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Paintball Co2 Injection DIY Setup with Tons of Photos

607K views 2K replies 371 participants last post by  Jmcdaniel0 
#1 · (Edited)
Updated Re-write. 2/4/2011

I found a cheap way to use Paintball Co2 Tank for injecting Co2 into planted aquariums. Prices varies depending on different Brands of products that you purchase. I preferred to get parts brand new to avoid any problem down the line. This setup can cost from $30 dollars to $80 dollars + for a working unit. It all depends on what you want to do and add on to it. But it's easily obtainable with $30 dollars to rig up.


In order to have this setup rig up and working. You will need the following items.


- 3.5 oz to 24 oz Paintball Co2 Tank filled $25 and under.

- Paintball Co2 ASA On/Off Valve 2 Threads (Gauge, Needle Valve inputs) $10 - $60 depending on brand.

- Paintball Co2 Gauge - $5 - $10 depending on brand.

- Needle Valves (You have several options to choose from) $10 - $20
* Watts A-41 LF 1/8'' x 1/4'' Compression (Homedepot or Lowes)
* Watts A-40 LF 1/8'' x 1/4'' Compression (Homedepot or Lowes)
* Swagelok Needle Valve 1/8'' x 1/8'' Compression (Ebay)
* My Needle Valve1/8'' x 1/4'' (Ask me if interested) (PM Me)

- Co2 Tubing (Part Number SVEB10 sold at Homedepot 10 feet is $2.14)

- Teflon Tape (Homedepot or Lowes/Craft Stores .50 cent - $1.00)

- Check Valve (Aquarium store $1)

- Bubble Counter Optional (Online store prices varies)

- Drop Checker Optional (Online store prices varies)

- A way to diffuse Co2 into your tank whether through a ceramic glass diffuser, hang on filter, canister filter, chop stick, power head, reactor. Prices varies from Free to whatever


Your parts will be similar to the photos below.

It's basically pretty simple. A basic guide.


- Make sure Paintball Co2 is Filled
- Teflon Tape Gauge Thread and screw it into any side of the ASA On/Off Valve. Use a wrench to further tighten it.
- Prepare your Needle Valve's both side threads with Telfon Tape.
- Slide Co2 tubing through the Needle Valve's output Nut, then do the same to through the Compression Sleeve.
- Tighten Needle Valve's output Nut onto the Needle Valve. Use a wrench to further tighten it.
- Screw on Needle Valve into the ASA On/Off Valve. Use a wrench to further tighten it.
- Twist the Top Knob on the ASA On/Off Valve counter clockwise to open the Pin.
- Screw ASA On/Off Valve onto the Paintball Co2 Tank. Hand tighten only.
- Make sure your Needle Valve is Closed fully.
- Twist the Top Knob on the ASA On/Off Valve clockwise to close the Pin.
- If Gauge reads 800-850 PSI, Co2 Gas has entered the ASA On/Off Valve Chamber.
- SLIGHTLY open the Needle Valve "T" Arm.
- Dump the entire Paintball Co2 Tank with the ASA On/Off Valve into a 10gallon fish tank or 5 gallon bucket. Check for leaks. Any bubble forms will result in leakage. Trace your installation steps again.
- If no leak is present, hook the end of the Co2 Tubing to desire way to diffusing the Co2 gas and you're good to go!


There are option parts such as Bubble Counter and Check Valves to be hooked up along the Co2 Tubing line. That should be common sense.

Basic Step for Installing Co2 Tubing onto Needle Valve.



Overall Setup Installation once said and done.



Paintball Co2 Tank


Paintball Co2 On and Off Valve 2 threaded inputs


Paintball Co2 Gauge (Wrap thread with Teflon tape to prevent leaks)


Homedepot Needle Valve (Wrap therad with Teftlon tape to prevent leaks)


One the Needle Valve, one thread goes into the On and Off Valve, and the other one has a coupler that will crimp onto a Co2 tubing hose. Which will be the path of your Co2 line going straight to your tank. Make sure you have this Co2 tubing connected as well.



