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Aquario/Twinstar Neo diffusers

Big G

Member
Joined
20 Apr 2020
Messages
174
Location
London&Thanet
Evening all.

Anybody else having trouble with these?

My first was great and produced fantastic micro bubbles but I snapped it trying to get it off the co2 pipe. £15 inc. delivery straight in the bin - bah !

This one is okish but not a patch on the last and after a 30 minute dip in 50/50 thin bleach and water whilst still on (then 30 min swish in tap+dechlorinator) its pushing bigger bubbles from a round the rim.

I get why these are big sellers as when good the bubbles are so small they must offer extra time in suspension before either absorbtion, dissipation or reaching the surface. However, I’m starting to get very tired of shelling out and just hoping I didn’t get a Friday afternoon one.

Problem is they’ve more or less cornered the market on micro bubbles as far as I can make out.

Inline not an option on the above rig.

Starting to fall out of love with co2/high tech. It’s come a long way but it’s still a faff; seals , tubes, diffusers etc.Feels like its still quite a wild west market of mixed and inconsistent gear. Some may have no problem dropping big $$ on these things all the time but beginning to feel like it’s a bit of mugs game somehow.

I want at least a year out of a given diffuser, no ambiguity, no excuses or its just expensive trash.



Rant over

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If you want something that produces bubbles that are just as fine, has more functionality, is cheaper and you don't mind that it looks ugly, get a Tropica diffuser, I've owned several and would vouch for them as the best in tank diffuser out there.
 
If you want something that produces bubbles that are just as fine, has more functionality, is cheaper and you don't mind that it looks ugly, get a Tropica diffuser, I've owned several and would vouch for them as the best in tank diffuser out there.
Cheers NG.

I don’t doubt your experiences and most kit is ugly, even the Aquario/Twinstar imho. I had a steel diffuser that took similar disks (to the Tropica) with a rubber surround before I got to the A/T ones. Maybe I’ve been unlucky but that was pretty rubbish too.

I’ll no doubt try a Tropica sooner or later and maybe a few Aquasabi ones but I don’t have high expectations at this point. Glad its working for you.

For the record I’m using a twin gauge regulator with the output stage set to 30psi.

I’m tired of poorly manufactured, inconsistent and unreliable tatt. I would have more respect for them if they were honest and sold this stuff as semi-disposable or offered a diffuser that cost £100 but was made very well and lasted three years without fail.

There will be a serviceable and more straight forward delivery system at some point. Things are changing all the time. When that comes it’s game over for these current platforms and not a minute too soon.

all the best

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Watching with interest for recommendations. I bought glass diffusers with my CO2 regulator and they are just awful- maybe if I had big tanks and wanted to blast CO2 they would be okay, but I only have small tanks and 1 bubble per second leads to a single stream of bubbles from one edge of the diffuser- it turns my drop checker green somehow, but it looks awful. I bought one Aquario Twinstar and find it very good, just ordered a second, we'll see how that goes.
 
Forgive this post if it comes out odd. Typing on my mobile/cell.

Just wanted to report that I've been testing the Tropica 3in1 diffuser for a few weeks and would concur with Nuno that the bubbles are prettymuch as fine. The only exception is that if you're lucky the Twinstar/Aquario will go one stage further and produce almost a 'mist' of co2. It's genuinely something a bit special to see. My first did it, my second didn't.

The Tropica does look very cumbersome and bulky but as tidy and petite as the TS/A is, I'm not sure its any less distracting.It may be easier to hide though.

I will no doubt continue with both alternately.

I doubt I am alone in this but have never found a way to get the diffusor off the polyurethane co2 line when needing cleaning. Hot water, pushing, twisting - no luck. Resorted to nipping off the cm or so of overlap and starting afresh each time. That's roughly 12cm a year. In the UK 1meter of co2-proof tubing is between £1.75 and £2.50 so really not too much of a big deal.

Anyway, hope the above is of some help.

Best wishes

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Forgive this post if it comes out odd. Typing on my mobile/cell.

Just wanted to report that I've been testing the Tropica 3in1 diffuser for a few weeks and would concur with Nuno that the bubbles are prettymuch as fine. The only exception is that if you're lucky the Twinstar/Aquario will go one stage further and produce almost a 'mist' of co2. It's genuinely something a bit special to see. My first did it, my second didn't.

The Tropica does look very cumbersome and bulky but as tidy and petite as the TS/A is, I'm not sure its any less distracting.It may be easier to hide though.

I will no doubt continue with both alternately.

I doubt I am alone in this but have never found a way to get the diffusor off the polyurethane co2 line when needing cleaning. Hot water, pushing, twisting - no luck. Resorted to nipping off the cm or so of overlap and starting afresh each time. That's roughly 12cm a year. In the UK 1meter of co2-proof tubing is between £1.75 and £2.50 so really not too much of a big deal.

Anyway, hope the above is of some help.

Best wishes

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Thanks for the update! As for me, I'm running three Aquarios now, one of which is on a system with Bio CO2, so it requires a lot of cleaning.

Just as a note about the cleaning thing, though- I don't remove my diffusers from the tubing to clean them.

I carefully remove the diffuser from the aquarium with the tubing attached and the CO2 still running, set it carefully in a cup of ADA Superge mix (thin bleach also works), finish the rest of the cleaning/water changing, carefully rinse the diffuser in another cup of plain water with a large dose of Prime added to remove the chlorine, then back in the tank, all without ever removing the tubing or turning off the CO2. This works incredibly well, the CO2 has the effect of "scrubbing bubbles" so I don't have to do anything more than that to get the algae and gunk off.
 
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