'Best' dual stage regulator

[vaypourus]

So, I have done a pretty fair amount of reading about CO2 injection and have decided to give it a go on the 180 gal SA tank. I've been keeping plants for years, but have always gone natural and/or ferts.

My question is, who makes the best dual stage regulator and why? I see lots of info about the other parts (bubble counters, needle valves, solenoids, etc) but info about why one reg is better than another seems to be lacking.

A lot of people recommend Victor, Matheson, Bendix rebrand, Micro Matic, Conoa, Smith.....etc, but I can't seem to find anybody that recommends one over the other for a reason. I come from a background of metal fab, so I understand the importance of a good regulator. That being said, I fear my own experience and knowledge of metal fab regs might not carry over to aquarium based stuff.

Price isn't really an issue, but frugality is in my nature. If brand x performs the same as brand y at a lower price, then I'm all for it. However is brand y really is better than brand x, then I don't mind dishing out the extra cash.

Any help/thoughts/personal experience/links would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[jcardona1]

to be honest, i think it will be hard to find the info you're looking for. i just dont see how anyone in the hobby has had the time and resources to do an in-depth comparison of all these regulators. i think as long as you get a well-known dual stage regulator you'll be good to go. i haven't read of any problems with any of the brands that people have been using. check out barrreport.com, there's a massive thread on there that deals with nothing but dual stage regulators. the guys there are very knowledgeable and could help you out with one brand over another. but like i said, i think any dual stage reg will be good. obvious performance differences are easily noted in the needle vavles and solenoids, so this is where you want to get the best money can buy.

 

[vaypourus]

Thanks for the link. That was exactly what I was looking for.