When I first received my CO2 regulator from AquariumPlants.com, I thought I'd run it for about a month on my tank before doing a review. By the next day, I felt I was ready to sit down and start typing it up. The fact is, if you need a new regulator for your CO2 tank, this is the one - there's nothing to debate. (For the record, I've been using it for a month - life got in the way and the review had to wait.)
I've been wanting to buy one of these for years, but whenever I needed it, I was low on cash and opted for something less expensive. Over the past six years of running a calcium reactor, I've used six regulators - some purchased, some borrowed, and this one. Frankly, I was excited when I finally committed and placed my order, and for $189 I finally got mine! Shipping was free because the product was over their $175 threshold.
A CO2 regulator controls the flow of CO2 gas coming out of a storage cylinder. For saltwater application, we use it with a calcium reactor to lower the pH of the water within the reactor and dissolve the media to produce alkalinity and liquid calcium around the clock for a reef tank. Usually they come with two gauges; one to measure the quantity remaining in the cylinder and one to measure the pressure of the gas exiting via a needle valve. Most hobbyists choose to purchase a regulator with a solenoid that will shut off the flow of gas whenever a power outage occurs. Some, but not all, regulators come with a bubble counter.
The Aquarium Plants' Electronic CO2 Regulator does all of this, and more. Instead of seeing the flow of bubbles rising a in small vial of fluid, a red LED flashes on and off representing each bubble. When the power goes out, the unit shuts off and the LED ceases to blink. The biggest selling point to me, other than their boast that it is "the most precise CO2 regulator in the world," is that it comes with a three year warranty. Had I purchased one six years ago, I'd be on my second one now. The fact that is has such a long warranty period tells me that it is a quality product and that the company is willing to stand behind it for more than 1000 days. Over 26,000 hours of continuous reliable CO2 control.
The instructions are on a single page, and are easy to understand. It connects to the CO2 tank with a wrench (not included), and the stand-off pipe is longer than usual to accommodate the black box. A single power cord supplies power to that box. A nipple located at the lower left is for the 1/4" flexible tubing that runs to the calcium reactor. The large black knob controls how much pressure is flowing to the tubing (in the picture above, it reads 7.5 PSI). The smaller knob on the black box allows the user to set how often a bubble will pass.
For our application, setting it to 1 would be 1bps (bubble per second). Turning it counter-clockwise will increase the bubble rate to as much as 10bps. I was running mine at 3bps originally (and have been for years) but have since backed off to 1bps because it has sufficed my reef's needs. Good husbandry requires that we continue to test water parameters, including alkalinity and calcium levels. Minor adjustments are necessary from time to time to keep those numbers stable.
Coupling this device with a pH controller makes it plug & play, but that will have to be a different review. Back to this product, I should mention that the company included a small clear check valve to prevent water flowing back into the regulator. I would have liked some type of tiny hose clamp to hold the tubing to the nipple, but since there was none I improvised with a small ziptie instead.
Below is a brief video of it in action. As you watch the light flash, you'll notice the PSI gauge's needle bounces like a heart beat. I've not seen this with any other regulator.
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