I have had a new inline co2 atomizer up and running fine for the past week, mist coming out of the spray bar and everything looked fine. However today, there seems to be something prohibiting co2 from going into the inline atomizer, the co2 line coming from the regulator blew off from the valve and emptied the bubble counter. I hooked it up to the regulator again and tested it again and the pressure builds up again and the hose begins to pop off the valve again. The check valve is working fine and I took the co2 line going to the atomizer off and placed it on a co2 disc and co2 comes out. Does anyone have any idea what might be going on?
CO2 atomizer need quite a bit of pressure in order to produce bubbles. I have mine set for 40 psi. That means good seals at every joints and CO2 proof tubing. Once, the top part of the bubble counter blew off. The only "glue" that worked was: 2 Ton Epoxy (2500 psi strenght).
I read that inline atomizers, because of the water flow from the outlet tubing, that the co2 pressure cannot be too high. it is one of these types, Aquarium CO2 Inline Atomizer Diffuser Reactor system Hose | eBay, I couldn't find a name on mine.
We'll, your pushing just a few BBS, so pressure shouldn't be too high. It has to overcome the pressure from the pump water pushing back up the line, but I've never had problems with mine. Seems very odd.
I was running at about 1-2 bps, anything above that and the pressure would build up and the line into the regulator blows (I did this just to test it out). This last time it happened though I was running at 1-2 bps and poof the pressure built up and popped the line off the valve.
Atomic diffuser needs 30+ psi to work. Fluval ceramic disc works at about 20 psi. If you run more bps you'll get to the "set" working pressure faster but you will not get a higher pressure than the one you set on your regulator. If you cannot increase the pressure, maybe try an inline reactor...
A diffuser has a porous material (ceramic or glass) that produces tiny bubbles of CO2 that eventually dissolve in the tank. A reactor, stirs big bubbles of CO2 with tank water until it dissolve. CO2 enters the tank already dissolved. No pressure needed. Just a fine tune of bps so you don't feed more than the reactor can dissolve.
That atomic diffuser must have a built-in checkvalve or something. My reactor simply dumps the line into the chamber, I use a checkvalve to keep water from backing up. Either way, your line on the regulator should not be popping off. Either the hose isn't co2 line, or it's worn/expanded. Try cutting a little bit off the end and reattaching. I literally have to cut mine off my regulator to remove it.
@aniroc or @TexasGuppy should there be water visible in the inline atomizer diffuser? Within the unit, outside of the internal diffuser stone, it was filled with water.
It shouldn't. The "stone" is like a cylinder, water flows on the inside, CO2 comes from the outside. I've seen water in the unit when the regulator is not on (canister was out for refill)
Well I hooked up a direct line to the unit and it pushed all the water out, but didn't see any mist like before coming out of the spray bar. The regulator has been off for almost an hour and no water went back into the unit. Ok, hahaha, need some ideas now on what could be the issue directly in correlation with the unit now.
If it's atomizing, you shouldn't see a mist? Maybe if you see mist, the CO2 is too high for it to mix in the water? Mine works by swirling the CO2 in the chamber and only dissolved CO2 makes it into the tank. Just guessing, haven't used your type before.
Unplug the canister filter while the CO2 is on. Easier to see if mist is coming out of the atomizer. Assuming your spray bar is fully submerged, you'll also see CO2 accumulating at the upper (bent) part of the hose. Use soapy water to check for any leaks: bubble counter, check valve and atomizer itself (including the joint where CO2 line enters the diffuser).
If I turn off the canister filter how would I see if any co2 is coming out of the spray bar? Wouldn't there be nothing coming out of the spray bar even water? Or am I just plain loopy this morning. The fittings are all black so I wouldn't be able to see co2 accumulating anywhere except within the atomizer. Oh and no leaks I made sure of that already.
That is how mine looks too, without that fancy check valve in the background . That is the same sticker that is on my atomizer as well. I do know that Eheim outlets are visible to the inside of the tube all the way to the spray bar right? I have an aquatop canister and unfortunately the connection from the hose to the spray bar unit is black
I also think the outlet barb valve on my regulator maybe a hair too small for the hose. I tried the black hose that came with the regulator and I can hear co2 slowly leaking from the co2 hose to the valve when I turn the pressure up. That shouldn't be the case right?
