Rex's Planted Tank Guide

Controlled Regulator. Comes with Clippard Needle valve. Solenoid has red LED when powered on. $141 shipped in the US.

Manual Regulator (no solenoid) $116 shipped in the U.S.
NOTE: All regulators come with brass in-line check valve, plastic Perma-seal and 5' of CO2 tubing.

Rex's Best Darn Aquarium Regulator with Ideal Valve, solenoid, two check valves, 5' tubing, and bubble counter. $215 shipped in the US. Note that the Ideal valve will not be attached to the regulator body when you receive it. This is to prevent possible damage during shipping. Also you have the choice of having the valve hang straight down from the body of the regulator or coming out at a 90° angle.

Check Valve

The basic brass check valve. Note that you have a choice of barbs. The barbs pictured work well with most types of tubing. But not the tubing I have. If you want the barbs pictured be sure to let me know. Otherwise you will get the barb that works with the tubing I sell.

$13.75shipped in the US. If ordered with other items the cost of the valve is $12

CO2 Tubing

CO2 tubing. This is the real thing. Doesn't leak. Doesn't break down. $0.70 a foot. Discount given for more than 25 ft at a time.

This tubing will not get brittle, crack or as stated above, will not break down over time. Some people use silicone tubing with their CO2 and that’s fine if that’s what they want to use, however if you want CO2 tubing that is better than silicone then I have the tubing you want. All regulators come with 5' of tubing.

Clippard Needle Valve

Clippard Needle Valve – $14

Adapters to fit 1/8”, 1/4” and 3/8” ports are $2 each. Native thread is 10-32 and you won't find that size at a hardware store.

Configured for in-line use $15.

Note: that I no longer carry this needle valve as a stock item. If you want this valve there may be a delay.

Fabco Needle Valve

Fabco NV 55 needle valve.
Comes with barbs to run in-line – $22 Much better valve than the Clippard. Easier to adjust bubble rate as it has some resistance to the stem. Also gives much finer control.

If you wish to attach this to a regulator then I have the adapters (same as for the Clippard valve) and the fitting. Be very careful when attaching to a regulator body as this valve is heavy and it would be easy to break the fitting. In my opinion, for what it's worth, you are much better off running this as an in-line valve. This is my most popular needle valve.

Ideal 52-1-12 Needle Valve

Ideal 52-1-12 Needle Valve. $65

Simply the best valve you can get for under $150. Rock solid. Bubble rates as low as 2 bubbles per minute. No “end of tank dump” problems. Valve has 1/8” NTP ports. Hex nipples and tubing adapters available.

Clippard Low Pressure Regulator

Clippard Low Pressure Regulator. $20

Has 10-32 side port and 1/8” NPT inlet. Helps obtain and maintain lower bubble counts when used with a Clippard needle valve. There is NO reason to use this with anything but a Clippard needle valve.

Using the LPR: This is NOT a primary regulator. It will not and can not replace a primary regulator. It will NOT fit on a CO2 cylinder. *How to use a L.P.R

Ultra Mini Manifold

Ultra Mini Manifold. Supports up to 3 needle valves.
Needle valves NOT included. $4.50 Comes in two versions. 1/8” inlet or 10-32 inlet.

Plugs are $0.30 each Hose barbs are $0.50 each

Mini Manifold

Mini Manifold – 4 port model is shown.
Also comes in 6 and 8 port versions. Inlet is 1/8” NPT. Outlets are 10-32. Can be configured to run in-line.

Plugs are $0.30 each. Hose barbs are $0.50 each. In-line adds $2.00

12 Port Manifold

12 port manifold $11

Using hose barbs and in-line needle valves you can run a full 12 tanks from this manifold. Input port is 1/8” NPT. Outlet ports are 10-32.

Plugs are $0.30 each. Hose barbs are $0.50 each. In-line adds $2.

Clippard Solenoid

Clippard Solenoid. $30

110 volts AC. Has red LED that lights up when on.

Note: These solenoids are rated for up to a 60°C rise in temperature when operating. So they can get quite warm.
Solenoid tip.

MK I Perma-seal

MK I Perma-seal $7

This seal will last most people a lifetime. Reusable.

Note that your CO2 cylinder must have threads inside the outlet port to use this part.

Plastic Perma-seal

MK I Perma-seal $3.50

Same as the above seal but with a plastic (I suspect nylon) body.

This seal will last most people a lifetime. Reusable.

Note that your CO2 cylinder must have threads inside the outlet port to use this part.

Bubble Counter

Rex's Ghetto Bubble counter – Comes with clamp $9.

Works best with two check valves. One on each side of bubble counter. The supplied clamp needs to be reset every 30 days or so. I just do it every water change. Failure to reset the clamp will result in bubble counter on the floor (voice of experience).

Just add water (hint – attach check valves and treat the bubble counter like a giant straw to fill with water) and you are ready to go. Current units are a bit shorter than shown in picture.

Complete packages with Fabco needle valve and two check valves are $51

Reactor

I almost always have these reactors available for those who don't want to mess with building one.

I always have 5/8” elbows to fit these. Also 1/2” and 3/4” elbows. The 5/8” are much harder to find than the other two sizes.

If you have questions feel free to ask.

Using  a  L .P .R .

*How to use a L.P.R. There has been some confusion over how the LPR works. So here's the nitty-gritty on using the LPR. These are 30 psi regulators. And they have right around 11 turns from open to closed. So that makes each turn equal to about 2.7 psi.

The main thing to keep in mind is that if your main regulator's working pressure is higher than the setting of the LPR then the excess pressure will vent from that small hole. So, set your main regulator working pressure to about 10-12 psi. Open the LPR up about 7-8 turns. Now adjust the flow rate with your needle valve as close as you can. You can now use the LPR to fine tune the bubble rate. That's pretty much how it works.

Solenoid Tips

It's quite normal for gas to continue flowing after the solenoid turns off. This is normally just the operating pressure bleeding off. This can take up to an hour to bleed off all the pressure depending on your working pressure. If gas is still going through the solenoid there could be a piece of dust in the solenoid. To clear the solenoid do the following, (note this is for my regulators. With other brands of regulators you are on your own).