# UP CO2 Atomiser Problem



## Greenview (1 Jul 2011)

I finally got my UP inline CO2 atomiser rigged up this morning but cannot get it to work. When first connected I get a good stream of bubbles in my bubble counter, but after a few minutes the bubbles stop (as the pressure builds up in the system. There are no kinks or other blockages that I can see and the bubble count returns briskly if I take the tube off the UP atomiser. 

There were no instructions with the kit, but I thought it was as simple as attaching the filter and CO2 hoses, am I missing something, or have I got a faulty unit?
Thanks


----------



## Tom (1 Jul 2011)

I'd say you either have a leak or the reg can't cope with the pressure. Does your regulator have gauges?


----------



## Greenview (1 Jul 2011)

This is a new set-up. 
Yes, there are gauges at 56 bar and 1.4 bar. No leaks as far as bubble counter (cannot be beyond BC as it would be going crazy).
Any suggestions


----------



## ShaunWhite (1 Jul 2011)

Funnily enough i've just mine rigged up last night, again no instructions.
Unfortunately i've not got a bubble counter yet (awaiting arrival) so i connected mine without one. Fitted the atomizer in the cabinet and plumbed in to the filter outflow pipework. Ran it up for 30mins or so at various reg pressures and decided it definitely wasn't working.

Stripped it down and set up the atomizer in a bowl of water with just the CO2 connected. After a while a very very fine mist was rising from the unit. Refitted it and DC green this morning.

What i did find was that the unit took what seemed like an age to start misting, i put this down to the CO2 pressure building up and having to force all the water from within the unit and diffuser ceramic into the centre.

Not sure this helps?


----------



## chump54 (1 Jul 2011)

check for a leak, use some very soapy water on the pipe joints and around the atomiser...see if you get bubbles.

Also I found mine only worked at 1.8 (bar?) try upping the working pressure.

Chris


----------



## chump54 (1 Jul 2011)

also I found my bubble counter started leaking once I upped the pressure. you could try without the bubble counter to reduce the number of parts in the system that could be causing a problem.
Chris


----------



## ShaunWhite (1 Jul 2011)

I agree with Chris, remove the bubble counter, retest and check for leaks.
Cherrs
Shaun


----------



## Greenview (1 Jul 2011)

Thanks for the advice. There are no leaks and if still does not work with the pressure cranked up. I am sending it back.


----------



## m_attt (1 Jul 2011)

sounds exactly like mine, bubbles comming through counter then stopping. its to do with pressure as stated once i messed about with the reg an got it up to 2bar it works fine, but the bubble counter will only send a stream of bubbles through every now and again


----------



## ShaunWhite (1 Jul 2011)

that all ties up and i seem to remember reading elsewhere it needed 1.7 bar ish to operate.


----------



## greenink (5 Jul 2011)

chump54 said:
			
		

> also I found my bubble counter started leaking once I upped the pressure. you could try without the bubble counter to reduce the number of parts in the system that could be causing a problem.
> Chris



My bubble counter was fine but had leaks around the extra non return valve i added from paranoia so I just removed that. Works great at 40 psi but that's quite high pressure! There should be tiny bubbles coming out of the outlet. Much more likely to be a leak than the up atomiser being faulty - there's basically nothin to go wrong...


My 'see through' tank challenge http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15878


----------



## faizal (13 Jul 2011)

I had the same problem with the bubbles coming out through the counter & then stopping. Reg delivery pressure was above 1.7 bar,...it seems that we should open the main co2 cylinder tap valve quite a bit,...180 degrees turn . When I did this the problem was corrected. Worth a shot. If I remember it correctly ,...I think it is due to a pressure drop through the needle valve after some time. So when we turn the main co2 tap more,...the drop in pressure doesn't affect the co2 output.

Hope this makes sense.


----------



## Greenview (13 Jul 2011)

Thanks for the replies. I was confident that there were no leaks in my set up and could not work out why the atomiser was not working. Just before I returned the atomiser to the seller I realised that my reg is fixed at 1.5 bar and will not supply the pressure needed for the atomiser. 

