I've been renting the co2 bottle from BOC since August last year and I've hardly used any at all - I think it will last you well over a year people!
Also, to keep the PH stable you may want to invest in a PH Controller set-up (this can be "stage 2" of your co2 fert supply).
I started out with just a bubble counter, but my discus did not appreciate the constant PH swings between day and night, so I hunted around for a cheap alternative to the dupla, sera, and tunze PH control systems.
What I found was a company in Brisbane,
Milwaukee Meters, that can supply a great solution:
I bought a
Milwaukee SMS122 PH Controller (which comes with an electrode) and I also bought a
Milwaukee electric solenoid, all for less than $320 delivered! They can also supply you with a regulator that has a bubble counter and solenoid attached for something like $230, but I think that punies' regulator is much more compact and a lot more affordable :wink:
The D size bottle from BOC is about 700mm high, so with the all-in-one regulator/bubble-counter/solenoid from milwaukee it may make the set-up too tall to fit under most tank cabinets...
I would also like to warn anyone planning on buying an aquamedic regulator - BOC have recently changed the diammetre of the inside of their bottle fittings. This means that an aquamedic-style regulator (one that fits inside the thread of the bottle) is no longer suitable on all BOC bottles (however, there are still some older BOC bottles in circulation).
I bought a Tunze regulator (this is before I met punie and had access to his bargains) and this kind of regulator is fine, as it seals with the outside diammetre of the BOC bottle's thread fitting.
I also have a small co2 kit made by Aquamedic (which I plan to use on my new nano cube). I considered buying a fitting that would allow me to refill this small bottle from my rented BOC bottle that I use on my 48 x 18 x 24. From what I've gather though, they cost about $300, so you are better off buying a small dupla bottle from
PADC for about $200ish as these are the only bottles that they will refill for you. These dupla bottles will also fit in any cabinet :wink:
Last of all, if you are like me and like to keep all your equipment outside of your tank, there are a number of external co2 diffusers that hook up "in-line" with your cannister filter, but expect to pay more than 3 times the amount of what one of punies' sintered glass diffusers cost.
Kudos to punie for making co2 affordable for the average aquarist
He is absoultely right - it is not so hard to set-up and if anyone would like a hand, I'd be more than happy to offer my services :wink: