Trouble with my atomic regulater from GLA

[mr.sam]

I'm having trouble with my atomic regulator by GLA. For the first few months it worked fine but now I have no control of the needle valve at all. It ether fully open or fully shut. I contacted GLA about it and was told its most likely my diffuser that's the problem. I was told to clean it with acid I would have to perches from them. My question is do u think the problem I'm having with my regulator is coming from my diffuser? Also just to be a little more specific about my tank. I have a 90 gallon fresh water plant tank. I'm using the PPS pro method witch requires me to have my C02 running 24 hours a day. I have and atomic regulator and an atomic inline diffuser. I'm using the 406 fluval external filter. So what do I think should I just buy this acid and clean my diffuser or get a new regulator

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Have you tried cleaning the diffuser yourself? You can remove it from the tank and drop it in a cup of hydrogen peroxide. Make sure its fully submerged. The h2o2 should help unclog pores. I'd leave it in the cup for an hour.

Diluted bleach should work too... But you'd have to be extra careful you removed all the bleach before returning the diffuser to the tank. Use some prime to neutralize the bleach too.

If all else fails, i suppose the acid is worth a shot.

 

[mr.sam]

Thank you ill give it a try. So it is safe to say that if my defuser is dirty it will cause the regulator to not work properly.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Precisely.. Diffusers have super fine pores that easily get clogged. You have to perform regular maintenance on them to keep them working optimally. That's probably why you lost the ability to fine tune the output because without injecting at a higher rate, there's not enough pressure to push through the clogs. I've never had an atomic diffuser so I'm speculating based on my experience with ceramic disc diffusers. It's worth a shot anyways.

 

[foster53]

Try unhooking the co2 feed into the diffuser, and sticking it in your tank. Turn the needle valve,and see if it controls the flow. If so then you know its not the regulator.

 

[mr.sam]

I like that definitely will do that.