Premium AQUATEK CO2 Regulator with Integrated Cool Touch Solenoid

I researched for about a week to figure out what new regulator to get and I almost had one built for me but decided I would give this one a try. I can tell you that it was easy to setup and took minutes to get the flow just right. I have been doing fish tanks for well over a decade and this is a quality product and I will be buying another one. The only thing that would fail on this is the solenoid and that can happen to all of them (even the most expensive). I don't have any problems with it turning off or on and the bubble count goes right back to where it was the day before. I could buy 5 of these for the price of another custom one and I would rather have 5 of these if that says anything. I use it with a glass and ceramic diffuser and it works great no pressure issues at all. This one is worth the few dollars more for the non preset pressure. If you are looking for a new Regulator or even new to C02 Look no further 'You will love this thing'. I also purchased polyurethane tubing on amazon I inserted a link for it Polyurethane Clear Tubing, 3/16" ID x 5/16" OD x 1/16" W, Working Pressure: 74 PSI this tubing is a bit to thick to connect to the regulator so I use short lengths of smaller diameter tubing to connect to the Regulator and then connect this tubing to it using brass splicers. This tubing is amazing and will limit the amount of C02 loss greatly and polyurethane is the best for c02 and both are prime eligible so it worked out great. The bubble counter that comes with this works just fine but I did upgrade to this upaqua bubble counter Professional CO2 Bubble Counter with Double Check Valve as I trust the check valve much more i put two check valves on so I will just leave the one that came with this system empty for insurance and add the upaqua as my bubble counter.

This is a review after using this Premium AQUATEK CO2 regulator with the solenoid for the last two years. Using with 4lbs steel tank, so far two times of refills, and I use this for my 36 heavily planted tank with the timer on it.First of all, had absolutely no issue with using this, even though it was a open boxed item. Running smooth without any issue of leakage at all.Second, you better have a JBJ type of bubble counter directly inserted into (I dont recommend to use their bubble counter), with the needle valve all the way open, so that I can adjust the flow rate by the major knob to adjust the flow rate into my tank (I do this slowly because the full effect of the turning the major know takes at least a whole day).This is a regulator that is dealing with a high pressure, and must be handled carefully with a correct tool to install/uninstall.Craftsmanship and quality is good, and I do recommend to any planted tank hobbyists.

I bought this to replace a Milwaukee model that started hissing on me. I found this one much easier to use than my old model. The main knob is more responsive and doesn't stick like my old one did. Also, the gauges actually work. I've been using this for a few months and have had no issues at all. With the Milwaukee I was always having to fiddle with the fine tuning to keep it consistent, but this one was pretty much a set once and forget about it. I've been very impressed.Update 3/8/2015:After refilling my tank I've found that this regulator is leaking behind the nut (between the nut and the main part of the body). I've been completely unable to make the leak stop. May try some plumber putty but I'm doubtful it will help. Lasted less than a year. Not happy.Update 3/11/2015:Contacted the company. Only a 90 day warranty. They suggested contacting a gas company. Quality!

Ok, so due to the overall decent reviews that I have seen on Aquatek regulators, I first decided to go and buy their mini regulator for paintball tanks, and it worked pretty decently, but I severely underestimated my CO2 needs and wound up buying this Premium Aquatek regulator unit.I barely bought this unit on 6/4/2014, installed it on 6/9/2014, and today, 6/16/2014 i was running some maintenance on the tank, cleaning, doing water changes etc... normal stuff.What i DIDN'T NOTICE was that despite my PH controller being off and unplugged (American Marine Pinpoint unit), that the CO2 system was STILL PUTTING OUT CO2!When I powered the system back up, all seemed normal, except my CO2 reactor was belching a huge amount of bubbles into the tank. It took me a little while to realize it wasn't just the system bleeding out air, about 15 minutes of doing this. Confused, I started looking over the system and then glanced at my PH controller, reading as follows: 6.33... 6.32... 6.31... 6.30... 6.29... 6.28... etc every few seconds. My normal regulated PH value is 6.60 for 30ppm of CO2 so it was already well below the safe limit. THANKFULLY I was actually around still keeping an eye on the system so when i realized this, I quickly shut off the system again, purged all the built up CO2 from the reactor, and closed off the needle valve on the regulator, and the ball valve for the CO2 reactor and began aeration procedures.As I am typing this, my system's water flow is running at full blast with several air stones purging the system of the excess CO2. I did not see any trouble with my fish so I think I made it with perfect timing.Now, I know I am well within my warranty time for Aquatek, but frankly, I could care less. Their cheap regulator failed spectacularly and I cannot expect any replacement to behave any better with this kind of solenoid.My biggest fear with these CO2 regulators is for the solenoid to fail one day in the open position and look at what has happened! Exactly that...I will probably contact Aquatek for a replacement or refund, but I am not about to use it again. I'm going to actually spend the money and get a quality unit from Green Leaf Aquariums and this thing is heading straight to the bay of Es or the junk drawer along with the mini regulator.My system is a 95 gallon acrylic hexagon tank densely planted with a refugium that holds even more plants and large bio filter for a sump, lit with high power LED arrays built into the stand/sump and canopy. I wanted to build a system that uses as many natural means as possible to filter water (plants and micro critters etc.) and it hit me that plants in the small system need CO2 to thrive so i got these units and a controller.Now that my rant is over, how about I talk about some details regarding the regulator aside from the failed solenoid?When I first set up the unit on a new 20lb tank, I was trying to fine tune the CO2 to match my needs along with the PH controller in the case that if it DOES dump excess CO2 into the tank, the air pump connected to the controller could save lives. Unfortunately, this regulator cannot even hold a steady bubble count to save its life (I am using the Aquatek brass bubble counter along with this unit). One day it is faster than set, one day it is slower than set, one day its not putting bubbles out at all (what!?), and yes my CO2 tank is full still. Nothing has been done to the CO2 system with the above scenarios, and to bring the regulator back to the correct bubble count, I would just turn the pressure knob a bit in one direction and back to the original position, simple! BUT I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO KEEP DOING THAT EVERY DAY! Thankfully my PH controller has been there to iron out this thing's pathetic lack of control.This device, simply put, is very dangerous. As an item whose proper operation essentially determines if your livestock live or die, it needs to work flawlessly for its entire service life or else it will cost you dearly.I was planning to buy a group of discus for my tank this coming Friday as it seems to have worked very well otherwise, I have 20 breeding german blue rams, 20 cardinal tetras, and a number of ghost shrimp in my setup, this regulator would've costed me several times its value if it failed at anytime I was not aware of it.I guess the gist of this is, this regulator has a relatively high failure rate, it cannot even hold a steady bubble count, its bad.Don't buy a subpar regulator especially when your critters' lives are in your hands!More in general, don't skimp on your aquarium gear! Even something as simple as a heater or air pump can cause tragedy if it fails.EDIT: After unplugging and replugging the regulator solenoid from the outlet a few times, it apparently unjammed and is working like it usually does, poor gas control and all. This means that the failure is due to poor machining or something in which the piston component that slides under power got caught in the inner workings of the solenoid body...Really, stuff this subpar should not be used in critical applications like aquariums, or at the very least, document this somewhere and put two in series for another model so increased redundancy can keep the CO2 OFF when there is no power...