# AQUATEK CO2 Regulator



## Daximus (Oct 19, 2011)

decotank said:


> Does anyone have experience with the AQUATEK CO2 Regulator. My main question is if it prevents end of tank dump.


I have that and so far it is working very well. I haven't ran out of Co2 yet so I don't know about the end of tank dump behavior. I check my gauges during my weekly water changes so I doubt I ever will.


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

end of tank dump?

it has 2 sets of gauges.. the tank pressure and working pressure.

working pressure is set somewhere between 50-55psi. 

Tank pressure is useless until you vaporized the last bit of liquid co2.


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## Daximus (Oct 19, 2011)

Naekuh said:


> end of tank dump?
> 
> it has 2 sets of gauges.. the tank pressure and working pressure.
> 
> ...


/Off topic

DUDE! That tank is huge, lol. How many years does that last!


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

Daximus said:


> I have that and so far it is working very well. I haven't ran out of Co2 yet so I don't know about the end of tank dump behavior. I check my gauges during my weekly water changes so I doubt I ever will.


_Thanks for sharing._


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

lol its a 20lber...

i got traumatized when i ran out of CO2.

I had to wait 3 days for a fill, and No it was not fun...

in 3 days my tank went from little bit of algae which i was recovering from.. to a full blown OMG HELP infestation on biblical size due to the high tech lights i was using. 

basically from this:









To this:









NEVER AGAIN WILL I RUN OUT OF CO2!!!!!


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

Naekuh said:


> end of tank dump?
> 
> it has 2 sets of gauges.. the tank pressure and working pressure.
> 
> ...


_I read that often times it's not easy to notice the the tank pressure gauge going down in time. I hope that because the working pressure is preset low that would prevent an EOTD._


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

decotank said:


> _I read that often times it's not easy to notice the the tank pressure gauge going down in time. I hope that because the working pressure is preset low that would prevent an EOTD._


well problem with tank pressure is that it can change thoughout the day due to your ambients.

if your in a hot location, the reading can be almost 15% higher then on a very cold day.

Until your litterally vaporized all your liquid CO2, tank pressure really wont do anything... at best it gives u a day or two notice that u need a fill, and that is reflective of your tank size and how much CO2 u inject.


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

I thought that reg was set to 30psi?


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

Naekuh said:


> well problem with tank pressure is that it can change thoughout the day due to your ambients.
> 
> if your in a hot location, the reading can be almost 15% higher then on a very cold day.
> 
> Until your litterally vaporized all your liquid CO2, tank pressure really wont do anything... at best it gives u a day or two notice that u need a fill, and that is reflective of your tank size and how much CO2 u inject.


_In your case, have the CO2 run out with this regulator and did you have any problems?_


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## amp (Dec 2, 2008)

antbug said:


> I thought that reg was set to 30psi?


They are, the working pressure is preset, Im not sure if it even possible to change it. I have two of these and couple of milwaukee's and Iv never noticed an EOTD, or at least not one that has ever gassed anything.


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

*Thanks!*



amp said:


> They are, the working pressure is preset, Im not sure if it even possible to change it. I have two of these and couple of milwaukee's and Iv never noticed an EOTD, or at least not one that has ever gassed anything.


I really appreciate your reply. 

Thank you!


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## hockey9999 (Nov 21, 2010)

Agreed about the working pressure being around 30psi. I've never seen mine go much above that.. Also not sure if it's adjustable at all. I've always been curios about what's underneath the part with the Aquatek sticker in the middle of the reg, but never had the guts to try removing it. 

I've never had end of tank dump issues. 

Has anyone ever tried this regulator with an inline atomic diffuser? I've wanted one, but not sure if it will work due to working pressure..


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

antbug said:


> I thought that reg was set to 30psi?


OOPs... i then got the gauges wrong... lol i misread the line and tought the psi applied to the left gauge... 

Heres exactly what mine reads now: (bubble counter is separate)











decotank said:


> _In your case, have the CO2 run out with this regulator and did you have any problems?_


not with this regulator... but ive already took it off and mounted it on a couple of times from a paintball tank to the 20lber. 

i have it setup where if i run out of CO2, i can pop a paintball tank on it for the downtime while i run over to Tym's to refill the 20lber.

But i wont need a refill for probably almost a year...



hockey9999 said:


> Has anyone ever tried this regulator with an inline atomic diffuser? I've wanted one, but not sure if it will work due to working pressure..


ive tried it on a diffuser b4 i went reactor... and it worked.. 
which is why i thought the working pressure was 50psi. 
The diffuser i was using tho was a fluval ceramic diffuser tho.