Once everything is thread tight, making sure the upper needle valve of the On and Off Valve is fully counter clockwise opened, attach it onto the Co2 tank of your choice. Closed the upper needle valve by turning it clockwise to release Co2 from the Paintball Tank. Make sure your Needle Valve is closed all the way. Your gauge should bounce straight up to 800PSI at most.

Upper Valve Closed. 0 PSI


Upper Valve Opened. 800 PSI


Test the On and Off Valve for leaks by aiming the Paintball tank with everything attached up side down into a bucket of water. If there's any bubbles coming from the threaded slots, recheck your teflon tape and tightness.

Once there's no leak, everything should be a straight forward from there. Attach the end of the Co2 tubing to a Diffuser and your good to go. Adjust bubbles from 2bps to 4bps.


A regular 24oz Paintball Co2 Tank at about 2bps will last a good 4-6 months. When refilling Co2 tank, just close your Needle Valve, Open up the upper valve on the On and Off Valve with will block off the Co2 Tank's outlet pressure. Then go ahead and twist off the On and Off Valve itself and just bring the Co2 Tank to your local Co2 Paintball store and have it refill. It only cost $4.00 to refill a 24oz Paintball tank.


Been using 3 of these units on 3 different tanks and have had no problems. You can also get away without using a Gauge, Save yourself the extra few bucks. Fully filled Co2 Tank is about 1.4 lbs. I used one without a Gauge and it works the same. Just keep the Hex bolt in the Gauge slot closed so that way a Gauge is not needed. All the parts can be bought locally at your local Paintball sport stores and Homedepot or Lowes.

Hope that helps!

Additional informations for easy lookup.

The O rings are easily replacecable. It's like .58 cents per 3-6 O rings. Part number at Lowes is BrassCraft # 0533. The size is 1/4"ID x 3/8"OD x 1/16" Wall Thickness.

At 1bps on a 24 oz PB tank. You can get 5-6 months.
At 2bps on a 24 oz PB tank. You can get 4-5 months.
At 3bps on a 24 oz PB tank. You can get 2-3 months.
At 4-5 bps on a 24 oz PB tank, You can get 1.5-2 months
At 6-8 bps on a 24 oz PB tank, You're looking at 1 month before refill.

With g33tar permissions, the Option #3 setup attached to a Super Diffuser/Atomic Diffuser in great working results!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KYQDDBjX5s
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#406 ·
So... What do you think the refill rate for a 24 oz. tank would be on a 36 gal aquarium? lol I was laying around watching my 36 gal thinking about setting up on of these for it as well (its low light right now) I should have the 10 gal setup with the DIY injection by weeks end.
 
#410 ·
So... What do you think the refill rate for a 24 oz. tank would be on a 36 gal aquarium? lol I was laying around watching my 36 gal thinking about setting up on of these for it as well (its low light right now) I should have the 10 gal setup with the DIY injection by weeks end.
As far as Refilling goes for 20oz and 24oz at 1 bps, shoot for 5-6 months per refill.

What on/off valve is this? Do you have a link of a possible seller? If not what brand is it?
Here's the link that other members PM me regarding this On/Off Valve. They have it on ebay for less but I'm not able to post any ebay links here.

http://www.hustlepaintball.com/PHAT-On-Off-Dovetail-ASA-Blue-p/31470202.htm


Is that a knob for adjustments? I'm having trouble adjusting mine to the bubble rate i want. Can anyone suggest another valve for fine tuning?
That "Tee" Piece is used for a "Easy Disconnect" point so you won't have to bring the whole entire unit when it comes down to refilling. From my photo in earlier post, I'm actually using the end piece of it only, notice in the picture where the black co2 tube ends, the piece goes there and continues to connect to another co2 tubing. I wouldn't recommend using that "Tee" connector as a whole unit to anyway adjust your co2. It's only used as a part for quick disconnect of your co2 tubing.

