Ive got needle valves on my mind today and need some help but lets start with some tank pics.
NEEDLE VALVES:
The needle valve on the milwuakee ma957 got the job done but lacks fine control at the high flow rates im using. I recently decided to inject the farm tanks and a 29gal moss tank and bought a cheapo splitter with cheapo needle valves. They float, algea happens, things aren't happy. I have a few questions so ill just throw them out there.
Im running 40psi working pressure same as when I was just running the 75gal with the rex. Now I have the rex and 2 diffusers connected to the regulator. Even with separate needle valves am I going to endlessly fiddle with co2 considering the rex has no back pressure and the diffusers have a ton? Am I better off running the diffusers on their own tank/reg (would have to be CHEAP). Im ok with fiddling to get it set as long as my bps stays steady.
What the heck is the fitting size between the solenoid and the needle valve on the milwuakee ma957? 1/4npt was too big.
I also need some help picking a needle valve. The splitter I want from diyc02regulator has 3 smc as1200 and for the price seems to be a good option. Im looking to stability not ease of setup. What my question is, are the 1000 series able to accurately meter when my bps is higher than I can count for the rex? then like 1bps for the diffusers? Or would I be better off with the 2000 series for the rex and some 1000series on their own reg for the diffusers? I assume with any splitter I would want 3 of the same needle valve.
The following graphs show l/min I have no clue what l/min im trying to inject (do yall know this for your tanks?) Anyway here is the comparison for the 1000 and 2000 series needle valves.
DIFFUSION:
Im currently running a 24X2 rex hooked up to my return pump (Jeabo dct12000). Its just too much flow for the rex, I would like to turn it up but cannot without rendering the rex ineffective. So I have a plan I would like to run by you all.
I have a rio plus 600 venturi pump. I was thinking about running co2 into the pump (has an airline fitting) then connect the pump to an ista max mix large then feed that either into the return pump by setting the discharge close to the jaebos intake or just after the return pump with a fitting on the hose. Either way it would still go through the rex and pump through the spray bar that delivers flow nice and evenly throughout the tank. Im assuming either way I do it I would get better diffusion than the rex alone. I may be looking to remove the rex but even with the headloss of the rex and an overkill submerged spraybar I have more available flow than the tank can handle.
Lots of questions and as RAJMK can tell you, even with the best advice ill probably still just go with what I think I want lol.
ps: yes I should spend a couple hundred on a nice dual stage and another couple hundred on needle valves but im a broke ass.