I did a ton of research before buying a pair of pressurized setups this week (my two larger tanks now each have a 10-lb. CO2 bottle, Milwaukee MA957 regulator w/ gauges & bubble counter).
I got a bargain on the Milwaukee regulators I could not pass up. Came out to under $150.00 to start one tank, and that included a trip to town to get the new cylinder charged w/ CO2 by the friendly welding shop guys.
That said...if you can't get the Milwaukee regulator setup for $90 or less (got both of mine new for less than $70 each), I would get this instead:
Aquariumplants.com regulator
The reason I say this is, even though it's about $50 more than the max I'd pay for a Milwaukee regulator setup, it has some better features:
1.) Regulator is easier to fine-tune
2.) Low-pressure gauge has a zero-to-15psi range (this is all you need; gauges with more range than this on the regulator output side are not useful)
3.) Fine-thread needle valve (you turn it versus trial-and-error-nudging to get a fine-tuned CO2 flow).
My Milwaukee MA957's will take the better part of a week to tune for people who haven't used gas regulators before, though since I'm familiar with gas regulators (laboratory work in college; gas welding and cutting torches), I've almost got the seetings to just right in 24 hours.
The other bonus to using the Aquariumplants.com regulator is that you won't be tempted to crank the regulator to the point where you're getting high pressures when the solenoid de-powers...the gauge goes only to 15psi. Really, if you use more than 15psi, some solenoids have to work hard to "unseat" the sealing surface, and you'll destroy them in a couple days. Which brands are fragile? I don't know, so I treat my gear as if it is. The regulator should be used to set the flow as close as you can get it...the needle valve is used for fine-tuning, and much better for the longevity of the solenoid if you don't use it at all.
As far as my setups go, I've got good flow without the regulated-side gauge needle even moving off the peg...in short, I'm in the 5-7psi range, with the needle valves only required to slow down the flow just the tiniest amount, if at all.
Pressurzied CO2? I'd say go for it. Although it did cause explosive plant growth over the last year, I've given up on sugar and yeast. Whenever my wife wanted to bake some sweets, we were always out of sugar!
v/r, N-A
