FWIW here is what I got and the prices (as of a year and a half ago):
-15# CO2 bottle from welding shop, baked, cleaned, certified food grade. After tax and fees was around $75. 5# bottle was only $10 cheaper and they didnt have any smaller than 15 in stock.
-CO2 fill at the same place as above was around $22 for certified food grade CO2. Its been a year and a half and the bottle is not showing signs of loosing pressure yet. Welding grade CO2 is about half that price but for $10 more every couple years I like not worrying about the possible toxic gasses you could get in the welding grade stuff.
-The regulator I got the cheapest one I could find at the time was the JBJ combo that had dual guage regulator with selenoid, needle valve, buble counter, and check valve, all pre-assembled. Was about $65
-tubbing... think I spent about $5 at lowes, forget what kind it is, I think its polyethylene tubing.
-Rena micro bubler was $5 and used in conjunction with a $20 powerhead (the powerhead is situated to blow over the top of the bubbler so as the bubbles start to rise they hit the current and are blown throughout the tank).
So that totals $190, probably closer to $205-210 with shipping, not including the CO2 glass diffuser I started out with but switched to the micro bubbler / powerhead.
The paintball systems I have just heard abot recently and look pretty appealing, especially if you dont have the space to house something like a 15# cyclinder, youll just have to refill them more often. If you use a selenoid and timer you would get double the time before refills though. The 24hr CO2 vs CO2 on with lights is a whole other debate though.
Good luck on your CO2 endeavors!
-15# CO2 bottle from welding shop, baked, cleaned, certified food grade. After tax and fees was around $75. 5# bottle was only $10 cheaper and they didnt have any smaller than 15 in stock.
-CO2 fill at the same place as above was around $22 for certified food grade CO2. Its been a year and a half and the bottle is not showing signs of loosing pressure yet. Welding grade CO2 is about half that price but for $10 more every couple years I like not worrying about the possible toxic gasses you could get in the welding grade stuff.
-The regulator I got the cheapest one I could find at the time was the JBJ combo that had dual guage regulator with selenoid, needle valve, buble counter, and check valve, all pre-assembled. Was about $65
-tubbing... think I spent about $5 at lowes, forget what kind it is, I think its polyethylene tubing.
-Rena micro bubler was $5 and used in conjunction with a $20 powerhead (the powerhead is situated to blow over the top of the bubbler so as the bubbles start to rise they hit the current and are blown throughout the tank).
So that totals $190, probably closer to $205-210 with shipping, not including the CO2 glass diffuser I started out with but switched to the micro bubbler / powerhead.
The paintball systems I have just heard abot recently and look pretty appealing, especially if you dont have the space to house something like a 15# cyclinder, youll just have to refill them more often. If you use a selenoid and timer you would get double the time before refills though. The 24hr CO2 vs CO2 on with lights is a whole other debate though.
Good luck on your CO2 endeavors!
