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Most bang for your buck auto CO2 system?

5532 Views 27 Replies 16 Participants Last post by  Adon, 
J
It doesn't have to be the latest and greatest, but I don't want to have any regrets after purchase. Suggestions?
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York1
Put your money into the regulator. You can build a DIY reactor. then just get a timer and drop checker
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R
Don't waste your money on a $$ regulator.

If you have a decent CO2 reactor you just need a cheap solenoid/regulator and sequence it with a timer. For example dose for 30 minutes when first turned on in the morning, then 5 minutes once every hour until the lights go off.
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Nlewis
rezco said:
Don't waste your money on a $$ regulator.

If you have a decent CO2 reactor you just need a cheap solenoid/regulator and sequence it with a timer. For example dose for 30 minutes when first turned on in the morning, then 5 minutes once every hour until the lights go off.
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What?????? Have you ever used pressurized co2??? You also forgot the most critical part of the system which is the needle valve.
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York1
rezco said:
Don't waste your money on a $$ regulator.

If you have a decent CO2 reactor you just need a cheap solenoid/regulator and sequence it with a timer. For example dose for 30 minutes when first turned on in the morning, then 5 minutes once every hour until the lights go off.
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That's not how this works....That's not how any of this works......
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slythy
York1 said:
That's not how this works....That's not how any of this works......
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lol


agree, find a good regulator on ebbai and then get a post reg kit on diyco2regulator then if you want a ph controller you can go milwaukee but i ended up getting an Apex because they are so nice!
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Watercrayfish
Say what!!!!!

You don't even need a regulator just put the CO2 tank inside your aquarium and open the main valve.


Did I win?

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
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natemcnutty
Watercrayfish said:
Say what!!!!!

You don't even need a regulator just put the CO2 tank inside your aquarium and open the main valve.


Did I win?

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
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Come on, at least use airline tubing so you don't spill water everywhere... :)
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Willcooper
What size tank? I have a 40 breeder. I use the aquatech mini regulator, 24oz co2 tank with generic bubble counter and ceramic/glass diffuser and co2 tubing. think I spent about $120 all said and done. Bought all my stuff from amazon.


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R
Like I said cheapo regulator and needle valve - costs about $50 bucks online. I have had this setup for 3+ years on a 120 gal.
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P
rezco said:
Like I said cheapo regulator and needle valve - costs about $50 bucks online. I have had this setup for 3+ years on a 120 gal.
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I've seen some bad advice on this site over the years, but this is by far the worst.


Regulators and solenoids are the last thing in this hobby that I'd cheap out on. The money you'd save will quickly be negated by all of the fish you kill.
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pmcarbrey said:
I've seen some bad advice on this site over the years, but this is by far the worst.


Regulators and solenoids are the last thing in this hobby that I'd cheap out on. The money you'd save will quickly be negated by all of the fish you kill.
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While I agree you need precise control if you are using a bubbler or diffuser - it is not neccessary for a CO2 reactor and there is no value added from a expensive dual stage reg. Many single stage regulators have a decent needle valve that can be used to dial down the release rate into a 5-10 bps range. Then you can use a digital timer to dose the CO2 in bursts just a few minutes long into the reactor. Keep in mind that a reactor is so efficient that it will deliver the same CO2 levels at probably 10x less CO2 consumption rates than a diffuser or bubbler. So I needed a better way for limiting CO2 delivery rates than what you suggest. On my 100 gal setup 50 lbs CO2 tank lasts 12-14 months.
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Rickie Briana
Cheap regulator= DEAD FISH end of story!!!!
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sohankpatel
Co2Art is a great place to look. The fool who says that a cheapo reg and needle valve is fine has a screw loose. You want a quality regulator to keep pressure consistent, and a dual stage is a great idea as it prevents a huge influx (End Of Tank Dump) of co2 when the main tank pressure gets low. A cheap reg and needle valve will kill fish as they can't keep a consistent co2 measure. A DIY reactor is perfect for a 40B. Let me know if you need any more help.
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T
rezco said:
While I agree you need precise control if you are using a bubbler or diffuser - it is not neccessary for a CO2 reactor and there is no value added from a expensive dual stage reg. Many single stage regulators have a decent needle valve that can be used to dial down the release rate into a 5-10 bps range. Then you can use a digital timer to dose the CO2 in bursts just a few minutes long into the reactor. Keep in mind that a reactor is so efficient that it will deliver the same CO2 levels at probably 10x less CO2 consumption rates than a diffuser or bubbler. So I needed a better way for limiting CO2 delivery rates than what you suggest. On my 100 gal setup 50 lbs CO2 tank lasts 12-14 months.
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I'm actually inclined to agree with the theory behind this one... Think about a bell diffuser, charge it and let it disolve, a reactor is basically the same thing only with something swirling the water around. It doesn't matter how accurately you fill it, as long as it's full. If you run the co2 too long, the reactor will over fill and extra co2 will blow out the return line to the atmosphere. Under fill it and there's no harm either. Fill it the right amount and you're fine.

