What is the best airstone for a protein skimmer?
- Thread starter electric130
- Start date
It's been a while since I had one; I just bought em one at the store and used it over and over again.
When it gets clogged take off the airline connector and nuke the basswood for a few minutes. It'll stink up your kitchen but it cleans those clogged pores right out; good as new.
When it gets clogged take off the airline connector and nuke the basswood for a few minutes. It'll stink up your kitchen but it cleans those clogged pores right out; good as new.
Unresistible Blue
New member
Nuke 'em? who'd a thunk. I'll have to try that. By the time they stop bubbling well, mine are pretty nast/slimey. That's going to smell just grand, I'm sure.
You'll have to rip (cut with the grain) your 4"x4"x8" piece of basswodd into smaller pieces. Boxes made by pieces that came from anything bigger than a 2"x4" wouldn't fit in mine.
Electric - you can cut the blocks using a radial arm saw. Be careful, especially when you rip wood on a radial arm saw.
In short, here are some suggestions, based on my experiences:
1. Mentioned it above. Be sure the boxes you glue up will fit in the skimmer.
2. If available, use a planere and jointer to get a perfectly square chunk of basswood before you start slicing it to make the boxes. A box glued up of pieces that aren't square is is tough to work with.
3. To make sure your box is square, lap sand the ends of the box before you glue the ends on.
4. If you lap sand and do good job cutting the pieces, you can use thin slices of the basswood for the ends, rather than how KW suggests to do it. You increase the diffusing surface this way too.
5. If you turn your skimmer of for a while (few days or so), for example if you are goind to dose phyto and don't want the skimmer to pull the phyto out of the water, the boxes don't work well when you power up the pump again.
6. Plumb the skimmer to allow you the option to raise the water level higher than Snailman suggests.
7. A TetraTec Deep Water 96-2 wasn't enough to drive my skimmer.
8. A MEDO 0502 works just right. In fact, I have to bleed off some of the airflow when the boxes are new.
That's about it!
Blue
You'll have to rip (cut with the grain) your 4"x4"x8" piece of basswodd into smaller pieces. Boxes made by pieces that came from anything bigger than a 2"x4" wouldn't fit in mine.
Electric - you can cut the blocks using a radial arm saw. Be careful, especially when you rip wood on a radial arm saw.
In short, here are some suggestions, based on my experiences:
1. Mentioned it above. Be sure the boxes you glue up will fit in the skimmer.
2. If available, use a planere and jointer to get a perfectly square chunk of basswood before you start slicing it to make the boxes. A box glued up of pieces that aren't square is is tough to work with.
3. To make sure your box is square, lap sand the ends of the box before you glue the ends on.
4. If you lap sand and do good job cutting the pieces, you can use thin slices of the basswood for the ends, rather than how KW suggests to do it. You increase the diffusing surface this way too.
5. If you turn your skimmer of for a while (few days or so), for example if you are goind to dose phyto and don't want the skimmer to pull the phyto out of the water, the boxes don't work well when you power up the pump again.
6. Plumb the skimmer to allow you the option to raise the water level higher than Snailman suggests.
7. A TetraTec Deep Water 96-2 wasn't enough to drive my skimmer.
8. A MEDO 0502 works just right. In fact, I have to bleed off some of the airflow when the boxes are new.
That's about it!
Blue
electric130
Active member
HEY BLUE, (or anyone else who has made the KW diffusers)
what did you use to tap the hole in the top of the block? where did you get it? i found a nylon fitting at lowes that is 1/2" F.I.P. by 1/4" barbed nipple. is this what you all are using? if not, what fitting are you using in the top of the block?
what did you use to tap the hole in the top of the block? where did you get it? i found a nylon fitting at lowes that is 1/2" F.I.P. by 1/4" barbed nipple. is this what you all are using? if not, what fitting are you using in the top of the block?
I buy bass wood from the local hardwoods specialty store as it's cheaper than from the craft stores.
My stones are made 2"X 2"X 7" with a 7/8" diameter boar which I thread a plastic fitting into that allows me to connect to a 3/8" diameter air line.
I've actually ground the boaring bar down so the hole is a little under the 7/8" and I use a piece of black pipe with the same threads to make a tap buy hacksawing long narrow "V" cuts into the threads around the circumference. After all the cuts are made I use pliers to squeeze the open cut end pieces slightly inward. This gives me a taper for starting the thread, and relief slots for sawdust to expel while making the threads in the bass wood.
You can see the "head" these stones give my skimmers on this page:
SKIMMERS WITH DIY AIR STONES
_____________________
ICQ #30079110
RAY'S REEF
My stones are made 2"X 2"X 7" with a 7/8" diameter boar which I thread a plastic fitting into that allows me to connect to a 3/8" diameter air line.
I've actually ground the boaring bar down so the hole is a little under the 7/8" and I use a piece of black pipe with the same threads to make a tap buy hacksawing long narrow "V" cuts into the threads around the circumference. After all the cuts are made I use pliers to squeeze the open cut end pieces slightly inward. This gives me a taper for starting the thread, and relief slots for sawdust to expel while making the threads in the bass wood.
