# Co2 Atomizer Vs. Reactor



## Nuno M.

Hi there,

Currently I have a TMC Aquagro 1500 Reactor, I would like to have some opinions of Inline Atomizer users, I want to try the Up Inline Twin Super CO2 Atomizer, Using the reactor I seen some flow loss.
And have a bit difficulty on maintaining constant CO2 Levels, if i inject more the reactor gets full of air and the water goes bellow the impellers. Resulting In more flow loss but only like this i can reach good CO2 concentration trough out all light time.

I would really appreciate some feedback about this ... 

Regards, Nuno Matos


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## viktorlantos

I would go with that original inline diffuser, the brown transparent housing. All others i have met fails in a big ratio. Their sealing the build quality is worst then the original one. You probably need to clean this more frequently than your co2 reactor.


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## LondonDragon

Agree with Viktor, used a reactor for a few months, worst money I ever spent, use an inline atomizer now and works greats at the high speeds of CO2 that I inject


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## Nuno M.

Tank you both, I'm really on to buy one but here in Portugal almost no one uses them, and very few info about it. I'm really unhappy with my Co2 Reactor, but don't want to spent more money and have the same results...
I think I will have it a go...



viktorlantos said:


> I would go with that original inline diffuser, the brown transparent housing. All others i have met fails in a big ratio. Their sealing the build quality is worst then the original one. You probably need to clean this more frequently than your co2 reactor.


 
I had read that the new line is more efficient, You put me on a hard choice now =S


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## sanj

I have only used reactors, I find them hassle free. I did consider UP atomizer on a 120 litre, but I just kept reading people having issues with them. Also are they suitable for large tanks... I guess to since the the gas is taken along by the externals.


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## viktorlantos

Nuno M. said:


> I had read that the new line is more efficient, You put me on a hard choice now =S


 
Well we sold both, we also used them. We had Aquagro with many other CO2 reactors. So I only can tell that I've experienced with this.
The twin ones a has some kind of manufacturing problems. Only one of the tubes work. The larger one diffuser is taller then it should be! Which cause problems with dismantling and cleaning too. Also cause a leak.

The ones you can open will fail. That's why I recommended the old brown version. That is nearly unbreakable and will never leak. You need to clean it only.

However the brown one (up aqua original) inject the CO2 well and pretty good for long-term use I am not fan of the inline diffusers.
External reactors are better and invisible CO2 is something what you will miss with inlines for sure.

Too bad both inline diffusers and external reactors did not get any innovative updates in the past years. Meanwhile lights, filters or in CO2 the regulators got lot of development, the injection items really not changed. There are things which should improve in both.


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## Nuno M.

Thank you for your input Viktor,
I will have these in mind  before I buy one or the other...
I like my reactor system but it seems my Reactor haves Co2 injection limit, as i said before to get to the levels I want 30ppm in my 300L tank, the impellers run out of water, having big time flow losses on the external filter.
I want to try the inline atomizer as it is a non limited system i can inject all the Co2 I want without flow loss, this is the main reason for wanting to change.
When i used the Reactor on my 96L tank it worked great with almost no flow lost as I only injected 1-2bps and achieved the levels I wanted, now to get 30ppm on my drop checker on my 300L setup, I have to use an impossible to count bps rate. Maybe there are more efficient Reactors I don't know. 
And you are right it would be great to have new methods of injecting Co2 to our tanks. 

Regards, Nuno Matos


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## Ed Seeley

I've used in tank diffusers and out of tank reactors.  Personally I love reactors but it was a DIY one and huge.  It was much more efficient on CO2 and never needed cleaning whereas the diffuser output talied off if it wasn't cleaned regularly.  However the glasswars diffusers do look cool and when I next set up a small planted tank it will have all the fancy glassware, including in tank diffuser as I like the look!


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## foxfish

Like many others I am falling away from inline atomisers! They can be very fickle, some working much better than others but the main draw back is the visible mist inside the tank.
I have put up with this for several years but at the end of the day I cant except the logic of owning a beautiful planted tank just to have it obscured for 7 hours by a hazy, misty water column!!
I would say the ordinal UP was the best (as Victor said) but even then they require bleaching quite often & they still require 2bar min to work for any length of time.
You can very easily make a basic reactor but like Ed points out, they can be pretty big & ugly!
However you can build a compact design like this one.....


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## Iain Sutherland

what do ya mean big and ugly...





I really like my reactor apart from its size, built it as i hated the misting from the up inlines yet the next tank will be in tank diffused.


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## LondonDragon

easerthegeezer said:


> I really like my reactor apart from its size, built it as i hated the misting from the up inlines yet the next tank will be in tank diffused.


Love it mate, how about a DIY guide on how to make one??


