Brilliant

Hey guys,

I got my new Hydor CO2 kit today! I think its going to be great for the new ADA cube I got in the group buy. I will let you all know how it works out.

Frank

Emc2

I'm looking forward to hearing your review. I checked it out at TFP and decided against it for various reasons.

Brilliant

Included with my system were "Special adapters for CO2 gas cartridges and canisters". So I am hoping it will fit on paintball co2. I can pick out a fancy looking one and get those refilled around the corner. If not another 10lb co2 canister from the beer store....the disposable cartridges arent so appealing. You can get the "Extendable Adapter for USA" Part # XK4310 to fit any of the NRG regulators.

I havent hooked it up yet but I will Monday. The bubble counter is glass and looks neat!

Hydor is an Italian based company and the Italians make great valves. I think the control will be superb....I will let you all know.

Frank

Brilliant

Minor update, I wanted to follow up with the parts mentioned above.

No go on the paintball co2.

Do not use the washer included with your co2 tank. This will cause a leak. The part I mentioned above has a rubber seal in it. So far "off" works very good.

Blacksunshine

So then it only works with the little $20 refills from Hydor.
you got my hopes up.

But you get 274 days of co2 at 4 bpm.

I bet thers some 3rd party adapters you could get to let you use Paintball CO2 tanks.

Brilliant

Hi,

The disposable canisters are not so appealing and not required for use if the parts I mentioned are used. I am currently using the NRG regulator on my 5lb co2 tank. Going with the flow the paintball co2 would have been cool but maybe too small. I like to keep refills at the minimum.

I like the ease of control over the flow.

dstephens

I am getting ready to set mine up tommorow. Can you share any advice on set up do's and don'ts? Did I read an earleir post say 274 days of use at 4 bubbles per minute? That seems like a low flow rate for CO2. I'm using mine on an ADA 60-P set up with 150 w MH light fixture. Anyway, I was excited to see someone post on this very issue as I was concerned I had invested in a one-off type deal that no one else used. Thanks, Darrell

Brilliant

Yeah sure.

Do's:
Use allen wrench (provided /w part # XK4310) and attach adapter firmly to regulator. Then attach entire assembly to refillable co2.

Test for leaks. Attach regulator to bottle make sure regulator is on off position or all the way (-), open bottle, close bottle, let sit watch gauge for changes. If you lose pressure you have leak.

If your into aesthetics. Cover over wrench or adapter to prevent damage when you attach it to the bottle. Bare metal tool will mark up the shiny adapter a little bit.

Secure co2 bottle in tank stand or elsewhere to prevent accidents and damage to regulator if co2 bottle falls over.

Buy bottle of Excel and dose until co2 is set straight.


Don'ts:
Use washer typically provided with refillable co2 tank.

Use refillable cartridges on large tanks.



I am not using the disposables. The bubble rates mentioned are to shopw how long disposable will last. The regulator is capable of typical bubble rates. I was thinking of using them on the ADA cube which is close to 7gallons. I do no need co2 on this tank. The beauty of this system is scalability. You just upgrade reactor (if needed) and buy refillable co2 tank with Hydor adapter and your good. Now I have co2 equipment I needed for each of my tanks.

The reactor is little loud at first. After running a few hours it runs silent. While I dont really desire electronic equipment in the tank this is the smallest powered reactor I have seen. It really does work and probably excellent for the fermentation kits.

The regulators adjustment is sticky. I am confident it will stay true with consistent bubble rate. I just want to see what happens when I exchange bottle because it is very easy to adjust and could get bumped, it may need to be adjusted again.

dstephens

That is very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to post. I am using it one the ADA 60-P which is to me, a small tank, 17 gallons approximately. I just took down a 100 gallon planted that I had for a few years. I still have and have been using the CO2 system form that tank. I use a Milwaukee regulator, Milwaukee PH monitor and Rhinox ceramic diffuser. I really liked the idea behind the diffuser with the Hydor. Sometimes it is so hard to keep the rhinox diffuser clean enough to keep spitting out little bubbles. Thanks again. I will be setting up this weekend.

joshlcarter

I have a quick question. Did you buy the Hydor CO2 Exclusive or the Hydor CO2 Advanced system? Where did you buy it? Thanks!