Noisy airstone?

[curlybud]

Alright, I've found an air pump that I find surprisingly quiet.. from Tetra, called the Whisper.. it's significantly quieter then the Elite I initially bought..

my problem is now that there's actually more noise coming from my bucket than from the pump! At first, I thought it was the airstone rattling at the bottom of my bucket, so I came up with a way of 'suspending' it in the nute solution, beneath the mesh basket using zip ties, which also has the advantage of keeping it nice & centered in the bucket to bring max air to the roots instead of having it bubbling away on the side of the bucket.. but damn.. still noisy!!!

I'm using a cheap round airstone.. would upgrading to a higher quality help at all, does anyone know?

peace

 

[Ms.Fox]

I would think a noisy airstone would be better than a quiet one. More O2! You could try some different stones. I don't know which kind you're using.

 

[NoLogo]

you might have more luck with an air diffuser if the stones are too noisy

 

[McBudz]

I think the only way to make the bubbling quieter is to insulate the reservoir with something sound absorbing.

 

[311stoner]

I think a larger airstone than the one you're using will help create smaller bubbles and thus create less noise... I got a 5 inch round airstone at Petsmart for 6 bucks, kind of expensive but it does put out a lot of bubbles and can be centered right in the middle....

 

[curlybud]

Thank you all!

My bucket already is on a thick towel folded in 4 to try and isolate as much as I could. I'll try a few different ones as well as an air diffuser and see how it goes I appreciate the help!

 

[NoLogo]

oh one more thing, you can make your own diffuser if you have some spare tubing and a t connector, rather than spending some money to find out it is just as noisy. just loop the tubing from one end of the t and connect it to the opposite side, then poke holes in the loop the whole way round. when i did this i found that the holes i made were too small so i used a screw and screwed it in a little way and then removed it for each hole, making a better size hole. it worked ok, not great, but might give you an idea of the noise level.

 

[McBudz]

Thank you all!

My bucket already is on a thick towel folded in 4 to try and isolate as much as I could. I'll try a few different ones as well as an air diffuser and see how it goes I appreciate the help!

Wrap the bucket in dynomat or similar sound dampening material.

 

[manosaurus]

drill two holes in the lid of a gallon jug the diameter of your air line. insert one hose coming from your air pump and one going to your stones. it should be a tight fit or glued to ensure a good seal. the jug will absorb the pulsing buzz of the pump and the stones will produce a smooth quiet stream of bubbles