# AquaticLife CO2 reg



## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

So i purchased this regulator a while back and finally set it up today. and it seems to be punping out the co2. I have it hooked into a RedSea Reactor 500. But with no bubble counter or no drop checker yet i just have the needle vlave set to barely open so i dont gas my fish out. Altho i do have 2 filters running (110AC and 220 Penguin) so im getting enough surface movement that i dont think ill gas em out but, them again what do i know being a co2 newbie.

My problem is tho that while my first gauge which im to assume is the tank pressure reads about 1000 (dont know if this is right or not) my working gauge which is the sencond one reads 30psi and im not really about to adjust this. I turn the dial and it does go up a little bit but not down to 20psi which i was told it should be about.
When i was hooknig it all up i was using AquaticLife's instructions i found on their webpage. But then remembered DB48's write up so decided to check that out, when i noticed the part about blowing your low pressure gauge. Now when i opened the tank i did hear a faint pop and dont really know what that means or even if that is normal..it was after hooking it all up and turning on the tank for the first time. I hadn't touched the working gauge dial at all but i think it may have been closed as it was all the way clockwise....
Please help, kind getting worried i may have broke it and as these things arent cheap....


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

here is some pics that may help....


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

That pop sound is usually there if you reg is open or closed - you just made a little contained area go from atmosphere to ~850 psi. You may have done something. It's not a guarantee that if you open your CO2 tank with the regulator open you'll damage it, but if you make sure it's turned off you help guarantee you won't.

The gauge reading ~1000, probably something like ~850 which is CO2 at 21deg should only ever change when you start to run out of gas. As long as there's *liquid *CO2 in the tank it should stay the same. When it starts to drop, you're getting down to fumes and this is when pressure starts to fluctuate and you can get end of tank dump. It can take a day or two+ depending on how much CO2 you're injecting. I never let mine get below 500 psi before I head for a refill. (Yes DB, we know, use a big honkin' dual stage victor and you can run the thank dry with impunity )

The other gauge, the low pressure or working gauge won't immediately show adjustments. Because you are letting CO2 release so slow, even if you turn your CO2 bottle off and/or adjust regulator can be many minutes before you'll see a pressure change. Especially if you're waiting for it to go to 0.

Back to the matter at hand...

About getting the pressure down, I am going to assume, like my regulator you turn it to the right (clockwise) to increase pressure and to the left (counterCW) to lower pressure - that's how mine works, every regulator far as I know. If you turn all the way closed (CCW) to the left it should eventually become free turning and there will be little to no resistance - this happens when you move the adjustment spring off the diaphragm. This is how you want your reg to be when you open your CO2 tank - not all the way right (clockwise).

If we're on the same page so far the following should be straightforward (this basic method, or functionally similar, is in DBs post).

- Keep your solenoid open.
- Close your CO2 tank and let your CO2 gas off (many minutes) or open your needle valve to speed it up, but then you have to adjust it again...
- When the pressure reaches 0, turn the regulator all the way closed (CCW) until the knob spins free
- Shut off the solenoid.
- Open your CO2 tank - high pressure back to ~850 and maybe a pop.
- The low pressure should still be 0 as you have not opened the reg
- Slowly start to open your regulator, the reading will stay at 0 on your low pressure gauge until you turn to the right and apply enough pressure to start opening the diaphragm...stop when your low pressure gets where you want it.
- You should be able to adjust slowly until you get to 15psi (or where ever you choose)
- Open solenoid
- Adjust needle valve.

If no matter who far CCW you turn the reg you can never get it to stay at 0, or it goes from 0 to 30 with no adjustment between you may have a problem.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

ya so i did as instructed. My reg turns and turns and eventually just screws off..when turning it CCW. 
But anywho i did that CCW until it is just about to screw off then opened the tank up and as soon as i did that it went to 30psi on the right gauge again...
what could this possibly mean?

oh by the way the first time i did this it was all the way CW


thanks again

oh one other note...when i kept turning it CCW and the knob eventually popped off some gas released and it the dial managed to go to 0....but like said as soon as gas on tank was on it went right back to 30.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

shrtmann said:


> ya so i did as instructed. My reg turns and turns and eventually just screws off..when turning it CCW.
> But anywho i did that CCW until it is just about to screw off then opened the tank up and as soon as i did that it went to 30psi on the right gauge again...
> what could this possibly mean?


