update on planted tank
- Thread starter voss345
- Start date
hey man,
sorry for the late reply...anyways yes, Red Sea makes a system that works with paintball bottles and regular tanks, but i would stay away from this.
just by looking at the regulator and parts i could tell its very cheap. also, the needles valves that come with this kit are sloppy and dont hold the flow rates well. some of the best co2 components are the ones that are pieced together and not made from some big aquarium name company.
so first question, do you want to run a ph controller or simply have your solenoid on a timer to turn on/off with your lights? i was first going to go with a ph controller, but after doing lots of research decided against it. many people claim that once you get a feel for planted tanks, the ph controller becomes more of a monitor. a simple drop checker for $10 is effective for finding out what your co2 levels are.
with that, Milwaukee makes a decent regulator and ph controller. both are available on ebay for about $190 shipped, or you can buy them individually. for the money, the regulator is decent. but i have read several complaints about crappy and sloppy needle valves and the low pressure guage going out. i then decided to ditch the ph controller, and use the money saved for a higher quality regulator. the regulator assembly is the heart of your system. go cheap here, and you will pay for it down the road. here's the full kit on ebay:
full Milwaukee kit
and here's just the regulator for about $90 Regulator
stay away from the kits that Dr. Foster & Smith sells. theyre junk and too expensive. they use cheap components and even give you the wrong kind of tubing (silicone).
now, if you decide to go high quality, you have lots of choices. off the top of my head, these are some of the better ones out there:
Rex Grigg's best regulator $141, base price
Green Leaf Aquarium $99~$210 (i bought the 'Choice' regulator. see my thread HERE
Sumo Regulators $115~$2XX (claimed to be some of the best)
There are other companies that sell these types of regulators, but these are some of the more popular ones.
you cant go wrong with any of these really. they all pretty much use the same brand parts in the kits they assemble. Clippard, Cornelius, Fabco, etc, etc.
What really makes the price differences with these are the needle valves. good needle valves are VERY important as this is what is gonna control the flow of co2 into your tank. you want something that is easy to fine tune as well as something that is gonna hold the same flow rate and not go out of whack everytime your solenoid shuts the power on/off.
heres some of the better needle valves sorted by quality and price. clippard are the cheapest/lowest quality. of course, there are more options but these are some of the more popular ones youll see sold with kits:
- Clippard
- Fabco
- Swagelok
- Ideal
i hope this was helpful. let me know if you have any other questions. the main thing to remember here is that when it comes to regulators, you get what you pay for. it might be cheap now, but as i said, it will cost you more down the road.
good luck
sorry for the late reply...anyways yes, Red Sea makes a system that works with paintball bottles and regular tanks, but i would stay away from this.
just by looking at the regulator and parts i could tell its very cheap. also, the needles valves that come with this kit are sloppy and dont hold the flow rates well. some of the best co2 components are the ones that are pieced together and not made from some big aquarium name company.
so first question, do you want to run a ph controller or simply have your solenoid on a timer to turn on/off with your lights? i was first going to go with a ph controller, but after doing lots of research decided against it. many people claim that once you get a feel for planted tanks, the ph controller becomes more of a monitor. a simple drop checker for $10 is effective for finding out what your co2 levels are.
with that, Milwaukee makes a decent regulator and ph controller. both are available on ebay for about $190 shipped, or you can buy them individually. for the money, the regulator is decent. but i have read several complaints about crappy and sloppy needle valves and the low pressure guage going out. i then decided to ditch the ph controller, and use the money saved for a higher quality regulator. the regulator assembly is the heart of your system. go cheap here, and you will pay for it down the road. here's the full kit on ebay:
full Milwaukee kit
and here's just the regulator for about $90 Regulator
stay away from the kits that Dr. Foster & Smith sells. theyre junk and too expensive. they use cheap components and even give you the wrong kind of tubing (silicone).
now, if you decide to go high quality, you have lots of choices. off the top of my head, these are some of the better ones out there:
Rex Grigg's best regulator $141, base price
Green Leaf Aquarium $99~$210 (i bought the 'Choice' regulator. see my thread HERE
Sumo Regulators $115~$2XX (claimed to be some of the best)
There are other companies that sell these types of regulators, but these are some of the more popular ones.
you cant go wrong with any of these really. they all pretty much use the same brand parts in the kits they assemble. Clippard, Cornelius, Fabco, etc, etc.