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## Iain Sutherland

Hey Paulo, been meaning to do a guide since i built it, mainly with links where to buy the bits as it too a while to find them all.
I knock something up over the weekend unless someone calls in sick to work due to our whole 5mm of snow!


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## Mr P

hi, I have been thinking about changing to a reactor.i have used an atomiser and did not like the misting, at the moment I have a glass diffuser directly under the filter inlet.would there be any advantage changing to a reactor?
  all the best roy.


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## Ed Seeley

Her's mine from the depths of time...

DIY Reactor - pictures, assembly and testing | UK Aquatic Plant Society


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## LondonDragon

Ed Seeley said:


> Her's mine from the depths of time...
> 
> DIY Reactor - pictures, assembly and testing | UK Aquatic Plant Society


Forgot about that one Ed! I have made it a sticky


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## Nuno M.

Thank you all, for the reply ...
It was good to see other solutions I will have to analyze it carefully, so I wont waste money buying the atomizer for later putting it to the side, I will consider my option first...
Ultimately I would like to see this mist live so I can better decide ether or not I like it, been seeing a few vids on youtube but none has good quality... 

Cheers, Nuno Matos


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## viktorlantos

Mr P said:


> hi, I have been thinking about changing to a reactor.i have used an atomiser and did not like the misting, at the moment I have a glass diffuser directly under the filter inlet.would there be any advantage changing to a reactor?
> all the best roy.


 
Sure there's the advantage to use in-line diffuser or external reactor. The major one is you will have more than enough CO2 everywhere in your tank and at the same time you use much less CO2. With some plants this is pretty good and helpful as you do not need to think about CO2 levels even on the bottom part, corners etc.

They are not sexy, some people love the glass diffusers for this reason even with the trade offs.
They giving you a faulty point on your filter pipes. If the connection released or the sealing damage you will likely drain your tank  This never happened to me, but good to check the fittings are tight.
Since these external stuff so comfortable that you already forgot the weekly, bi-weekly ceamic cleaning and this turns out you probably will only clean the inline or reactors when there a bigger problem 

Both work good. I am using external reactor at home as i do not have too much time to maintenances. But using many glass diffuser ones elsewhere as they still looks sexy


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## Pelagio

viktorlantos said:


> Both work good. I am using external reactor at home as i do not have too much time to maintenances. But using many glass diffuser ones elsewhere as they still looks sexy


 
Is your reactor noisy at all ? I tried an AM1000 once and it made a right racket !


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## LondonDragon

Pelagio said:


> Is your reactor noisy at all ? I tried an AM1000 once and it made a right racket !


Agreed, even without media it wasn't great! imo the reactor tube was too short.


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## Pelagio

LondonDragon said:


> Agreed, even without media it wasn't great! imo the reactor tube was too short.


 
Ahh so you reckon that a home made one with a long reactor tube like the one above will solve that ?  Its an interesting idea as I would prefer to keep my CO2 diffusion out of the tank too.


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## Iain Sutherland

viktorlantos said:


> They giving you a faulty point on your filter pipes. If the connection released or the sealing damage you will likely drain your tank


something like this 




My reactor does gargle a little but i only hear it if i listen for it....


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## foxfish

Here is a build guide to my silent version.... High flow DIY reactor - now with video | UK Aquatic Plant Society


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## Mr P

viktorlantos said:


> Sure there's the advantage to use in-line diffuser or external reactor. The major one is you will have more than enough CO2 everywhere in your tank and at the same time you use much less CO2. With some plants this is pretty good and helpful as you do not need to think about CO2 levels even on the bottom part, corners etc.
> 
> They are not sexy, some people love the glass diffusers for this reason even with the trade offs.
> They giving you a faulty point on your filter pipes. If the connection released or the sealing damage you will likely drain your tank  This never happened to me, but good to check the fittings are tight.
> Since these external stuff so comfortable that you already forgot the weekly, bi-weekly ceamic cleaning and this turns out you probably will only clean the inline or reactors when there a bigger problem
> 
> Both work good. I am using external reactor at home as i do not have too much time to maintenances. But using many glass diffuser ones elsewhere as they still looks sexy


  thanks viktor for your explanation. I am worried about a major leak I must admit,i will give this a think before I make up my mind..
 many thanks roy.


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## Andrew Butler

Iain Sutherland said:


> what do ya mean big and ugly..


Very old thread I know Ian but do you still use this method? Can you give me arguments for/against? Also which way is the water flowing here? - I'm guessing the opposite way to which I want.
I've looked into using Zeus' method but that takes hole sizes down to 12mm which is too small so either make something or looking at using a media reactor
I also don't have acres of space and would like to get my heater and method of injecting CO2 in one line whether I have to tee it or not isn't an issue but then having extra bends for reactors is a bit much.

All I want is not to have CO2 bubbles flowing through my spraybar.
Cheers
Andrew


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