Re: Simple, Cheap, easy, CO2 systems

["Joelle Wright" <Joelle1 at Witty_org>]

>Well here's some photos of a simple multi tank CO2 system and detailed parts
>all available at Home Depot.
>Regulator is a Cornelius UL listed regulator, very commonly used, similar to
>what most beer places/ commercial ice sales/soda fountain vendor companies
>sell, install. Runs about 50$.

The problem I have with this DIY cheap approach is the use of these brewery regulators.  They are not factory preset to control the delivery of Co2 for an aquarium application.  Why should they be?  They are for brewing after all.  Don't think slapping a good needle valve on the end will fix this fatal flaw.  Needle valves are for fine-tuning the flow, not pressure regulation. 

Use these regulators at your own risk.  The entire dumping phenomenon was caused by a guy selling that regulator for aquariums.  The advantage those so-called expensive aquarium regulators have over the cheap brewery regulators are they are factory preset for aquarium use.  That's it.  No need for all the techno-babble. They also have a company backing them up with warrantees.   

How many of you that bought one of those bewery regulators for your aquarium had the thing dump on you? How many dumping victims got any compensation from that guy you bought them from?  The guy still won't admit the thing is faulty. Now Tom Barr is advocating using similar stuff....  

>If you have a positive suction style reactors......powerheads or filters
>sucking the CO2 gas out all the time and you make a drip in the CO2/air line
>no water will back into this set up even if the tank runs zero pressure for
>days.....
>
>So you don't need a check valve 

When the powerhead or filter inevitably clogs or you have a power outage what happens then?  You get a back flow straight into the needle valve, regulator and tank.  I won't even go into the possible consequences should that happen.

The advocacy here should be tempered with cautious <experiment at your own risk> disclaimers so everyone knows these DIY approaches come with many risks.