Need help. How do i hold doen my airstones?

hughesresearch

Well-Known Member
i did a crazy mod. i double my res into each other and run straight tubes, fuck airstones. pretty much i put a tote with a 1" lip into another one creating a gap between the two. i drill 1/2" holes before this. the tubes are trapped in between the two.
 

HomeGrownHairy

Well-Known Member
i did a crazy mod. i double my res into each other and run straight tubes, fuck airstones. pretty much i put a tote with a 1" lip into another one creating a gap between the two. i drill 1/2" holes before this. the tubes are trapped in between the two.
How do you get any kind of decent air diffusion that way? Can you post a pix or 3?
Thx
 

hughesresearch

Well-Known Member
i can post in the morning when my lights come back on. im not really worried about diffusion, but i run one air line in the buckets and three in the 14g totes. i found that airstones get messed up quick if you have a problem with slime. also the roots encompassing the stones became a problem. i do notice that i cant use floranova due to it clogging the stones and even without the stones it clogged the tubes at times. i also got better results with dyna-gro anyway. what cool about doing this too is i dont have to have a drain out for the res. i can simply pull the top tote out and put in in a dry one while i switch out the nutes.
 

Stonetech

Well-Known Member
I just use 1/4" vinyl drip line tubing. I make a circle the size i need connected with a 1/4" tee and poke holes in it with a safety pin. Connect the tee to the line from the air pump. The vinyl tubing is stiff and doesn't float at all and its fuckin cheap, if it does plug just throw it away and make a new one.
 

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tricka

Active Member
Im with beaver and Med's.....i personally use the triagulated airstones they are much heavier and using cheap plasticy ones can clog up and cause you probs
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
I was looking at those on eBay. Will they be heavy enough to stay at the bottom? I don't have a big pump like most of you prob have. Two of the ones from pet store with dual outlets I think they are rated at 80 gallons each. But I just don't want to have to tie them to the bottom if I'm spending $25 on an airstone.
 

chillychill

Well-Known Member
Idk. I just use one of those heavy duty hot glue guns, and glue the stone and lines down in place that works fine for me ( im using wisper 60/gal air pump in a 5 gal bucket)
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
well i currently using fishing weights tied to my stones but if I can get by with better stones and not have to anchor them down then I am in like flynn
 

defcomexperiment

Well-Known Member
i use cable ties, and the little plastic mounting pads for cable ties. both can be found at a home depot or lowes in the low voltage/data/telecom area near the cable ties.. just make sure the surface is completely clean and dry, if possible wipe with iso alcohol to make sure there are no oils on the surface and they will stay snug forever...

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HomeGrownHairy

Well-Known Member
I was looking at those on eBay. Will they be heavy enough to stay at the bottom? I don't have a big pump like most of you prob have. Two of the ones from pet store with dual outlets I think they are rated at 80 gallons each. But I just don't want to have to tie them to the bottom if I'm spending $25 on an airstone.
P.S - my pump is a Sunleaves 950gph for 3 plants in a 6 gal tank...lol


I just bought 2 of these Avtive Aqua brand 8.5" x 1" as recommended @ $25 a pop. I wont use them this time as the roots are now big enough to hold down the stones.
I think these are real heavy and will diffuse the air, rather than just stir up the surface. That's okay until you get lots of roots, then
the surface doesnt move much and doesnt blow off carbon dioxide and absorb o2 like it did before. Then a difffuser like this really helps growth.
 

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
Yea I was thinking that as well. I was also looking at the specs for the stones and I don't think my pump is big enough to push them. Top Fin 4000 Pump. Its for up to 80 gallon tank. I think I need to upgrade my pump as well when I get them though or would something that small work? I think the weight on those 8 inch is 2.5 lbs. Should stay on the bottom..Lol
 

HomeGrownHairy

Well-Known Member
I wont have that problem but I dont know how to figure out how much is needed.
I know the 950gph Sunleaves I just got really pushes lots of air. I have 4-4" and 2-6" round stones and they bubble like crazy.
I see fast, lush growth so I smile a lot.
 
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