Quiet down the air hose?

[metalac]

Hey guys,

Whats the best way to quite down an air hose that goes to my venturi? I just made an upgrade to my skimmer, and it makes a HUGE difference, but the air hose is hissing way too much now. I did a lot of work to make my pumps quiet and what not, but now this stupid thing is making more noise than anything else in the aquarium. I have one of those "air restrictors" in order to keep my skimmer from flooding. So if anyone can tell me what I could do it would be appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

if you have any spare powerhead kits around, they usually have one in it. check the 'extra bag o junk' that comes with every powerhead. there should be one kind or another of muffler in there.

B

 

[metalac]

how does that look like? I have 2 boxes of powerhead leftovers and there is nothing that might fit what I need. It's bunch of valves and what not, mostly very large things.

 

[Anonymous]

it's the thing at the very top of the pic

B

 

[metalac]

oh yeah definitely nothing like that.

 

[Len]

I got mine quieter by attaching a long run (about 6 feet) of 1/4" tubing around the 1/8" airline tubing. The extra length and larger diameter did a good job quieting down the air suction. It also has the benefit of drawing in air from outside my cabinet.

 

[metalac]

Len, what's the advantage of having air from outside the cabinet? more oxygen or something? The tube that's attached now is the larger kind, 1/4 i'm guessing. is there such thing as a 1/2 tube?

 

[Anonymous]

just curious, what upgrade did you do to your skimmer?

I think sometime when I get a chance I'll do the mesh mod to the needle nose.

 

[metalac]

just curious, what upgrade did you do to your skimmer?

I think sometime when I get a chance I'll do the mesh mod to the needle nose.

mine is a Red Seas Berlin Classic, and I added a new venturi to it. Much more air is being injected in it, and it seems to suit the larger pump I have much better.

 

[bleedingthought]

Here's something else you can do:

Use two 1/2" PVC end caps attached together with a small section of PVC in between. You could also go with 3/4" PVC. Then, fill the inside of the caps with filter floss. Drill both end caps on top. Stick your air hose in one end (hole should be enough for a snug fit of the hose) and the other hole is for air intake. Easy enough to do and should make things quieter and a little cleaner air.

 

[Len]

Len, what's the advantage of having air from outside the cabinet? more oxygen or something? The tube that's attached now is the larger kind, 1/4 i'm guessing. is there such thing as a 1/2 tube?

The advantage is drawing in fresh air as opposed to stale cabinet air. This often raises pH and has other benefits on the water.

They make tubing in all sizes. If you have a 1/4" tube (that's pretty huge for a skimmer air-intake), a 3/8" tube should be all you need. It, of course, depends on the thickness of your tubing wall (which should be about 1/8" thick for most 1/4" I.D. tubing).