 
#414 ·
Not bad at all, I however had someone order that Phat product off ebay for less than $11 shipped. I believed I recalled from the Private Message inbox that it was $5.99 with $4.99 shipping. Just a little price difference that I wanted to state.
 
#419 ·
#423 ·
Well, I picked up my asa valve today. Went to a local shop named Hustle painbal. They are super awesome. they did not have the valve that I wanted in stock, nor any others at the time. So they started pulling guns apart to find one that would work, and only charged me a used price. So I got a slightly used valve for cheap!! I highly recommend them. They do have an online store, if you do a search for the above name. I will go get the tank filled tomorrow eve, and give this sucker a try.
 
#426 ·
dzydvl stated the following..

I talked to Mark, the manager at AM paintball, and he finally heard back from the sales person at Trinity. The reason for the backorder is due to an issue with a leak inside the valve (I'm guessing the brass insert that centers the tank) It sounds like they were machined a little off which caused issues in the seal. As of this point it look they figure two to three weeks before they can start filling orders.

As I told the couple people that sent me PM's, this was initially set up to try and provide members with a money saving CO2 setup. It was never intended to be a money making venture, in fact the prices had zero markup. I figured if I was picking stuff up for me, why couldn't I pick it up for others as well.

While my intentions were good, the end result has been a failure. For that I apologize, I know there were a lot of people counting on this, but as of this point it's not looking so hot. I'm hoping Trinity is able to come through sooner, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm still trying to locate an alternative solution that is equivalent in price as well as features. I will keep everyone posted on my findings..
 
#427 ·
I got my system all up and running today. This thing is great. Very very small adjustments to the needle valve. LOL the first time I turned it on I accidentally turned the needle valve too much and shot my bubble counter fluid up onto the ceiling. The second time I scared the crap out of my cats and daughter. I might need to choose another method of dispersant in the tank though. My Elite Mini is not chopping up the bubbles as fine as I want.
 
#433 ·
The home depot needle valve is actually not that bad. I can get it down to 1 bubble per 2 seconds but it took a while to get it like that.
 
#445 ·
i experienced this a lot so i spent almost a whole day (sunday with football) monitoring it.
I think it has something to do with the pressure in your lines and the diffuser, etc. I would get it set to my rate, and then it would diminish or die. It took a little tweaking and a lot of patience, but after you set it you have to really monitor it. I suggest starting low and slowly build it up to the BPS you want. I finally got it to settle at 1 bps and havent touched it snce.
 
#442 ·
I pulled mine apart and checked every connection again. When I installed it again and cranked up the gas to 1ish bubble per second it now has a very mechanical look to the check valve at the bottom of my bubble counter. The bubble fills, sits for a nano second then floats to the top, the last install you could see the bubble form over a split second. I might have figured it out lol. We will see tomorrow.

I am thinking of setting this up for my 36 gal, but using a T-connector and putting two of the 24 oz bottles each respective with their asa valve, and one needle valve. Just an idea to help double the amount of co2 carried at a time. it might be a few months before attempting lol
 
#443 ·
Quick question:
I found the same adapter you guys were talking about. the PHAT on/off valve dovetail. (http://www.ansgear.com/Phat_Dovetail_On_Off_ASA_Blue_p/phatdovetailasablue.htm)
It has 2 holes, 1 for gauge and the other for needle valve. But instead of like other on/off valves, this one has a hole and a thread. How/what do i connect on either side? Do i need to buy a adapter? Other on/off valves have 2 holes, this one has one sticking out.
 
#444 ·
atticus27, you may be better off getting one with two holes. If you get the on/off valve with one hole, you will only be able to hookup the needle valve. Sure, you may be able to get an adapter thich will enable you to get two ports out of it, but it may cost more than the one with two ports.
 
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