Milwaukee CO2 Regulator w/Solenoid Valve, MA957

Im using this for my planted tank and it works fine. The only problem is if the check valve is not working properly the water in the bubble counter will leak out slowly when the solenoid shuts off(may take two weeks or more). I recommend getting one without the bubble counter right next to the solenoid or make sure your check valve is high quality.

As the title says, it works. It comes as one unit, so no piecing anything together. The bubble counter does not have a built-in check valve as do similar styles, so its a good idea to add one in there somewhere (water backflow to the NV and solenoid would be very bad). The needle valve is difficult to dial in, but can be done and stays there. Regular nylon washers work if you use a lot of force to tighten the reg onto the tank, but a permaseal will not. The specific fitting that this regulator uses is not flat, as other CGA320 fittings are, so 2 nylon washers of specific design are included. Because nylon washers should be replaced every time the CO2 tank is refilled, after two fills youll either have to use a regular nylon washer and crush it down, or contact Milwaukee for their particular washers - they cant be found anywhere else. Overall, a good buy for the money. Definitely a good bet for your first regulator rig.

The instructions are almost good. They fail to mention that In order to keep a steady bubble count using the needle valve, the pressure in the secondary stage should be above 20 lbs. (between 20 and 30 lbs. is fine). It takes a few hours until the pressure in the second stage holds steady, so you can initially set it to 30 lbs and it will slowly drop for a while and then remain constant above 20. As long as the second stage pressure is above 20, the needle valve will meter out a very precise and steady flow rate of CO2 - which is easy to adjust using the bubble counter. Kudos to AquaCave for prompt shipping and excellent price.