The only real reason I seem to use the solenoid on mine is if I want to shut off the CO2 (for whatever reason), without having to fiddle with the valves. Seems to take ages to fiddle with the needle valve to get it where I would like it, so once it's there I try to leave it. I could have a particularly fussy rig though.
I'm not too concerned about power failures. I guess it's a nice feature, but I'm thinking I've probably dumped more CO2 into the tank at times when trying to adjust the flowrates than gets dumped in in the 30 minutes of a power failure. I'm thinking it just temporarily pulls the pH down in the reactor more than anything.
If I had a plug, I'd use it. But if not, I doubt I'd stress over it.
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-- Tony
My next hobby will be flooding my basement while repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall and tearing up $100 bills. Whee!
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