Aquaponic Gardening

A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Easy DIY air stone.

 

I'm aware that the 'stainless clamps' could put metal in the water.  I plant to examine them for pits.

 

Hf

 

Views: 1161

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Stainless might not be perfect but it is the only metal I would trust in contact with the water and stainless steel is generally the only safe metal for water contact.

 

I've got some pipe clamps and stainless screws in the water  myself.

 

Soaker hose may tend to clog up but then again, it is probably a scrap cut off anyway so it seems like a good deal to me.

I swear I remember hearing a horror story about someone using a similar technique w soaker hose or drip irrigation and it backfiring.  I can't find it in my notes but test it out and have a backup just in case the hose clogs.
Well there are vastly different types of soaker hose.  I've found in irrigation, some are good and some, well I had one burst open and split under my household water pressure.  Only slight worry I would have is the material it's made of if you are picky about the plastics you use in food system contact.  I've had trouble finding out exactly what the material is on some hoses and they definitely are not FDA appropved seeing as they are normally used on dirt plants and Dirt doesn't have to be FDA approved.  But if you are not that picky, I'm sure it's no worse than many other materials provided it wasn't used for fertigation prior to encarnation as an air tube.
Why not use a zip tie like the one shown in the picture to hold the stone?

Cuz zip tie wasn't tight enough and it leaked a lot of air.

 

Hf

I've used 1/4" drip line hooked to 1/4" soaker hose with barbed plastic fittings for years with great results.  However, they will almost always completely clog in less than two months. So if you use them, plan on changing them out every month. They can usually be refreshed by soaking in bleach and blowing out with hi pressure air, then rinse, dry, and re-use. 

You might try vinegar for your soak too perhaps if the clogging is due to hard water instead of just slime.

 

I do notice though that the 1/4" soaker I have requires more pressure to push air through it than a regular air stone.

Reply to Discussion

RSS

© 2024   Created by Sylvia Bernstein.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service