Not too sure about the atomizer tho... im waiting for them to be in stock locally b4 i end up getting one.


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

*Low pressure*



hockey9999 said:


> Agreed about the working pressure being around 30psi. I've never seen mine go much above that.. Also not sure if it's adjustable at all. I've always been curios about what's underneath the part with the Aquatek sticker in the middle of the reg, but never had the guts to try removing it.
> 
> I've never had end of tank dump issues.
> 
> Has anyone ever tried this regulator with an inline atomic diffuser? I've wanted one, but not sure if it will work due to working pressure..


According to this you can use 30 psi working pressure (low pressure).


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## hockey9999 (Nov 21, 2010)

Hmm.. Maybe I will give one a try. I know they require greater then 30psi, so it could be cutting it close.. 

Thanks!


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

hockey9999 said:


> Hmm.. Maybe I will give one a try. I know they require greater then 30psi, so it could be cutting it close..
> 
> Thanks!


Good luck, let us know if it worked out.


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

if u find an atomizer that is NOT shipped from Tiwan, id be interested in trying one out as well.


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## hockey9999 (Nov 21, 2010)

Naekuh said:


> if u find an atomizer that is NOT shipped from Tiwan, id be interested in trying one out as well.


Check you PM's..


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

yeah i was talking about the bazooka atomizer..

http://theshrimplab.com/store/?p=76


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

It's easy enough to tell if your regulator will change output on you as the tank pressure drops. Just shut the tank while the solenoid is still open and watch the pressure output. If you don't have a dual stage regulator, it will change, the question is how much. With mine it is a percent of the output pressure, so it doesn't really matter what its set to.
Here's mine before I added a low pressure regulator after it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M08hPs-J3SM


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> It's easy enough to tell if your regulator will change output on you as the tank pressure drops. Just shut the tank while the solenoid is still open and watch the pressure output. If you don't have a dual stage regulator, it will change, the question is how much. With mine it is a percent of the output pressure, so it doesn't really matter what its set to.
> Here's mine before I added a low pressure regulator after it:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M08hPs-J3SM


Very interesting, thanks!


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## Higher Thinking (Mar 16, 2011)

decotank said:


> _I read that often times it's not easy to notice the the tank pressure gauge going down in time. I hope that because the working pressure is preset low that would prevent an EOTD._


I could be wrong, but I though you wanted your output pressure set high so you can offset EOTD as when that happens your tank purges the gas at a higher rate that your needle valve is set to. If it is already set to work with high output pressure, then you will not see the effect as greatly.

I bought one of these and then a post body kit from Bettatail and used his needle valves and solenoids.


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## Storm (Aug 7, 2011)

I use an Aquatek regulator with a ceramic (atomizer) diffusor and it works fine. The pressure builds up until about 34 psi and then it flows fine.


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

^^Doesn't always help. With my Milwaukee the EOTD is more of a percent of the set pressure. Down around 10psi it might jump by 3, but up at 70 PSI it'll jump 15. You're screwed either way if you're that close to the edge (which you probably don't need to be to begin with).


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

jccaclimber said:


> ^^Doesn't always help. With my Milwaukee the EOTD is more of a percent of the set pressure. Down around 10psi it might jump by 3, but up at 70 PSI it'll jump 15. You're screwed either way if you're that close to the edge (which you probably don't need to be to begin with).


interesting, set at 10psi, jump 3, 30%, set at 70psi, jump 15, 21%, did you try it when input pressure slowly lower from 800Psi? or fast decrease from 800Psi? because when input pressure fast decrease the output pressure needle/gauge may not reflect the actual output pressure rise.
In your case there is one thing hold true, the higher output the less percentage of the output increase.

I know that milwaukee reg output pressure rise can never excess 1 psi per hundred psi drop, it is ok but still high compare to other industrial big diaphragm single stage regulators.
most of the big diaphragm single stage regulators are rated around 0.1 psi or less output pressure rise per hundred input psi drop, such as Victor and Airproducts regulators.


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

Bettatail said:


> interesting, set at 10psi, jump 3, 30%, set at 70psi, jump 15, 21%, did you try it when input pressure slowly lower from 800Psi? or fast decrease from 800Psi? because when input pressure fast decrease the output pressure needle/gauge may not reflect the actual output pressure rise.
> In your case there is one thing hold true, the higher output the less percentage of the output increase.
> 
> I know that milwaukee reg output pressure rise can never excess 1 psi per hundred psi drop, it is ok but still high compare to other industrial big diaphragm single stage regulators.
> most of the big diaphragm single stage regulators are rated around 0.1 psi or less output pressure rise per hundred input psi drop, such as Victor and Airproducts regulators.


