm always watching it and increasing or decreasing the count.


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

Here is a thread that might help:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/equipment/54043-has-one-used-yet-aquariumplants-com.html


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

Read near the end of this thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1433367&page=5


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## trilinearmipmap (Mar 8, 2005)

blue thumb said:


> Your needle valve is whats going to control your bubble stream not the regulator. You probably had a faulty needle valve if you were using a needle type valve at all or any valve to control the flow. My needle valve is so sensitive that just a slight movement adjusts my flow. I change my flow daily depending on my ph. I don't just ignore that once I set my bubble count. I'm always watching it and increasing or decreasing the count.


Actually it is a combination between the needle valve and the regulator which will control the bubble count. For any given needle valve setting, raising the pressure coming out of the regulator will increase the bubble count.

I have been through several different needle valves with two different regulators over the years and none could keep a consistent bubble count. If you have the time to check and adjust your bubble count every day then that is fine. Or if you get a higher end needle valve such as the ones Rex sells maybe that would be better.

I read the thread on Reef Central including the comments about problems with the electronic regulator. All I can say is mine works perfectly well and within five minutes of recieving it I had my bubble count exactly where I wanted it and it stays that way.

The only thing missing is a child-proof cap over the adjustment dial. I could just see a small child playing with the dial and CO2'ing a tank to death. I constructed a cover for my dial to prevent this.


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## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

Your right but pressure generally goes down. On my regulator there is no adjusting how much line pressure will feed to the needle valve. I just open the tank valve a little and whatever pressure is in my tank will feed to my needle valve. But I know what your talking about as long ago I had used a Tetra valve that didn't have a good needle valve. You would set the count and leave only to find the count increased on its own and almost sufficated all my fish! If you've got a regulator that you can control the amount of line pressure I wouldn't rely on that only to feed you counter. I would place a needle valve after it.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

trilinearmipmap said:


> I highly recommend the Aquariumplants.com electronic regulator.
> 
> For years I used a two-stage regulator with needle valve. Actually I had one on my plant tank and one for the calcium reactor for my reef tank. The basic problem is you do not get a constant steady bubble rate. Set the bubble rate, the next day it will be higher or lower....


You are the first to stay that your two stage regulator didn't hold a steady output. It could of needed a rebuild??

By chance, do you mean two gauge regulator instead of two stage?

Two stage regulators are known for holding a steady pressure output.

Or maybe it was your needle valve. These can vary the output based on the temperature of the room and other factors.

Those of us that are using two stage regulators and either Ideal needle valves or Swagelok, Nupro, ******, Parker, etc metering valves are having excellent results with a steady flow from a full CO2 cylinder until it is empty.


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

Left C said:


> You are the first to stay that your two stage regulator didn't hold a steady output. It could of needed a rebuild??
> 
> By chance, do you mean two gauge regulator instead of two stage?
> 
> ...


+1. I use two stage regulators on paintball canisters because of space limitations. Since I empty the canisters on a monthly basis, I routinely see the high pressure gauge drop below 100 and still get a steady bubble rate. I don't even adjust the needle valve after exchanging canisters. I attach the full canister and set the working pressure to 14 and it's done.


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