Air Stone Problem

[jackson 10]

i bort all my stuff to put a air stone in my tank which i did succesfully but they guy in the lfs told me to put a cut out bead or sumfing so that water doesnt backtrack threw and destroy my pump anyway i didnt buy it but i was wondering would it be ok to turn it off occasionally in order to keep pump in good order to stop it burning out etc ??

any ideas

 

[Truck]

i leave mine on 24/7 no problems, a good airpump should not burn out, and seeing as you didnt buy a check valve (*the bead thing*) you need to be running the pump above the aquarium.

 

[flash22]

think your on about a non return valve it just stops the water being drawn up the pipe. If you have enuff pipe drop a loop of it so its lower than the pump any mosture will sit in the pipe at it lowest point this way

 

[Truck]

yes and thats not good^^ water sitting in the pipe.

position the airpump on top of the tank and you will have no problems

 

[Jallen]

yes and thats not good^^ water sitting in the pipe.

position the airpump on top of the tank and you will have no problems

It's not ideal but it's better that it sits in the pipe than in your pump.

Also, when my pump isn't on, I use a tube clamp.
While it's on, it's virtually impossible for water to go back along the tube anyway.

 

[Truck]

its not impossible if your pump is below the aquarium.

leave it running 24/7, look at people who have betta tanks they leave theres on 24/7 otherwise filter bacteria would die, its perfectly safe, just buy a check valve, unless you want to blow all the fuses in the house.

for the moment place the pump above the aquarium

 

[josh0013]

Look on Ebay... I found a check valve that is also adjustable to flow rate. Really nice to have when I want to minimize the air or turn it up when adding to mix the water better. Cost me like 2 bux

 

[Truck]

i doubt its a check valve, its most probably a gang valve

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

i got 2 with my kit ,when i bought it

 

[Inchworm]

Let me clear this up.

This is a check valve which is used to keep the water from back flowing into the pump. To use it, just cut the airline a foot or so away from the pump, and insert it between the cut ends. It should not reduce the air pressure produced.

http/www.petguys.com/-030172273010.html

This is a gang valve. It is used to release excess air pressure or to divide the air pressure among two or more items such as filter/airstone or two airstones or filters in two different tanks. It can be bought with various numbers of valves. To use it, cut a length of airline and attach it from the opening on the end and the pump. If you just want to release a little excess air, buy an inexpensive 2 valve one and attach a length of airline to one of the valves. Put an airstone on the other end. Once it's in the tank, adjust both valves to get the amount of bubbles desired.

http/cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-FishTank-Gang...1742.m153.l1262

 

[Truck]

can i just point out you can get single gang valves.

 

[JustKia]

Don't ask me the "how it works" but I have a small valve on my pump that feeds my air stones (badly).
I don't have the packaging but it said it was a "non-return" valve and stops the water coming back along the pipe should you have power failure or something. It also has a small knob/tap on it that can reduce the air flow.

 

[Truck]

oh ive never seen these, is it this?

http/www.swelluk.com/aquarium/aquarium-a...r-valve-49.html

 

[raptorrex]

oh ive never seen these, is it this?

[URL="http/www.swelluk.com/aquarium/aquarium-a...r-valve-49.html"]http/www.swelluk.com/aquarium/aquarium-a...r-valve-49.html[/URL]

same for me! i've seem the separately, but not as one unit before! be warned though, a variable flow valve will last forever, none return valves, often, do not. a none return valve and a separate flow control unit is a better option. imo

 

[Truck]

and if anything such as an oil gets near the valve its as good as useless, although thats probably not going to happen.