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Either a 30 or 40 cuft tanks would be enough to get to the surface from a depth of 100ft in a dive that doesn`t exceed the NDL of your tables, provided you don`t panic and and your RMV stays below 10 cuft/min/ATA (a ridiculous number). (Basically, yes, yes they both will surfice.) And if you ever go into deco or trimix diving, these are the tank sizes you`ll need for stages. As far as brand it really doesn`t matter for now an aluminum tank would probably be easiest for you to care for; all of my stages are 40 cuft Luxfers.
Now the next few answers refer to having the bottle slung as opposed to mounted on the side of your primary, like you want, so choose to ignore these suggestions if you`d like. But I still think they`re something to consider.
For a regulator go with a DIN first stage as they are much more reliable, and even when I`m using my bottle as a pony and not a stage it`s still slung, so I charge the hose pre-dive and turn it on if/when I need it, DIN keeps the first stage from separating from the valve should I lean on something and purge the system. This method prevents free flow, and I probably should have mentioned get a DIN valve on the tank, and if you choose to go yoke, you can buy an insert that converts the DIN valve to Yoke. (Again, if you decide to do Deco/Trimix dives you need a DIN valve. Plus if you decide to sell the tank it`s worth more.)
For an SPG check leisure pro or scuba.com for a cheap one, but I have a six inch Dive Rite SPG`s, but again mine are slung not rear mounted so I don`t need a long hose.
I don`t have advice on mounting it to the side of the tank, other than that there are a variety of mounts, clips, gadgets, and accessories that achieve this function available commercially. Just remember to put a counter weight on you left side to counter the additional negative buoyancy on the one side.
Enjoy.
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Thanks for the advice. If anyone else has any other suggestions feel free to comment. By the way I like your setup in the "Opening Season" picture. I don`t know if I`ll ever get into the level of Trimix or Heliox diving but I do know I`ll at least do Nitrox. Thanks for the reply.
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Thanks for your advice. I will take a look into setting it up on my side. I am going to go with the 40cu. pony tank. I think I already have a Mares gauge picked out and I might go with a Sherwood Brut as my regulator for the poney bottle. They seem inexpensive but reliable with good reviews so we`ll see. Thanks again!
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jayme - 3/21/2008 1:29 AM 
hEY I TOO AM A JERSEY DIVER FOR 20 YRS. MAKE SURE YOU GET A SLIDER BRACKET WHICH STAYS ON YOUR BC. ITS ABOUT 140.00 BUT WELL WORTH IT. EMAIL ME, I CAN TELL YOU WHERE TO GET THE WHOLE SET UP
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I`d go with a Luxfer AL 40cft bottle with a DIN valve; this is the size you’ll use for more advanced training. As for bottle position I wear mine on the left side so it won`t interfere with then scooter and can light. Also wearing it on the left side facilitates valve manipulation and streamlining. I`d stay away from mounting it to your tanks behind you because you cannot see if there is a problem. I had one guy give me OOG signal on a deco hang because his back mounted pony had a leak and was empty. Here is asite that shows how to rig a deco/stage bottle. http://dir-diver.com/en/equipment/stagebottle_rigging.html Cheers, Vinny
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Dude: If you HOG!! air then a 30 is more than enough to get you to the surface. I am a air hog, techie and I use a 40 for about 35 min of deco at 15-20 ft. Thats on my doubles with trimix 18/65 for back gas, and nitrox 36 in an 80 for mid level deco stops. That gas load is for 180` foot dives in the straights of Mackinac. If you are just looking for that what if factor pony, cause your going deeper, I would 1. Get an analog pressure gauge for your main reg set, 2. get a steel 13 cu. from OMS with an OMS workhorse reg. and for a pressure gauge use a button gauge, 3. Get a mount set to mount it on your main tank to get it out of the way. The button gauage is all you need cause you just need to know if you filled it, cause if you ever go to it your on your way up, and a steel 13 has MORE than enough air to get you up from 130` with a 3 min safety stop if you stay calm.
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I use a 30 mounted to my Zeagles Ranger on the right side with Zeagle pony bottle mounts ( right rear weight pocket removed) mounted upright . 5 foot hose with second stage on a necklace. I put a 2 pound weight on the left upper for balance. I have tried it mounted upside down but liked the balance better upright. I have a sling kit that I built myself from a video on YouTube but did not care for the way it dived.
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