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267 Posts
When I switched from a diffuser to a reactor, I turned the pressure down on my Milwaukee regulator basically as low as it would go to give me the bubble count I wanted with the needle valve open. This was based on the (wrong) instructions* that I got with the regulator. When the solenoid would open in the morning, CO2 would rush out, and probably if I hadn't caught it, I'd have gassed my fish.
I run it at about 25-30 psi now and use the needle valve to control the rate, and it is much more stable.
I'm also in the process of building a new, higher quality 2 stage regulator so I can retire the Milwaukee.
Moral of the story is, in my experience, stay away from really low pressures, at least in the Milwaukee regulator, because it's unreliable - even though a reactor could theoretically work with relatively low pressure. Bump up the pressure and control with the (not very good) needle valve.
*Interestingly, the Milwaukee regulator I got came with instructions suggesting that bubble count be achieved by turning the pressure regulation knob with the needle valve almost fully open, and just "fine tuning" with the needle valve. This worked somewhat OK with a diffuser which ended up needing a decent amount of pressure to work, but not at all with a reactor.
I run it at about 25-30 psi now and use the needle valve to control the rate, and it is much more stable.
I'm also in the process of building a new, higher quality 2 stage regulator so I can retire the Milwaukee.
Moral of the story is, in my experience, stay away from really low pressures, at least in the Milwaukee regulator, because it's unreliable - even though a reactor could theoretically work with relatively low pressure. Bump up the pressure and control with the (not very good) needle valve.
*Interestingly, the Milwaukee regulator I got came with instructions suggesting that bubble count be achieved by turning the pressure regulation knob with the needle valve almost fully open, and just "fine tuning" with the needle valve. This worked somewhat OK with a diffuser which ended up needing a decent amount of pressure to work, but not at all with a reactor.
