# Co2 atomiser



## AverageWhiteBloke (29 Oct 2011)

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/easy-aq ... th=194_197
Cleaned this for the first time after 3 months use. I put it back in the tank and after three hours nothing is coming out. I took the reg off the FE and give it a little blast, put it all back together and still nothing. There is only a bubble going through the counter now and again so the system is pressuring up I think. 

Is it normal for it to take this long to get going again? I don't want to keep fiddling in case I just waiting for the pressure to get high enough to work.


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## John S (29 Oct 2011)

Mine used to take ages to get going again after cleaning, its now defunct as one of the seals has gone. I'm sure it just takes time to build the pressure up.


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## Radik (29 Oct 2011)

I had one which got broken and had leak through ceramic diffuser/plastic sealing then you get no bubbles going only slooow leak of large bubbles try to blast even more pressure and you will see. I could not even repair it with silicon glue.


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## Ian Holdich (29 Oct 2011)

i also had this and it was a leak from an NRV. I also had a seal go after a soak in bleach, i have decided to get these now from Hong Kong, the are only a fiver each from HK, so you can get 3 for the price of 1.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (29 Oct 2011)

> I had one which got broken and had leak through ceramic diffuser/plastic sealing then you get no bubbles going only slooow leak of large bubbles try to blast even more pressure and you will see.


Thanks guys, I managed to get it working again after messing about with all the connections for ages   I just turned my regulator right up until bubble starting coming out which took it past the red line on the reg. I'll have to keep turning the pressure down a touch until the bubbles stop coming out, I'm not sure if running it this high can damage the reg.

I think your right though the Achilles heal of these seems to be the v high pressure needed to run them in comparison to other types of diffuser and where the ceramic meets the plastic. I don't think the makers of them have got that sorted out yet. Mine has one very small leak on that junction which isn't bad enough yet to stop the rest of the ceramic working it just gives out slightly bigger bubbles at that point and always is the last part to be still diffusing after the co2 has switched off.

I'll see how it goes, still not sure whether I will be getting another or going back to glassware.


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## Ian Holdich (29 Oct 2011)

how high have you got the pressure?

i also think you have hit the nail on the head there, regarding the Achilles heal. I have yet to find glass that is as good as these though.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (29 Oct 2011)

Its currently at 3 Bar, the red line on the gauge is at about 2.5bar although I'm not sure how accurate this is!

Prior to cleaning this it was running no problem at just over 2bar but it didn't seem to want to get started again at this pressure, the bubbles in the counter just stopped coming which I assume was at that pressure nothing was moving but when turned up a bit was enough to burst the seal of the diffuser so to speak.


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## Alastair (30 Oct 2011)

It's a common problem with the cheaper hong kong ones. The real good ones are the super atomiser one from gla in america but cost a fair bit plus shipping and tax. These never have problems and also look far superior, however, I'll be managing to get hold of a few of them if anyone's interested.


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## Radik (30 Oct 2011)

Yah but AE selling them for premium so how much are those from the US?


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## Alastair (30 Oct 2011)

The us ones work out about twenty pound then shipping plus tax. And they are totally different to ae and the hong king ones. I'll be getting about 5 from the manufacture who supply the ones to the us. Going to be keeping hold of two and the others will be anyone's who want them


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## AverageWhiteBloke (31 Oct 2011)

You know that slight hole that wasn't causing any problems yet, yes you guessed it


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## John S (1 Nov 2011)

AverageWhiteBloke said:
			
		

> You know that slight hole that wasn't causing any problems yet, yes you guessed it



I'm currently using the smaller version, which again like the bigger one I had, developed a leak about six weeks ago. I used a bit of super glue on the affected area and left it out of the tank for 24 hrs. It cured the problem for now until it goes somewhere else  

Will try this fix on the bigger version if I can find it.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (12 Nov 2011)

interesting, ill give it a try nothing to loose.


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## Ian Holdich (13 Nov 2011)

I have started get them in from China, they are only a couple of quid...you have to wait for them, but at least you have spares in the cupboard. I'm on my 3rd or 4th now. I have found the smaller ones last longer than the bigger ones for some reason.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (14 Nov 2011)

How do you get them from china?


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