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Small Bubble Air Diffuser?

Joined
17 Mar 2012
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Dorset
Following on from another thread I thought I might try an airstone in my 60L Nano to reduce surface film. I’ve used an airstone in freshwater tanks before and found the Smallest air bubbles were produced by wooden diffusers but they don’t last long. Are there any others available in the UK that produce tiny bubbles?
 
I decided to make my own. I have some Lime wood so I can make replacement discs as needed.
 

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Twin star has ones that look a lot like a diffuser. They produce a very fine mist reliably.
 
I’ve seen some fairly expensive diffusers designed for use with CO2 but perhaps unsurprisingly they don’t get good reviews when folks attempt to use them for air.
 
I partly hollowed out some alloy rod and made an airline fitting to go in the side. The Limewood disc clamps down onto a rubber washer to stop air leaks, a stainless bolt holds it in place. Lime is the wood of choice for carving so it’s not too difficult to get hold of. The air will only go through the end grain though so it needs to be correctly orientated.
 
I partly hollowed out some alloy rod and made an airline fitting to go in the side. The Limewood disc clamps down onto a rubber washer to stop air leaks, a stainless bolt holds it in place. Lime is the wood of choice for carving so it’s not too difficult to get hold of. The air will only go through the end grain though so it needs to be correctly orientated.

Thanks an awesome DIY solution, nice work! How long do the discs last before you have to replace them?
 
It’s been many years since I’ve used Lime diffusers so I can’t remember how long they last.
 
Thanks an awesome DIY solution, nice work! How long do the discs last before you have to replace them?
It’s been many years since I’ve used Lime diffusers so I can’t remember how long they last.
Cant speak for the discs but from memory I got about three months of use out of the premade rectangular ones, although bubble size seems to increase near the end of their lifespan
 
All airstones seem to get blocked after a while. The smaller the bubbles the quicker it’s likely to happen. Apparently you can clean some of the ones made from a hard material. I’m not sure how affective it is though.

Luckily the piece of Lime I have is about 100mm square by about 450mm long so should last me a while! :happy:
 
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