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NOT HAPPY WITH MIST

G

gollum456

Member
Joined
22 May 2010
Messages
97
After running my UP atomiser for a couple of months i have decided i dont like the really fine mist it produces. it really is making the water look cloudy. just a thought, what if i bought ANOTHER UP atomiser and connected it in line or some other reactor, would it work? would it reduce the flow too much? do you think it would eliminate the micro bubbles?

any opinions on this would be much appreciated
 
What size is it, I'll take it off your hands. ;)

Lowering the pressure might produce large bubbles but you'd be less efficently using co2. Attaching the diffuser as close to the filter output would help too I suspect.
 
George Farmer said:
I have mine on the filter inlet hose. This way the bubbles are diffused entirely before entering the water column.
Click to expand...

this is what i was going to do originally but i did not under the advice that:-

1)it can damage the seals within the filter

2)the smaller bubbles accumulate in the filter and then release every so often as one big bubble, thus invalidating the whole point of the atomiser

can you beg to differ?

thanks in advance
 
I dont know if the seal issue is true or not, but I wouldn't risk it. My Eheim filter started leaking within a year of being new, by the time I noticed, the chipboard stand/cabinet had soaked with water - very worrying with 180 litres of water supported by soggy wood!!

Interestingly, the shop owner, who apparently is an Eheim expert, told me that Eheim had a problem where all their seals were shrinking so they were sending out new ones, I guess to registered customers.
 
co2 supposedly enhances wear on the seals/plastic hence the need of special co2 tubing how much quicker than normal is not ever mentioned?
as to the seals your meant to replace them frequently anyhow
 
Hi,

If the mist bothers you then change to a reactor. Achieves almost 100% dissolution within the reaction chamber so no fine mist to spoil your view and extremely economical use of CO2 so would therefore pay for itself over time depending on how much you use and how much you pay for it.

Personally wouldn't entertain the idea of feeding co2 into your canister filter for the reasons already mentioned. Just not worth the possible risks IMO. I know many that do this and haven't had any problems (yet) but if a problem did occur the likely hood is that it could be quite serious.

Regards, Chris.
 
Im confused by the effect of the CO2 on the filter.

Mine is placed on the filter OUTLET side, and works fine.And therefore does not come into contact with the filter .
So there is no build up of CO2, or wear to worry about
I would never put anything other than the tank water through, for fear of damaging the helpful Bacteria.

I have run nearly all the various Eheims for years, and touch wood have never had premature seal failure. To keep them soft i have always used Vaseline/special lube.
Obviously after many years they will eventually suffer from wear/tear.

Initially i was well aware of the very fine mist, but now dont really notice it. Maybe its time for new glasses.

Cheers
 
chris1004 said:
Hi,

If the mist bothers you then change to a reactor. Achieves almost 100% dissolution within the reaction chamber so no fine mist to spoil your view and extremely economical use of CO2 so would therefore pay for itself over time depending on how much you use and how much you pay for it.
Click to expand...

what kind of reactor did you have in mind?
 
chris1004 said:
Hi,

If the mist bothers you then change to a reactor. Achieves almost 100% dissolution within the reaction chamber so no fine mist to spoil your view and extremely economical use of CO2 so would therefore pay for itself over time depending on how much you use and how much you pay for it.
Click to expand...

jeez, they're expensive! i just cant justify that to the missus at the moment after what i've already spent out setting up this tank. however i will have one in the near future.

but before i do, are they really that good? do they really dissolve all the bubbles completely? to be honest for almost 60 quid i would expect not to see a single bubble, considering the UP atomiser is doing a reasonable job for about £15!

any input appreciated, cheers
 
Hi gollum456,

Yes IMO they really are that good. I'm using the same setup as ceejay and only ever get tiny co2 bubbles (and I literally mean 1 or 2) if I've got the regulator turned up to high.

You do't have to pay £60 for one either make one yourself there are lots of accounts of DIY ones listed on this forum or buy secondhand from Ebay, they do come up now and again, you'll just have to keep looking until they do if you go down this route. I've even seen them in the sale/swap section on this forum although they do tend to get snapped up pretty sharpish when they do.

The 'up' atomizer is apparently a great piece of kit, I've not personally seen or used one but as I understand it they do what they are supposed to do very well and that is to atomize co2 into the water column. But no matter what atomizer you use there will always be tiny bubbles floating around until they have been dissolved fully or left the water column through the surface. Its the nature of the beast I'm afraid.

A reactor works completely differently in that it dissolves the co2 inside the reaction chamber before the water is returned to the tank. When an atomizer is used pre-filter the filter canister in effect becomes the reaction chamber.

The only issues are those already mentioned i.e. possible corrosion of seals due to the acidic nature of co2, air locks ( or more specifically co2 locks), and possible damage to bacterial colony.

Regards, Chris.
 
thanks for informative reply. i have already purchased the equipment to build my own!!
the £60 i was referring to was for the aqua medic 1000.

oh and by the way i have a up atomiser for sale now if anyone is interested. it is only 3 months old. you only have to look at my previous threads to verify this. i would like to offer it to someone on this forum before i put it on ebay. it is working fine, its just the fine mist that is the problem for me. oh and its the 16/22 size
 
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