This sounds like your right gauge is the low pressure gauge (indicating the delivery pressure).



shrtmann said:


> oh by the way the first time i did this it was all the way CW


If the dial was all the way CW when you first opened your CO2, then it likely means the dial needle went all the way around, breaking it.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

ya i didnt touch it at all tho..just the way it was shipped. And the instructions which were not informative at all didnt mention anything about turning this.

So my next question if im to assume i blew it. Can i still use it? and will i be able to fix it via a new low pressure gauge or should i see if i can just replace the whole thing at big als..I bought it there so....


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

That's crap. Selling a pre-built kit like that, something directed towards a lot of people who may be starting out in CO2 and not aware, it's like a booby trap to ship the regulator open. Why would they not inform people to turn the reg off - you shouldn't have to read forums or Rex Griggs site, it should be in the instructions. Hit BA's but I'd send an email to Aquatic Life too and see what they say.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

shrtmann said:


> So my next question if im to assume i blew it. Can i still use it? and will i be able to fix it via a new low pressure gauge or should i see if i can just replace the whole thing at big als..I bought it there so....


The regulator itself is still usable; but the low pressure dial is obviously not. You can still use the regulator, but you will not know your delivery pressure, so you will need to rely on your bubble counter/plants/fish behaviour more.

You can also fix it as you suggested, by replacing the low pressure gauge. This might be troublesome, however, since they are usually on quite tight.

Of course, as Mr Fishies mentioned, try BA's to see if they will replace it for you first.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

So AquaticLife senty me an email today that reads

"We are in the process of changing the instructions, the regulator is preset between 30 – 50 PSI on the working pressure gauge. The needle valve should allow the micro adjustments needed for CA reactors or CO2 diffusers."
So correct me if im wrong but it sounds like i didnt break it after all..


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Ah yes, I have heard about these pre-set regulators. Their delivery pressures are pre-set between a certain range.

However, I find it hard to believe that the needle would be fixed at 30 PSI. If anything, the needle should be at 0 without gas, and when turning the CO2 tank on, the needle should jump (and stay put) at 30 PSI.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

well when i vented it..turning tank off and kept turning the knob until well to my surprise it popped off it did go back down to zero. Then as soon as I put the gas back on it went back to 30.....


also if i could keep this topic open im wondering about co2 diffusing...

right now i am running a redsea reactor 500 and it seems to let a bunch of bubbes rise to the surface..not quite sure as to how much of it is being dissolved as im not able to check it quite yet, but this doesnt seem to be very efficient....
what is a better method??? add a koralia head above it to push it away (the escaped bubbles) or a glass diffuser w/ a powerhead??

i dont have a canister filter yet but one day i will...moneys getting tight with all this co2 purchases..lol


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Either of the solutions you suggested will work. As long as the large bubbles are somewhat being fractionated into smaller bubbles, it will be fine. Ideally, if you had 100% dissolution of the CO2, then you wouldn't see any bubbles at all. This can be achieved (or at least as close to 100% as possible) with a properly built inline reactor.



shrtmann said:


> right now i am running a redsea reactor 500 and it seems to let a bunch of bubbes rise to the surface..not quite sure as to how much of it is being dissolved as im not able to check it quite yet, but this doesnt seem to be very efficient....
> what is a better method??? add a koralia head above it to push it away (the escaped bubbles) or a glass diffuser w/ a powerhead??
> 
> i dont have a canister filter yet but one day i will...moneys getting tight with all this co2 purchases..lol


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

shrtmann said:


> right now i am running a redsea reactor 500 and it seems to let a bunch of bubbes rise to the surface..not quite sure as to how much of it is being dissolved as im not able to check it quite yet, but this doesnt seem to be very efficient....


If there are bubbles hitting the surface then, yes, it's wasting CO2. In the short term, if you turn your CO2 down to stop the burping, then bit by bit increase your CO2 until the reactor just starts to burp - stop - you've hit the maximum rate that you can dissolve CO2 with that set-up. Turn it down a tic to stop the burping or you can leave it knowing you've maxed out for sure and this way, less bubbles hitting the surface means less waste. Until you can determine how much CO2 is in your water and _if _you need to do anything to increase it. You may be getting enough CO2 for your tank as it is.

BTW: Glad it sounds it's not broken, just a pre-set regulator. For curiosity, when you screw the knob on the reg all the way off, does it look as if there is a screw or anything hidden behind it you can adjust the LP with? Something like the adjustment screw on a plain old beverage type regulator?


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