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i decided to get a little handy and made my own airstone as i found the ones i bought just kept disintergrating (sp?)
so i bought a length of air tubing and poked holes in it using a pin and blocked off one end with gravel. i have attached it to an airpump with two outputs using a cross piece.

i noticed last nite that it tends to make a quite a bit of noise even when i set the air pump on low.

is there any way to quieten it ?

thanks!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I don't know about your air pump, but as far as your air stones go, I have seen supposedly really good ones for sale on the net, that don't disintegrate, at least not fast. You might consider them some day. I think I found them one time by just typing in air stones for aquariums, or something like that.

when you have an airstone, you slip the tubing over a small valve, I think that with outh that, the pressure either becomes to low, or the air stays in the tubing longer, and the differences in pressure maybe making the noise. not sure though, just a thought

-Vincent

the bubbles are too big and are going *POP*, its like bubblegum, the bigger bubbles are more enthusiastic about bursting

Turn the airflow dowm (be careful not to create backpressure as that can damage the pump) or stick a small piece of bubble wrap on the surface of the water (bubble side down) to stop the over-enthusiastic bursting

EDIT: and quit buying the blue stones get the little synthetic white ones, i think they are Hagen brand, as they seem to be made of finer stuff and they last longer IME.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

i know its the blue ones but they're all i can ever find! i tried that black bendy air tube and that got blocked so i thought i would try a DIY solution! on the plus side it looks neat as its clear and sits just on the gravel!

the bubbles arent really big i think its the noise at the surface i will try turning in down somehow tonite and see what that does.. the tube basically runs the length of the tank out the tank and down to the cross section to the pump so ill try turning it down there...

thanks all! will let you know if it works.. if not im back to the LFS looking for hagen air stones!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

what does the noise sound like, and where is it coming from? Many times when you valve an air pump down too low it creates a lot of back pressure and the pump makes an awful sound. I personally burnt out two pumps this way, a bit of experimenting and a nice quiet rena pump did the trick. Still, the air needs to be released or the same problen will arise. I use the smallest pump I can find, the one rated for a five gallon tank handles my 29 very well. If you are valving it down, perhaps sending 2 lines from the pump, valved down would be better since you will be releasing twice the volume of air.

I think you might have the problem figured out divertran.

I have a topfin airpump rated for 100g. tank. I have a 55g. tank. There is two outputs on my airpump, but no switches for high or low or anything. When I had just one airline attached to one output hole, it made noise. But when I got another airstone & attached another airline tube to the other hole, the noise quit.

I don't have anykind of a cross piece like you do carpe_diem. I just have one airline attachhed to one hole going into my tank with an airstone. Then I have another line attached to the other hole & going into my tank with another air stone. Two seperate lines. Lots of bubbles & no extra noise. Hope this helps you in figuring out your problem.

In my case, it sounds like I was releasing "too much" air from that one hole, but as soon as I put it to work, it quieted down. Maybe you need to reach a "happy medium?"

Went through some serious trials and tribulations learning that when I first started out. burnt out two air pumps. Wife nagging me about the noise. With a little help from the fine folks here at FP I was able to figure it out and make the necessary changes. It was amazing how something as simple as resting the airpump on a soft surface (I used a mousepad) or adjusting the tubing so it did not vibrate against a hard surface like the stand will eliminate noise. Now my pump sits on a carpeted floor and the tubing is placed just right. The other thing I noticed is that The pump rated for my tank put out way too much air and when it was valved down the pump just went nuts with noise and burnt out. Then I bought a smaller one and that did too. Next I purchased the tiniest rena they made and the problem was solved. It is still valved back a little but has been operating nicely for two years or so now.

thanks for all your suggestions
the noise is coming from the actual air bubbles in the water and breaking on the surface even though most of them are tiny there are a couple bigger ones.

think i might just buy another airstone..might try and find those white hagen ones mentioned...

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them