Airstone Skimmer Issues

Jedi1199 · Apr 5, 2022

Reffetsevla said:
Won't tolerate microbubbles, so either I find one that doesn't do it, find a good air stone supplier so I stop getting duds, or I'll simply go without a skimmer. Small enough tank water changes would suffice if I really wanted.

I agree.. You really don't "Need" a skimmer. It does help, but water changes will do the job, even though you may want to increase your interval for them if you decide to omit the skimmer.

As for "duds" I don't think that is the problem. Most tanks generate algae fairly quickly. My 55g needs the glass cleaned almost daily, every other day for sure. Same thing with the air stones.

I would get 4 or 5 of them and change them every day or 2, at the end of the week, scrub them clean and there you go.. Similar to what I do with filter socks.. I have enough to last me a month.. once I get to the last one, I dump them in the washer and then I have a fresh supply for another month

Reffetsevla · Apr 5, 2022

Jedi1199 said:
I agree.. You really don't "Need" a skimmer. It does help, but water changes will do the job, even though you may want to increase your interval for them if you decide to omit the skimmer.

As for "duds" I don't think that is the problem. Most tanks generate algae fairly quickly. My 55g needs the glass cleaned almost daily, every other day for sure. Same thing with the air stones.

I would get 4 or 5 of them and change them every day or 2, at the end of the week, scrub them clean and there you go.. Similar to what I do with filter socks.. I have enough to last me a month.. once I get to the last one, I dump them in the washer and then I have a fresh supply for another month

That's what I did, I ordered a 10 pack this time. I say dud because I put an unused one in and it literally just didn't produce anything but "glugs" I tried soaking it and giving it time, no dice. New ones should be here soon. For now for gas exchange I pointed my returns at the surface and moved the vortech up a bit, more agitation that way.

I'll update the thread once I get the modified return added and new airstones in.

jordan9095 · Apr 6, 2022

Jedi1199 said:
Airstones clog with algae after a very short time. This is the reason most skimmers have gone with a needle impeller.

When you start seeing your bubbles slowing down, remove and scrub the bejessus out of it with a good hard bristle brush. Also, keep several replacement stones on hand.

Here is my perspective on air pumps and air driven equipment. Air pumps fail. The diaphragms deteriorate over time and will need replacement. Air pumps are loud. As you are experiencing, the whole setup is inherently flawed. The stones clog, the pumps fail, and in a worst-case scenario, they can actually siphon water out of the tank causing either a flood or fire. There are several horror stories I am aware of that people have lost their entire home to a failed air pump.

For this reason I will never have an air pump on any tank I own ever again.

I would suggest that you look into a skimmer that uses a needle impeller and venturi flow and toss those air pumps in the trash.

i know they suck. i left a bad review on the site I purchased from but still not published. the way this skimmer is set up, you can also drain your tank very quickly if not paying attention since the collection cup is designed to be outside the sump and wont overflow into the tank. the only reason I got the reef glass was because my nano skimmer from IM broke and they don't have replacement parts and nothing in stock. the reef glass seems to have good reviews online but I was very unimpressed for the price and quality/performance. its very hard to find a good skimmer that will fit in the back of the IM nano tanks.