# co2 tank possibilities



## urville (Sep 20, 2004)

a paintball co2 canister of 20 oz. is 1 lb and a 1/4 right?
so it there a way to connest two of these and a regulator, or is the "plumbing of gas lines not work that way?
because a 20 oz paintball container is all of 20 bucks new and i can get them even cheaper used. and thats 2.5 lbs which i think should last around 6 months right?
i could be completely off and mistaken.
just wondering


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

There would be no need to have them connected together. Simply keep a spare, full one in your cabinet or closet and switch over when necessary. Regulating the paintball cylinder on the cheap is hard but there is a way. I don't have the link right now but basically you connect the cylinder to a on/off valve and attach a Clippard style needle valve to the on/off. Open the needle valve all the way then open the on/off slowly until you see bubbles from the supply line(in your aquarium) then adjust the needle valve to get your desired bubble rate. This works because your are only allowing a tiny amount of gas to escape through 2 seperate devices, in effect creating a ghetto regulator. The on/off is acting as a regulator (sort of) by limiting the gas flow/pressure while being able to physically withstand 900psi head pressure of the gas in the cylinder. The needle valve is capable of handling a hundred+ psi with is all the on/off is allowingout(by being mostly closed)

Sorry that is such a redundant explination, just trying to be clear

Basically you do not need to connect the 2 cylinders nor buy a 150$ Amano style regulator Also, check with your local marker place to see if the have fill cards, like coffee shops, giving you every 10th fill free or something.


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## stcyrwm (Apr 20, 2005)

There was a couple threads on this before here:http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/search.php?searchid=97105. Also there was a thread over at the planted tank, see:http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16447&highlight=paintball.

Good luck and let us know how it goes, Bill

PS 
Non CO2 is working pretty well for me these days and it's even cheaper .


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## SnyperP (Dec 10, 2004)

I did alittle research on this awhile back. It's more than possible. You can even design a system using only paintball parts. I really got the idea from a rocket hobbyist. This is his design for refilling CO2 powered rockets.

http://www.et.byu.edu/~wheeler/benchtop/co2.php

In his design, he uses a larger tank to refill the small tank. The key piece is the adapter connected to the paintball tank. He uses a fill station hose for that. You can find a similiar piece if you use a paintball remote line. They really cost about the same. But if you really think about it, those two parts are going to cost you about $50 already.

Anyways, to get the system running you're going to need a stabilizer regulator. I looked at the same source he did. Palmer. They have an inline model for $69. + 12 for a 0-600 psi gauge. (He uses a sideline model with an on off valve) You're then going to need a compression fitting + tubing. These style regulators can crank it down to zero PSI. It's essentially the needle valve. Although I imagine tuning it down to your desired levels would be a pain in the ass. Though, I'm sure if you REALLY wanted to, you could add a standard needle valve to the regulator. Similiar to how he has the on/off valve.

But take a look at the price. 
Tank + remote hose(+7 for shipping) = $57
Regulator= $81+ shipping ($7)
Compression valve + tubing = $10(??)

You're looking at approxmiately $155 for a bare bones system that needs to be filled more often at paintball locations. Add on another needle valve for easy of tuning and you're looking at $174-180. Using a regular tank, with a beer/welding style regular + needle valve can usually be had for $100-$110 dollars if you pass on all the extra things like solenoids and ph controllers.

**Edit: Heh the link provided above is essentially the same design. I really don't think it's worth it, unless you have the parts laying around from an old paintball setup that you no longer use**

About the ADA speed regulator. Palmer sells a beer dispenser regulator that connects directly ontop of the tank for $129 that goes down to 2psi..although i have no idea what needle valves outputs generally are. Dennis, i'm seeing speed regulators from ADG for $280. Where are you seeing them for 150?


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## urville (Sep 20, 2004)

i put it together for about 113 not including tax and all... i'm gonna have to make sure i covered everything but i think it's all there...

to do the classic system people make and buy it's mor like 180 and thats local no shipping

hey stcyrwm....
th first link, the one that goes to a post here on APC... didnt work for me... must be gone

dennis have you done this then? using that method?
that ould be by far the cheapest way i've seen, even if you did add an actual paintball regulator in... may not even need the needle valve


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