What really makes the price differences with these are the needle valves. good needle valves are VERY important as this is what is gonna control the flow of co2 into your tank. you want something that is easy to fine tune as well as something that is gonna hold the same flow rate and not go out of whack everytime your solenoid shuts the power on/off.
heres some of the better needle valves sorted by quality and price. clippard are the cheapest/lowest quality. of course, there are more options but these are some of the more popular ones youll see sold with kits:
- Clippard
- Fabco
- Swagelok
- Ideal
i hope this was helpful. let me know if you have any other questions. the main thing to remember here is that when it comes to regulators, you get what you pay for. it might be cheap now, but as i said, it will cost you more down the road.
good luck
and one other thing. dont buy those "full" kits. youll spend more money and usually get cheaper parts.
get a good regulator that has a needle valve, solenoid, bubble counter, and thats most of what you need already. they usually come with the right type of co2 tubing.
then get your co2 tank. i got a 5lb one on ebay for $55 shipped.
youll need some way to diffuse the co2 into your tank. many people do the DIY reactor. it will cost you about $20. Heres the one I made
lastly, get a timer to turn the solenoid on/off. about $6 at walmart. and thats pretty much it for your co2 system!!
get a good regulator that has a needle valve, solenoid, bubble counter, and thats most of what you need already. they usually come with the right type of co2 tubing.
then get your co2 tank. i got a 5lb one on ebay for $55 shipped.
youll need some way to diffuse the co2 into your tank. many people do the DIY reactor. it will cost you about $20. Heres the one I made
lastly, get a timer to turn the solenoid on/off. about $6 at walmart. and thats pretty much it for your co2 system!!
thanks man that helped alot, ill still have a few questions though haha
http://greenleafaquariums.com/complete-co2-systems/choice-co2-system.html
so steer away from this? Im wondering if i can have the shop i work at order the parts for me so i dont have to pay for shipping and get it a little cheaper
already have a bunch of timers lying around, do you turn co2 off same time as the lightS?
http://greenleafaquariums.com/complete-co2-systems/choice-co2-system.html
so steer away from this? Im wondering if i can have the shop i work at order the parts for me so i dont have to pay for shipping and get it a little cheaper
already have a bunch of timers lying around, do you turn co2 off same time as the lightS?
no problem. actually, that kit is very good and includes good components, but you can probably get it cheaper if you look around:
- regulator: $150
- ph controller: $100
- used 5lb tank: $50
so, you could probably save a few bucks if you buy these individually. shipping for that kit will run you about $35, i just checked. and if you decide you dont want a ph controller, you can knock off $100 off that.
with the timers, youll want to start the co2 in the morning 1 hour before the lights come on. that way co2 levels are high when the lights come on and the plants start going through their daily cycle.
at night, shut the co2 off about 1/2 ~ 1 hour before the lights go off, so the plants can consume most of the co2 levels so it wont reduce the o2 levels too much.
lemme know how else i can help!!
- regulator: $150
- ph controller: $100
- used 5lb tank: $50
so, you could probably save a few bucks if you buy these individually. shipping for that kit will run you about $35, i just checked. and if you decide you dont want a ph controller, you can knock off $100 off that.
with the timers, youll want to start the co2 in the morning 1 hour before the lights come on. that way co2 levels are high when the lights come on and the plants start going through their daily cycle.
at night, shut the co2 off about 1/2 ~ 1 hour before the lights go off, so the plants can consume most of the co2 levels so it wont reduce the o2 levels too much.
lemme know how else i can help!!
What are your thoughts on this kit?
http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/complete-co2-systems/choice-co2-system.html
Worth the $$
Edit.......NM I see the OP already asked, guess I should read before posting
http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/complete-co2-systems/choice-co2-system.html
Worth the $$
Edit.......NM I see the OP already asked, guess I should read before posting
well, opinions differ on ph controllers. what they do is turn your co2 on/off based on your ph levels. when your ph levels reaches the preset level, the ph controller will shut the co2 off. injecting co2 lowers your ph, so the ph controller will inject co2 until the ph is where you want it to be.
a lot of people dont use these as they think theyre a waste of money. instead, they rely on drop checkers and the tank itself to determine if co2 levels are right. green color in drop checker, good levels. algae, not enough co2. fish gasping at the surface, too much co2. etc. etc. all the indicators you need are in your tank...
a lot of people dont use these as they think theyre a waste of money. instead, they rely on drop checkers and the tank itself to determine if co2 levels are right. green color in drop checker, good levels. algae, not enough co2. fish gasping at the surface, too much co2. etc. etc. all the indicators you need are in your tank...