Not saying it's necessarily the route I would go, but in theory it makes sense that it would work this way as well
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Nlewis
Ok, so my head just exploded reading these last few posts. I run a reactor and there is no way in hell I could maintain high co2 levels by "bursting" it in 5 minute intervals once an hour.
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R
theatermusic87 said:
If you run the co2 too long, the reactor will over fill and extra co2 will blow out the return line to the atmosphere. Under fill it and there's no harm either. Fill it the right amount and you're fine.
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Exactly. With an unrestricted output on the reactor the excess CO2 goes out as large bubbles in case of any malfunction. This has happened a couple of times on my reactor and there was no surge in tank levels. This is completely different than what you see in a diffuser or lily pipe system where excess. With that said a good DIY reactor for $50 is a better spend than the $300-500 on a shiny regulator-not only is it safer but your CO2 supply will last a lot longer.

A second safety feature is to put the reactor circulation pump on the same timer as the CO2. This way both the pump and the CO2 solenoid need to be on together in order for CO2 to be absorbed. If the solenoid gets stuck open (extremely unlikely event) even then the pump will remain off and prevent CO2 absorption.

I know I am going against dogma but not everyone is ready to adopt a new approach and is too eager to believe more money = better results.

BTW - I do know what I am talking about - Chemistry PhD and more than a decade experience building chemical process plants. CO2 absorption towers are well known and proven design for liquid-gas exchange.
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sohankpatel
rezco said:
Exactly. With an unrestricted output on the reactor the excess CO2 goes out as large bubbles in case of any malfunction. This has happened a couple of times on my reactor and there was no surge in tank levels. This is completely different than what you see in a diffuser or lily pipe system where excess. With that said a good DIY reactor for $50 is a better spend than the $300-500 on a shiny regulator-not only is it safer but your CO2 supply will last a lot longer.

A second safety feature is to put the reactor circulation pump on the same timer as the CO2. This way both the pump and the CO2 solenoid need to be on together in order for CO2 to be absorbed. If the solenoid gets stuck open (extremely unlikely event) even then the pump will remain off and prevent CO2 absorption.

I know I am going against dogma but not everyone is ready to adopt a new approach and is too eager to believe more money = better results.

BTW - I do know what I am talking about - Chemistry PhD and more than a decade experience building chemical process plants. CO2 absorption towers are well known and proven design for liquid-gas exchange.
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Not more money, but there is a line where the cost is so low that the reg is probably garbage. I have a $100 Azoo regulator. You don't need a great reg, but you need one that will hold steady levels.
https://www.co2art.co.uk/collection...gulator-and-solenoid-magnetic-valve-smc-valve
That reg, dual stage and with a high quality needle valve is only $126. Not much to spend if you want to go into co2. in regards to @rezco I am not certain what you mean, but I plumbed my reactor inline with my canister and co2 CAN dissolve up to lethal levels, a timer won't do squat if the fish are dead before the end of the day. You need to regulate the co2 input through the use of a good needle valve and regulator. Please do not say that a regulator is $300 to $500, There is a member on this forum that sells amazing regs for only $200. Even Aquatek and Azoo ($100 range) are better than having a $50 regulator and uncontrolled co2 input.
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sohankpatel said:
You need to regulate the co2 input through the use of a good needle valve and regulator. Please do not say that a regulator is $300 to $500, There is a member on this forum that sells amazing regs for only $200. Even Aquatek and Azoo ($100 range) are better than having a $50 regulator and uncontrolled co2 input.
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I agree with you on the prices you mentioned - $100-200 is reasonable. In my defense - my reg+solenoid is five years old (pure generic) and bought from fleabay for $50. So far working flawlessly. I have seen prices for regulators marketed to the hobby in the $300+ range which I think is really sad that someone might think that they have to spend that much to get into a high tech setup.

I don't want to occupy the bandwidth on this thread anymore as it is getting off topic. I started a new thread specific to dosing with reactors in the DIY forum. Hope some of you can carry the conversation there.http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/20-diy/1108874-co2-reactor-how-do-you-control-co2-dosing-rates.html.

Cheers!
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Willcooper
I guess it comes down to how much fiddling around does the original poster want to do. Like I said in my previous post I spent about 120 for a full standard set up with an aqua tech mini and paintball canister. The only real downside to my set up is that I have to refill every 45 to 60 days. Did the original poster ever say how big their tank is? I think the set up I described is great for somebody new to CO2 on a tank 40 or 50 gallons and less.


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