Clogged diffuser stone? - Update!

[An t-iasg]

I have the Red Sea diffuser on one of my 5 gallon tanks, with the Hagen CO2 system. It's been in the tank for about a month. The bubble rate is one bubble every 2 seconds.

I'm not getting any fine bubbles through the stone anymore. I have a somewhat large bubble coming up from where the tubing connects to the diffuser port. Is it possible that the stone is clogged already? The GH in our water is 9-10 dGH, if that matters. How do I clean the stone? I already tried scrubbing with a toothbrush and that didn't help at all. If I need to disassemble the diffuser frequently for cleaning, the pressure will be lost for several hours, which can be a bad thing in a yeast system.

 

[tecwzrd]

Considering how cheap diffuser stones are I’d have a couple of them as back ups. That said they will usually clog anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks and need to be cleaned/replaced. I’ve been able to clean mine with a 50/50 water & bleach soaking for a couple of days and then rinse then well and let them sit out in the sun for a couple of days before using them again which is why it’s always good to have a couple for back up.

A Membrane Diffuser will last longer without clogging but they do tend to shrink over time.

 

[greenmaji]

if its glass or ceramic.. you can usually bake them in the oven to get them bubbling again..

 

[Zezmo]

if its glass or ceramic.. you can usually bake them in the oven to get them bubbling again

Really? Greenmaji could you let me have some more info on that one.

I am not sure wat the Red Sea diffusor is. But IME the CO2 breaks down "ordinary" air stones pretty quickly. Wood ones last longer but they too soon are putting out big bubbles. They do make plenty of stones/diffusors that are designed for use with CO2. They just clog after a while, which is why Greenmaji's suggestion sounds interesting.

 

[greenmaji]

Zezmo.. its not an exact science as far as Im conserned.. I havnt done it in a very long time (I advised it to a newbie a while back and it got her airstone up and running, she didnt ask she just went ahead and tossed it in the oven . Just pop it in a 350 degree oven for a little while.. I would hold it with an oven mitt and give it a little tap on something hard to try to disloge some of the built up gunk.. but it works..

 

[TankGirl]

You can bake them at low temps, like 200F or so, but only if you can remove the plastic hose fitting, or if the fitting is metal. If the fitting is plastic you could even warm your oven just a wee bit, turn it off, then put the stone in there on a tray and let it dry as the oven cools, since the heat is minimal but it is extremely dry in the oven and will encourage evaporation.

I'd keep several on hand and swap them out, scrubbing and then baking, or just leaving in a sunny window or on the furnace, or in an otherwise warm, dry place. Don't think I am crazy but the dashboard of your car is usually dry, sunny and warm often during the day. Ride around for a week with it there and that should do the trick.

 

[greenmaji]

see.. and I thought everyone would think Im nuts..

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, everyone! I had no idea the stone would get clogged so fast. I like the baking idea. The car idea is cool too, but often "Pittsburgh" and "sunny" don't go together at this time of year!

 

[travis simonson]

I have the same problem with my diffusor. I've often thought of boiling it to remove the algal build-up. What do you guys think?

 

[tecwzrd]

I’ve tried boiling them will little success. As tank girl said just leaving them out of the tank in a warm dry place will shrivel up most of the gunk that gets in those stones over a couple of weeks. The partial bleach method, along with just letting them sit out in a warm dry place works best for me and seems to completely shrivel/dissolve the gunk to the point that it’s like new again.

I also do the same for my micron filters on my HOB for the last 8 years will no problems keeping brackish & SW. It’s mostly important when using bleach to completely rinse the thing off well and let it sit out for a week or two afterwards which is also why it’s also important to have backups.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, everyone! I'm very happy to report that the diffuser stone is bubbling away like mad - possibly even more than when it was new!

I baked it in the oven tonight with the pork chops - lol, in its own little pan! - and now it's working wonderfully! The betta even went over to investigate the bubble stream!

I am still looking for a few backup stones and I didn't find any online. Does anyone have a website that you could point me to?

 

[TankGirl]

Glad to hear it

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_air_pumps_hagen_air_stones_diffuser.asp?ast=&key=
http://www.ah-supply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=453

 

[Volker]

Sorry, couldn't find the Red Sea ones... at least not under that name...
here is a selection from Big Al's

http://www.bigalsonline.com/search/...builder/catalog3-1&keywords1=airstone&x=0&y=0

Volker

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks for the links...but I need one that looks like a coin instead of long or cylindrical. It's funny that Red Sea doesn't sell them separately.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

After soaking in bleach solution, how about dipping it in boiling water for a couple minutes?

 

[Purrbox]

You could try contacting Red Sea and see if this is some that you could get directly from them. Here's their Contact Info Page. They've got both an 800 number listed and an email address. It's worth a shot.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, Purrbox!

Earlier today, I did find the paper that came in the packaging. It did list that same 800 number, although on all my Red Sea searches, I never saw the page you linked! I'll give them a call. I need to set up the 2nd (actually fourth!) diffuser in the second tank. The betta in that tank is chasing the bubbles on the Hagen ladder and sticking his head in there, which I don't really like. How often do your stones get clogged? I thought three weeks was kind of soon, but it worked so well after baking that I didn't really mind. It would be nice to have a few spares of the stone and the little seal ring too.

 

[Purrbox]

No problem. Took me awhile before I finally found the website on the packaging and then did some digging to find that particular page.

Mine have yet to get clogged up. Then again I mix 1/3 RO water with the tap to soften things up the the GH isn't quite so high. The KH is actually pretty low, so I have to buffer that with some coral pieces. I've only been running the oldest for just under 2 months now, so I'll have to wait and see when it finally clogs up.

I'd definately consider picking up a spare stone and seal for mine, if you find out that we can get them. Be good to have them on hand just in case.

 

[An t-iasg]

Update: I did call the 800 number for Red Sea. Unfortunately, at this time, they said they are not receiving any separate parts from the company. They said it's a fairly new product, so sometime in the future, spare parts could be available.

 

[greenmaji]

ok.. how about this.. if the stone is made of glass you can also give it a muratic acid bath to clean it up.. HTH