Bubble counter

[fleekk]

Hi Bros,

Just wondering why is it that after increasing more co2, the water in the bubble counter evaporates faster compare to lower co2 rate?

As for topping up the water, must I take out both tubing? Is there any easier way?????

Many thanks

[tawauboy]

my guess....... more bubbles are generated and when they burst, a tiny bit of mist will be formed and gets carried away to co2 reactor.
however, i don't notice this in my bubble counter.

is the outlet of bubble counter very near to the water surface?
what type of bubble counter are you using?

[fleekk]

[quote:46322fdeb2="tawauboy"]my guess....... more bubbles are generated and when they burst, a tiny bit of mist will be formed and gets carried away to co2 reactor.
however, i don't notice this in my bubble counter.

is the outlet of bubble counter very near to the water surface?
what type of bubble counter are you using?[/quote:46322fdeb2]

Hi tawauboy,

Wat do you mean the outlet is near water surface? The bubble counter is at the co2 tank in the cabinet and outlet of the bubble counter is connected to the reactor inside the tank. I am using the normal bubble counter bought from NA.

I use to out 1-2bps and after I change to 3-4bps, I notice the water in the container evaporates faster compare as before.

How do I refill it? Should I take out the outlet piping?

[hwchoy]

you may be having a leak at the counter joint or check valve.

[fleekk]

I do not see any sign of water leakage at all.

[hwchoy]

the leak can be very minute and you will not see water at all, if you see water you would probably drain the tank in a couple of weeks.

[elmike]

Hey Francis

We all flock here for quick fixes, heh?

Coincidentally, I just topped up my bubble counter water and I tell you, it's not the easiest thing to do in the world. I'm using the Dymnax set. There is a short tubing connecting the counter to a backflow valve on the cylinder side and a long tubing connecting the counter to the tank (which channels CO2 into the water). I pulled out the tubings on both ends of the b counter, then use a plastic syringe to inject water into the counter. You have to do it in such a way that air in the counter is displaced as water goes in... and that's no mean feat!

Happy topping up, my old friend

[fleekk]

Hi Bro Mike,

Good to hear from you. How is your tank coming up? Any pics to view?

The very first time I fill it up during the initial setting up was putting one of the opening of the B.counter in the running tap. It took a while to fill it up.

Maybe I will do that when it is necessary. (using the syringe) Currently the water level in the B.counter is 80%full.

Maybe co2 trap the mist and bring the water into the reactor thus resulting the loss of water in the B.counter.

Take care Mike....

To all Bros,


Just wondering how often the bros here top up their B.counter????????

[hwchoy]

I used a variety of counters, including the ADA one, and I find that water lost through the diffusor or reactor is very negligible, you should be able to run for months without appreciable drop in level. Typically your tubing from the counter to the reactor is quite long, and any water carried away by the bubble will get deposited in the tubing. At a few bubble per second, you don't get enough gas velocity to push the water all the way through to the reactor.

If you do have a minute leak, you should be losing noticeable amount of water over a matter of several weeks.

[fleekk]

Hi Bro Choy,

So what should I do now? How to prevent leakage?

Leakage from outlet of the B.counter or check valve?

My setup is manual regulator to check valve to b.counter inlet, outlet B.counter to reactor in tank. No visible water in check valve.

Are you saying leakage as in evaporates through pipe connecting to inlet & outlet of the B.counter? Please assist.

[hwchoy]

normally if there are minute leaks at the various joints, the water vapour can escape together with the CO2 and you will see a noticeable drop in water level. If the leak is larger you may then notice water condensing at the leak point, in which case it'd be easy to fix.

So to catch minor leaks you'd have to basically apply soapy water to all the joints, which is easier said than done. Note that even check valves may leak, e.g. my ADA check valve develop an intermittent leak through the check valve body!

[fleekk]

So what if I just leave it? Any harm done beside the hassle of refilling it?

[hwchoy]

no harm done, you don't really NEED a bubble counter so you can even run it dry! you'd just lose CO2 that's all.

[elmike]

I would still think water is lost mainly thru evaporation, escaping thru CO2 tube into the reactor. From a 2/3 rd level, it took mine abt 2 mths to hit rock bottom levels.

Francis, you never forget, do you? I almost got the pictures... but almost as always, is not good enough. My nephew came over for X'mas and I got him to take pictures w his brand new DC. Supposed to e-mail me picture files but he called to say battery was flat when he took the shots? Next visit, he says

Still very much a CAVEMAN

[hwchoy]

[quote:6e07d9e775="elmike"]I would still think water is lost mainly thru evaporation, escaping thru CO2 tube into the reactor. From a 2/3 rd level, it took mine abt 2 mths to hit rock bottom levels.
[/quote:6e07d9e775]

you're losing water too fast! Mine lasted more than half a year without appreciable lost until the tubing developed a leak.

[TTS]

Hi Francis,

Normally a 2/3 filled bubble counter will last you approx. 4~5 mths before the water level dropped below the inlet tube (meaning cannot see the bubble liao). I do notice too that high bps accelerates the evaporation of the water. In the worst case, sms me for a free bubble counter...

Btw, how's your cloudy water problem? Hope it's solved liao.

Take Care
Mark

[fleekk]

Hi Mark,

Happy Propserous New Year to you & your family.

My cloudy has been clear for more than a month. What I did was a 50% water change as I discover that before cloudy water appears, I have been putting my hose into the filter box when filling up the tank, resulted killing all the BB. So what I did is add BB for the next few weeks, everything is fine now. I have been adding anti-chlorine to every water change since then. Thanks for the advice given.

Oh yes, thank in advance for the B.counter.

Got time have coffee if you ever come to east side.

[TTS]

Hi Francis,
Happy Propserous New Year to you & your family too!
Glad to know that you've solved the cloudy water issue...
Will contact you in advance when I drop by East area.
Coffee on you...?

Take care and happy planting

Best Regards
Mark

[elmike]

[quote]
you're losing water too fast! Mine lasted more than half a year without appreciable lost until the tubing developed a leak.


That depends on the size of the bubble counter right? Mine is a small little thing. I don't know how big is the biggest. Maybe I should be looking for the biggest ever b counter so I won't have to top up for a long long time. Any knows any particular brand and where to get it?

[tawauboy]

maybe you can seal the bubble counter outlet with loose wool or filter sponge. co2 will still flow through but water vapour will condense.