You can see the "head" these stones give my skimmers on this page:
SKIMMERS WITH DIY AIR STONES
_____________________
ICQ #30079110
RAY'S REEF
Unresistible Blue
New member
electric - I just bought some nylon barb fittings from the hardware store - I glue them into drilled holes using Marine goop.
Unresistible Blue
New member
In my post above I meant to sy you'll have to crosscut - i.e., cut across the grain (NOT rip) the block into thin slices.
Sorry
Sorry
Unresistible Blue
New member
I took mine out this past weekend, cleaned them with a brush to get off the nasty slime, then nuked each for a minute. They seem to be working fine again.
I have a question for Irresistable Blue or anyone else who has experience with KW's Awesome DIY Air Diffuser.
I realise this is an old thread, but is probably better than starting a new one.
I've build a 5.'6" x 6" CC skimmer, and I'm interested in this KW diffuser.
I'm particularly keen to know how long it's likely to last before requiring cleaning, and whether or not it has a finite life when it will no longer function.
Secondly, I'd like to know how best to clean it. I read the posts about nuking it in the microwave. Delbeek and Sprung suggest a bath in bleach for limewood diffusers.
Thirdly, something which seems self evident is that all the walls of the box are cut across the grain so that the air moves through the grain. I imagine having it the other way would present an impenetrable barrier to the passage of air. Have I got it right?
Any help with these questions will be greatly appreciated by me.
Once I get going, the first step is to import basswood from your country. So far I haven't been able to find what I want in Australia.
Many thanks, and best regards,
Les Savage
Member, Marine Aquarium Society of Queensland
Brisbane
Australia
I realise this is an old thread, but is probably better than starting a new one.
I've build a 5.'6" x 6" CC skimmer, and I'm interested in this KW diffuser.
I'm particularly keen to know how long it's likely to last before requiring cleaning, and whether or not it has a finite life when it will no longer function.
Secondly, I'd like to know how best to clean it. I read the posts about nuking it in the microwave. Delbeek and Sprung suggest a bath in bleach for limewood diffusers.
Thirdly, something which seems self evident is that all the walls of the box are cut across the grain so that the air moves through the grain. I imagine having it the other way would present an impenetrable barrier to the passage of air. Have I got it right?
Any help with these questions will be greatly appreciated by me.
Once I get going, the first step is to import basswood from your country. So far I haven't been able to find what I want in Australia.
Many thanks, and best regards,
Les Savage
Member, Marine Aquarium Society of Queensland
Brisbane
Australia
AnnArborBuck
New member
s a v v o said:
I built one of these a few years ago and they do work great. They definetly only last so long as the pores in the wood get bigger and bigger, thus the bubbles get bigger and bigger.
To clean mine I just pulled it out and used a sharp knife to scrape the outside layer of crud off. Nuking it might cause the pores to expand due to the expansion of the water into gas inside of the wood pores, so I probably wouldn't do that. A good soaking in bleach probably wouldn't hurt, I just never did it.
You are correct about the grain. Air will only flow with the grain so if you have anyside that are not cut against the grain air will not be able to escape. The big advantage of KW's over normal air diffusers is that all four sides are porous, and thus there is less back pressure and more air flow which equals more bubbles.
As an alternative, there are some new airstones at aquatic-ecosystems that people are now using in their skimmer instead of the wood stones. These are newer stones and are getting good reviews so far.
One tip of advice if you build a KW, use a superglue gel to glue the sides, the thin stuff just doesn't seal it that well IMHO. The gel seemed to work much better for me.
Doubledown
Active member
I have a CPR wet/dry that came with a built in skimmer. The skimmer is driven by a RIO 1700 venturi. It has never produced any quality skimmate and I was considering getting a bigger pump.
Could I just add an airstone for increased bubble production?
Seems like it would be more cost effective than replacing the pump with something that the skimmer might not be rated for.
Thanks
Chris
Could I just add an airstone for increased bubble production?
Seems like it would be more cost effective than replacing the pump with something that the skimmer might not be rated for.
Thanks
Chris
I used one for years 4" 6ft tall I would buy 1X6 clear aspen and cut into 1X6" blocks. I then centered drilled them and used rigid airline with a drop of marine goop to hold. The big purchase for these skimmers is getting a air pump that can handle the pressure. You can add a tube inside the main chamber and place a venturi valve and pump on your skimmer for about the same price of a quality air pump.
Depends on the wood and water conditions 3-6 weeks I used to change mine every month and would run 4 6" blocks at a time, the deepwater series air pumps or lufts make a good pump for the stone they are also a couple linear pumps The pump makes a big difference on performace especially on big units where you have to drive the 48" depth for the air stones
DrBDC
Active member
Regarding whoever asked about the inlet to the air stone, at the local hobby shops they sell little mini bulkheads with air nipples on them. They work great under pressure too. On freshwater youi can use them for CO2 production which is high pressure and they are slimline enough to get 2 on a 2 liter bottle lid and are already the correct size for an airline. I think they are for fuel lines on RC planes.
Unresistible Blue
New member
Anyone found a better option yet? Anyone use those rubber membrane bubblers?
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