# best co2 regulator who makes it??



## TRENT (Nov 25, 2009)

Contact AlanLe he sells some nice custom regulators at a fair price.


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## Tylermn93 (May 25, 2013)

I'd highly recommend green leaf aquariums. I use the atomic V3 regulator and it works perfect.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

*Retail*: GLA

Probably the most knowledgable company selling aquarium Co2 kits. Their dual stage set up is top of the line, nothing beats it beside customs co2 kits. 

*Custom*: Alan Le

If there was a custom Co2 Olympic, Alan will bring home the Gold, Silver and Bronze. 

*Stay away from*: Foreign brands, Cheap set up, Knock offs. 

Anything else beside Co2 equipment, I wouldn't have a problem owning. For something simple like a LED fixtures, they just give you the adapter from 220V to our 120V etc. But for Co2 regulators.... there a lot more to consider.

Such as - 
Different cylinder connection, 
Different washer (some without),
Solenoid needs to be in the right AC rating, 
Different threads on the parts (repair? forget about it) JIS vs NPT vs BSPP

What you going to do for warranty? Ship it back? 

I rather go with Aquatek or Milwaukee before I go foreign brand again.


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

I've run a Dupla reg Armature Pro for a couple years, no complaints. needle valve is fine if used in conjunction with working pressure.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

The needle valve is key, but many parts of the regulator will “make or break” a good regulator. You can’t go wrong with GLA as your first regulator. I’m happy with mine, but since buying my first from GLA, I’ve built my own dual stage, purchased foreign and domestic. And my favorites are the ones I build myself. If I were to purchase again, I’d be temped to try co2 art’s dual stage for a reasonable price, or the compact atomic v3 version by GLA.


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

victor regulator and ideal (vernier) needle valves. imo.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

The best regulator I have purchased to date is the Aquariumplants.com electronic regulator. All you do is set the bps dial and that's it. No solenoid nor needle valve to worry about. I bought mine back in 08' and its still ticking without missing a beat. Impossible to get a end of tank dump.

With that said, I am now custom building my own regulators as well for other setups for the experience of diy-ing a co2 rig. I got a dual stage VTS253A, VTS253B( I messed it up so its for spare parts now) and a Air Products E12-244D. I am putting together a system that is similar to GLA's Pro-5-SS for half the price. I am sure it will be just as functional. I control all the parts that go into the build which is the best part of building your own rig.

The stay would probably be the systems that are under 90 bucks unless that's all you can afford. It is an entry level setup and it will work okay for the most part. The problem is the needle valve can't maintain the proper pressure as the co2 runs out. The result is the needle valve allows the remainder of the contents in the tank to dump. You must keep and eye on the psi of the co2 tank. Once it drops to 400-500 psi, pull the tank and get a refill. I forgot this one particular time and the dump happened to me. That is when I bought the AP regulator. You can also upgrade the needle valve on low quality setups to a higher quality one a probably be okay. But if you do that, you might as well just invest in a better quality setup.


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## DBridges (Sep 22, 2009)

I'll echo others sentiments about GLA equipment. I've had a couple of their regulators and they're top notch. Their customer service and support is great, too.

David


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## Matthew RJ (Jul 4, 2012)

I'm happy with my regulator from Alan!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

flight50 said:


> The best regulator I have purchased to date is the Aquariumplants.com electronic regulator. All you do is set the bps dial and that's it. No solenoid nor needle valve to worry about. I bought mine back in 08' and its still ticking without missing a beat. Impossible to get a end of tank dump.


The black box on that electronic regulator is essentially the solenoid and the needle valve. 

There was a thread from many years ago where someone took it apart for investigation.


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## Kntry (Dec 26, 2013)

I had AlanLe build one for me and he was awesome to do business with. I love the regulator he built for me and it was very reasonable.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

Darkblade48 said:


> The black box on that electronic regulator is essentially the solenoid and the needle valve.
> 
> There was a thread from many years ago where someone took it apart for investigation.


Yeah, I know. The black box is used in lieu of separate components and it replaces them both with one physical device. This leaves the user to only having to set the bubble rate. The average user will never have to go inside the box unless they are just curious as to what's inside. I have yet needed to do any type of maintenance or adjust the bubble rate due to fluctuations.


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## bcarrot (May 12, 2014)

I'll also throw my vote in for AlanLe building you something. He knows what he's doing and is very knowledgeable about good/bad products out there, his prices are extremely fair, and he was very patient with me when I asked him a million question.


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## bk. (Sep 27, 2014)

bcarrot said:


> I'll also throw my vote in for AlanLe building you something. He knows what he's doing and is very knowledgeable about good/bad products out there, his prices are extremely fair, and he was very patient with me when I asked him a million question.