 I have therefore given up on the inline diffuser entirely and have a lovely stream of CO2 flowing round the tank from a simple in-tank diffuser.


----------



## jonny_ftm (25 Jul 2011)

No, this needs 2.0 to 2.1 bars to operate, so around 30 PSI. Below that, you'll have all sort of issues you describe. So, you need an adjustable regulator with up to 2.5 bars limit + a very good needle valve to keep a fine tuning with that pressure


----------



## nry (14 Nov 2012)

Am I being impatient with mine?  Setup the new Up atomiser on Monday evening, I left all the regulator settings as they were on the previous Boyu inline setup.  Never thought much of it until last night when there were no CO2 bubbles/mist to be seen.

Reg is showing 50psi on the cylinder, just over 2bar on the needle valve side, I've got a full FE (changed just to be sure).  Even if I open the needle valve 100% nothing happens, to the extent that it blew my bubble counter so that is now removed at present.

I'll give it a bit and see if it just needs to blow any water out of the ceramic centre, otherwise the Boyu is going back on!


----------



## foxfish (14 Nov 2012)

There does seem to be some dud ones around as I had a similar experience with an in tank ceramic atomiser - I just couldn't get anything to come out of it & at around 2.7 bar my bubble counter exploded... made me jump to say the least!!
Anyway, at the time I started a thread pointing out my experience but I pretty much got shot down in flames by several members saying the devices work fine at 1.7bar,,, well that one did not!


----------



## nry (14 Nov 2012)

It has finally started to bubble in the tank!  I'm guessing the bubble counter was leaking enough, small as it may have been, to prevent the pressure getting high enough for the atomiser to pass any CO2.

I'm amazed how fine the bubbles are, I 'mist' them at first - need to go source a decent bubble counter now


----------



## REDSTEVEO (17 Nov 2012)

My UP Atomiser arrived yesterday, took me 30 minutes to disconnect the pipework, cut the pipe and fit the atomiser, replace everything and switch it all on.  I really ramped up the bubble count to activate the atomiser and a lovely wonderful mist of co2 started swirling round the tank. I then reduced the bubble count to 120 bubbles per minute as per usual. Since then no mist, no change in colour on the drop checker, and no change on the built in PH sensor and yet I can see and hear the bubbles going through the bubble counter? :?  So where is all the co2 going? :? 

Clues anyone.

Cheers,

Steve


----------



## clonitza (17 Nov 2012)

Leaking somewhere 
Try and use similar bubble counter & valve:

http://www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshwate ... etail/2368
http://www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshwate ... a-safestop

Mine the same, 2bar and the hose kept popping around the ADA check valve  replaced the bubble counter & valve and need to give it one more try.

Mike


----------



## foxfish (17 Nov 2012)

I use this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aquarium-CO2- ... 3f082ffbb2 & I dont use a non return valve because my cylinder is above water level.
2 bar does test all your connections, one way to test for leaks is by rubbing a little bit of washing up liquid around all the hose connectors but if it is possible, by submerging the the connections in a water filled glass.


----------



## REDSTEVEO (17 Nov 2012)

Hi,

This is the bubble counter I am using made by Dupla in Germany. Very similar in looks to the JBL one.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 ... Eo6oVSeSV-


----------



## foxfish (17 Nov 2012)

Doesn't really matter which one you use if it doest leak! you need to check the connections...


----------



## REDSTEVEO (17 Nov 2012)

Followed your advice, so far no leaks identified, I noticed the is a strange noise, not loud coming from the atomiser which I presume is the co2 being atomised? :? 

My regulator gauge is showing 2 bar. I am going to increase the bubble count slowly to see what happens. Trouble is when I ramped it up yesterday there was far too many bubbles to count, it must have been in the hundreds, lovely mist of co2 in the tank though.

But I can't leave the bubble count that high permanently or the co2 will run out very quick and I thought the whole idea of the atomiser was to maximise dissolution therefore use less co2?


----------



## foxfish (17 Nov 2012)

How many liters in your tank?