If you watch my video above it rose ~15 psi for a ~1000 psi input pressure drop, so that's over the spec. I did the same test over a roughly 2 minute period (controlled via the needle valve) and got the same results. I simply did it faster for the video so that people would sit through it.
For the 10 PSI test it may have jumped 2 psi rather than 1, it's been several months since I did this. What I do specifically remember is that the pressure jump was small with a low output pressure, and larger as I raised the set point. 
Whenever my tank runs out and I have to remove it I can redo this, but since it's a 20 lb tank that probably won't be any time soon.


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

Higher Thinking said:


> I could be wrong, but I though you wanted your output pressure set high so you can offset EOTD as when that happens your tank purges the gas at a higher rate that your needle valve is set to. If it is already set to work with high output pressure, then you will not see the effect as greatly.
> 
> I bought one of these and then a post body kit from Bettatail and used his needle valves and solenoids.


The needle valve should be by far more restricting than the regulator. Also, even with a constant needle valve setting, the mass of gas passing through it will increase as the upstream pressure increases.
Just to make it clear for everyone, even with choked flow, increasing the upstream pressure still increases the mass (and therefore volume once reduced to atmospheric pressure) of compressible fluid (CO2) passing through. You can mess with NASA's calculator (half way down) if you don't believe me http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/mflchk.html.


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

Higher Thinking said:


> I could be wrong, but I though you wanted your output pressure set high so you can offset EOTD as when that happens your tank purges the gas at a higher rate that your needle valve is set to. If it is already set to work with high output pressure, then you will not see the effect as greatly.
> 
> I bought one of these and then a post body kit from Bettatail and used his needle valves and solenoids.


I just thought that the outflow pressure couldn't go over 30psi and between that and the needle valve it would prevent EOTD, but nonetheless i'm only assuming that.


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

If you set a dual stage regulator to 30 PSI that's probably true. However, with a single stage regulator, whatever pressure it is set to will increase as the tank pressure drops.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

jccaclimber said:


> If you watch my video above it rose ~15 psi for a ~1000 psi input pressure drop, so that's over the spec. I did the same test over a roughly 2 minute period (controlled via the needle valve) and got the same results. I simply did it faster for the video so that people would sit through it.
> For the 10 PSI test it may have jumped 2 psi rather than 1, it's been several months since I did this. What I do specifically remember is that the pressure jump was small with a low output pressure, and larger as I raised the set point.
> Whenever my tank runs out and I have to remove it I can redo this, but since it's a 20 lb tank that probably won't be any time soon.


I need a milwaukee so I can test it also, and thanks for the output pressure rise experience.

just shut the co2 tank, the decrease volume/pressure in the first chamber will be the same as input pressure drop, so don't need to wait until the 20lb run dry to test output pressure rise.


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

Bettatail said:


> I need a milwaukee so I can test it also, and thanks for the output pressure rise experience.
> 
> just shut the co2 tank, the decrease volume/pressure in the first chamber will be the same as input pressure drop, so don't need to wait until the 20lb run dry to test output pressure rise.


I understand that I can just shut the tank, that's how I made the first video. The thing is that it takes some effort to get a 20 lb tank under my 75 gallon stand, plus it's plumbed in and behind a bunch of stuff. I also change the bubble rate to make things happen faster. If you've used the milwaukee needle valve, you know that putting it back in the "same" position doesn't guarantee the exact same results. Having gotten it all set up, I really just don't want to go through the trouble of doing it again to find out the exact characteristics of a crappy regulator. It wouldn't surprise me if one Milwaukee was different than the next either. My solution was to put a cheap (already had it) low pressure regulator downstream because that fixed everything.


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

I emailed Aqua eWorld, the ebay seller for Aquatek asking if this regulator prevents excess CO2 from being released in the aquarium and killing fish when the CO2 tank is almost empty. In other words, if it prevents "end-of-tank dump?" 

They sent me the following reply:



> Hi,
> 
> Our regulator is designed as a pressurized regulator. In other words, the output pressure is fixed (25 to 30 psi). Furthermore, the co2 flow rate can be accurately controlled by the needle valve on the regulator. So, the CO2 release is well controlled by our regulator. I am not sure the situation of " end of tank dump" you mentioned. However, we have not ever received the customers' feedback regarding this issue.
> 
> ...