+1 This was my exact same experience with Mr. Le. Great guy; very knowledgable.


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## Frank H (Jan 16, 2015)

So where do I get this Alan Le regulator?


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## Mitashade (Jan 8, 2015)

Does this gentleman have a website? Googled, found nada.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

^ Seller on the forums here. 

[email protected] the black box w/ packing peanuts .... that is so old school. If anyone is wondering, it's a clippard mouse solenoid hook up to a delay timer, so every 1 bubble is cause by turning the solenoid* on* and* off*. 

It's actually pretty ingenuous on how they try to avoid the End of tank dump back in the day....
They picked the right solenoid too, imagine a foreign solenoid being turn on and off.... 30, 000s times a day.


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## milibrka (Jul 27, 2013)

+1000 for Alan Le. roud:

I have bought 4 regulators from Alan Le (see picture) but I only have 2 small tanks. You can say that I'm a collector. All I have to say is that Green Leaf Aquarium has nothing on Alan (his workmanship, price and customer service post sale). I also had purchased and used a CO2 system from GLA prior knowing about Alan. Even though there is nothing to complain about GLA cuz theyre great however you can get triple the quality and the CUSTOM looks from Alan's build for much less.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

^ Is that an E-Jet filter you have? Is everyone on the west coast super rich or something?


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## milibrka (Jul 27, 2013)

Indeed it is an ADA Superjet. I'm not rich just love aquarium toys.😄


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Thank you for all the nice feedbacks you guys. I really enjoy building these custom co2 rigs. By the way Milibrka, you're rocking with those regs, ada superjet and that Apex controller. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Luis138 (Mar 15, 2008)

Do you have a sales thread? I've been trying to see what you offer for sale but haven't found it.


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## SwampGremlin (Dec 5, 2014)

Love my aquariumplants.com electronic co2 regulator its everything you need in one package when the timer goes off it shuts down as well so its got a solenoid built in i guess its from 2009 and still works perfectly.


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## limz_777 (Jun 29, 2005)

how much a basic custom rig cost ?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

limz_777 said:


> how much a basic custom rig cost ?


It can really very. It all depends on the cost of the parts. Probably anywhere between $150 and $250. Maybe less. A really cheap custom isn't really any better than what's available commercially for whatever that's worth.


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## Mitashade (Jan 8, 2015)

I second that, AlanLe, do you have a sales thread? Looking everywhere for a rig similar to a small GLA one. I'd buy GLA one, but they're out of stock of the smallest 3 sets all the time.


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## TRENT (Nov 25, 2009)

I would PM him. Super good communication that way.


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## allancline (Mar 31, 2016)

Hello, I have a 55 gal. that I have just dry planted. I purchased a milwaukee ma957 in an open box with no directions. The low pressure gauge does not function, probably my fault. I would like to use an inline diffuser but I will not be able to set the regulator to 30psi. I have read a couple of post discouraging fixing cheap regulators. The local fish store were I got it thinks it's ok. Having read good things about you and your regulators I am interested in getting one from you. I would want good quality, but rebuilt used is fine. Dual stage seems to be best but it depends on the reviewer. I do not want to be worried about end of tank drop. Is stainless steel worth the extra cost? I am retired and while price is a consideration I would rather spend the money and get what I need. I'll looking forward to hearing from you, Allan Cline 
[email protected] or 541-345-7622


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## gaven08 (Jun 17, 2019)

AlanLe said:


> Thank you for all the nice feedbacks you guys. I really enjoy building these custom co2 rigs. By the way Milibrka, you're rocking with those regs, ada superjet and that Apex controller.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


sorry for old thread revive but curious if you still make custom Regs. for people?


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## Patric (Jun 14, 2019)

I'm interested as well for a 20G long tank.


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## Joshism (Nov 26, 2015)

If you want the absolute best, I think it's gotta be the Parker Veriflo iR6002 or iR6003 or the Matheson Ultra Lines (retails for ~$1600), and that's just for the regulator. But for the purpose of pushing out a little CO2 bubble, do you really need that? I actually found a new and sealed one for $75 . For GLA, just go to Alibaba. They have the same regulators on there for around $250. I'd save my money and get any brass dual stage regulator. But if you have time on your side, you could usually find some stainless steel units for around $150 - $175 brand new.


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## AngryMountainMan (Jun 25, 2019)

I've had gla solenoids when they were good. Now they aren't that great if you ask me. Their customer service is abysmal as of lately. I just ordered from co2art, got here in 3 days from Germany. I've had worst shipping in the US. I got their combo kit for a tank in the bedroom just to test it out. I'm actually very impressed. I've had Milwaukee, older GLA, brewery regs with good solenoids, and co2art is definitely up there after diy. 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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