----------



## REDSTEVEO (17 Nov 2012)

190 litres. Quick question for you, which way around is the atomiser supposed to be fitted inline. Mine is fitted with the inlet for the co2 coming in from the opposite direction to the water flow i.e at the top. Does it matter which way around it goes?

Cheers,

Steve


----------



## Spikey-Mike (17 Nov 2012)

I don't think it matters which way round they go - there was certainly no instructions with mine that said so.

Do you think your regulator gauge is accurate? Reason I say that, is I had the same trouble with my UP atomiser when I first got it. I did have a leak but when I sealed that I still had the same symptoms. I cranked the pressure up to 3.5 bar as displayed on the gauge and all that trouble went away. In fact I would get very oddly changing bubble rates until I upped the pressure.

Carefull you don't go too high in case a pipe pops off and then it's goodbye CO2.

Regards, Mike.


----------



## foxfish (17 Nov 2012)

REDSTEVEO said:
			
		

> Followed your advice, so far no leaks identified, I noticed the is a strange noise, not loud coming from the atomiser which I presume is the co2 being atomised? :?
> 
> My regulator gauge is showing 2 bar. I am going to increase the bubble count slowly to see what happens. Trouble is when I ramped it up yesterday there was far too many bubbles to count, it must have been in the hundreds, lovely mist of co2 in the tank though.
> 
> But I can't leave the bubble count that high permanently or the co2 will run out very quick and I thought the whole idea of the atomiser was to maximise dissolution therefore use less co2?


You need to use as much C02 as it takes!
My 200l tank uses one FE every 10 weeks ish, with my BC showing an almost continuous stream of C02.
Of course every tank is different but I dont think the atomiser will save you that much gas, if any, compared to most other methods?


----------



## REDSTEVEO (18 Nov 2012)

Today has been frustrating  It got to the point that even with a full bottle showing 2 bar on the gauge for the regulator the bubbles stopped flowing altogether through the bubble counter. Even when I turned the valve right up on the flow control nothing, zilch, nada.

So I decided to disconnect the pipework again and disconnect the atomiser so that I could try it the other way around. I also decided to turn on the co2 before letting the pipes refill with water from the filter.

As soon as I turned on the co2 the bubbles started flowing immediately. I cranked it right up to allow the co2 to fully fill the chamber in the atomiser and after a minute or two the gas was emerging from the outlet pipe so at that point I  switched the power on to the filter.

BINGO!!  A steady stream of misty co2 flowing out of the outlet and swirling around the tank! At last.

The drop checker started to change and the built in PH sensor started to drop the reading. SOOO fingers crossed that's it sorted. Lets hope I have not spoken too soon.

I will keep you posted.

Cheers,

Steve


----------



## nry (18 Nov 2012)

Mine takes an age to start passing CO2 into the tank - I've got the needle valve almost fully open and today I added  few hours extra to the CO2 start time to see if this helps.  Bubbles are MUCH smaller, which I presume is why the pressure needs to be so high...


----------



## REDSTEVEO (19 Nov 2012)

So far so good, fingers crossed it stays that way!


----------



## anttthony (5 Dec 2012)

Hi I've just set mine up its a 16 22 the connections on the water side don't feel to sturdy has anyone else noticed the same 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside (5 Dec 2012)

anttthony said:
			
		

> Hi I've just set mine up its a 16 22 the connections on the water side don't feel to sturdy has anyone else noticed the same
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2



Yep mate, I wrapped the ends on the atomiser in PTFE Tape. I still wasn't too keen on it though!


----------



## anttthony (5 Dec 2012)

Thanks did think of that il have ago tomorrow or maby jubilee clips is yours still running with the ptfe  

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Brian Murphy (5 Dec 2012)

Got one of the new UP INLINE LARGE SUPER CO2 ATOMIZER 12/16MM (D-519-12-L) ordered yesterday to replace my Co2 supermarket reactor/mixer (pic below) so hope I dont run into any problems ..... reg is above 2bar so hopefully thats ok


----------



## anttthony (5 Dec 2012)

Set it up tonight running at about 1.5 bar. it's just the connections on the water side feel abit dodgy, iam using ehiem hoses let me no how u get on hopefully no leaks! 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


----------