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

Output pressure may not be user controllable, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't rise as the tank pressure falls. Most regulators have a spec along the lines of "Output pressure will not vary more than X for every Y variance in input pressure." The reply you got came from one of two things: Either a salesman that doesn't seem to know much about tolerances, or someone who is confidant that the output will not vary enough to exceed the listed range, which seems doubtful.

Needle valves have nothing to do with end of tank dump.


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## galabar (Oct 19, 2011)

> Hi,
> 
> Our regulator is designed as a pressurized regulator. In other words, the output pressure is fixed (25 to 30 psi). Furthermore, the co2 flow rate can be accurately controlled by the needle valve on the regulator. So, the CO2 release is well controlled by our regulator. I am not sure the situation of " end of tank dump" you mentioned. However, we have not ever received the customers' feedback regarding this issue.
> 
> ...


That is a very standard marketing speak non-answer. Ask them to provide you with the specs for the regulator. It should specify the change in output pressure with the change (reduction) in tank pressure.

I noticed this as a better answer:

http://webpages.charter.net/bobalston/Documents/Aquarium - Tap-Rite -742 Regulator.htm

They use much more specific wording. However, it would have been better if they had provided a specific chart.


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

I went ahead and wrote Aquatek via their web page this evening, I'll post any reply that I get.


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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

jccaclimber said:


> I went ahead and wrote Aquatek via their web page this evening, I'll post any reply that I get.


did you get any reply on this?


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## jccaclimber (Aug 29, 2011)

No, I did not.


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## HighTech (Sep 21, 2011)

I love Aquateks. 

You could call me an Aqutek junkie if you wanted. 
At one point in time i had 7 up and operating at once. 

Only thing they need out of the box is a different needle valve. 
You can get away with the one supplied, but anyone would be
much happier with something with a little more quality. 



They work great, ive never had an issue. The Solenoids stay 
cool to the touch. So thats pretty cool.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Aquatek, probably the only retail co2 regulator that is decent. 

I'll save people the trouble of reading reviews, go with this regulator if you just want an start up co2 kit. 

I should of went with this, especially at the price of 60 - 70, damn.


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## decotank (Oct 27, 2011)

It sure is a great price and from what I've read, it works pretty well.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

You guys should really read my review on some cheap chinese regulators. :bounce:


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## oscarsx (Mar 15, 2011)

hockey9999 said:


> Agreed about the working pressure being around 30psi. I've never seen mine go much above that.. Also not sure if it's adjustable at all. I've always been curios about what's underneath the part with the Aquatek sticker in the middle of the reg, but never had the guts to try removing it.
> 
> I've never had end of tank dump issues.
> 
> Hash anyone ever tried this regulator with an inline atomicdiffuser? I've wanted one, but not sure if it will work due to working pressure..


I had that regulator running an gla atomic diffuser. it worked fine no problems at all. I did lose pressure when running a bubble counter so I just took it off


Sent from my DROID X2


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## ktownhero (Mar 21, 2011)

FWIW, I got an Up Aqua inline atomizer to go along with my Aquatek regulator, and it works perfectly fine. The 30psi of the Aquatek runs it without a hitch.


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## Daximus (Oct 19, 2011)

Since my initial post in the thread I have ran out of Co2...(drum roll please)....nothing happened. The bubbles slowed down, then they stopped. 

Still very pleased with my purchase.


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## Pwilly07 (Aug 3, 2018)

I just got and set up my Aquatek mini CO2 system to a new paintball tank. Both gauges were registering pressure about 800psi on the left and 50 or so psi on the right. After about 3 hours and the timer I have turned off the CO2, I noticed both gauges were at 0. Mind you I was just testing out the CO2 setup for a few hours before it ran when I was not home. It was a brand new, fully filled 20oz. paintball tank from Dick's Sporting Goods. What should my next steps be? I already contacted Aquatek and they had asked for more information so I provided that and am waiting. In the meantime, if anyone on here can help, it would be appreciated!


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## KZB (Jan 3, 2018)

Hello pwilly this is an old thread. But I will tell you I had a bad experience with Aquaktek regulator. It ran fine for about 6 months, than it started acting up has all my fish. So I figured I will just try am all plant tank. Then it ran for about a month steady. But then it started to get very unstable causing major algae problems. I than stopped using co2 all together for about a year. Just recently got back into pressurized co2 but with a gla pro. So far I am very happy with it. This is probably not a response you wanted to hear. But just thought I would share my experience.


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## Pwilly07 (Aug 3, 2018)

Thanks for your input.


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