Well, I've been dissapointed with Flourish Excel for some time now. It works, but not enough to make me happy (guess I'm just picky). So, having discussed this with a couple of folks online, I have set out to make my own CO2 manifold to operate three different tanks. I didn't want to go the the "brass-tee-and-tubing" route because I listened to Nikolay's story about his troubles with that configuration. So I am attempting something a little more sturdy. Here's the low-down:
www.clippard.com
Clippard Minimatics makes some great equipment, all brass or nickelplated brass. The local distributor for Clippard is the Wilson Company, located at 16301 Addison Road, Addison, Tx, 75001. This shop is <2 miles from Dallas North Aquarium, so if you're making a trip all the way out to DNA, Wilson might be a good stop for you.
These are the parts I ordered from Wilson:
MAN-12
Brass Hex Manifold-Machined from solid brass hex stock, $4.65 each. This serves as the body of the manifold, and allows you to (realistically) place up to 7 needle valves.
MNV-4K2
Precision needle valves, nickleplated, $9.90 each. Pricey, and they come with only a 1/8" single barb, but excellent quality. I plan on replacing the barb on these valves with:
11752-1
10/32 to 1/8" ID Hose Fittings, package of 10.
Gotta plug up those extra holes.
11755-PKG
10/32 screw plugs w/ Buna N gaskets, package of 10.
What about the input? Well...
15006-1
These are 1/8" MPT to 10/32 FPT connectors, package of 10.
So, now I've got this lil' puppy sitting on my desk at work, just waiting to get plugged into the system. I'll report back in about a week to let you know how well it's performing. So far, it seems to be able to handle the pressure, but my lungs don't compare to a 10# CO2 canister. Wish me luck!
CO2 manifolds... lower cost!
Linear Mode
