Elite Bubble Wands? Does anyone use these

[goose8651]

Well, I have always wanted a bubble wand in my tank ever since I began keeping fish 5 years ago. I have tried it twice, but each time, I never get the effect I am looking for (blanket of air bubbles in the back). I am not sure if it is due to my pump (rated to a 100 gallon tank, Rena) or if it is due to the cheap bubble wand. Currently, I am running on three air stones and I barely get enough power of of them from this air pump.
Not sure if anyone on here has a bubble wand, but would like to see what you are using (wand and pump). I currently have a 75 gallon tank.

[kewlkatdady]

is the pump on the ground and air line runs all the way up and into the tank?

if so try raising the airpump...sit it the stand...or the lid.

if this helps, your pump is too weak or needs to be rebuilt.

For bubble walls, I always bought the biggest pump i could find.

[OOwl]

Hey, I like that "wall-of-bubbles" effect myself. I will tell you that if you buy the airstone in the plastic base (comes in black and blue) I've had the best results with that. They sell them in catalogs online but PetCo's prices aren't bad either. Actually, it was only a couple of dollars more at PetCo so I just got it there for immediate gratification. One thing you'll need to consider is that if you have the intake to your filter in the bubble wall stream that it will return microbubbles to the tank through the return. I'm sure you could stuff your filter full of something that would reduce that but I still think you'll get some. Not pretty all through the tank. So, I made my bubble wall shorter on both ends of the tank and put the intake on one side and the return on the other. Works for me. Forget the tiny diamenter "bubble wall" kits. Those work for about a day and then get clogged (just touching them with your hands to pinch the wands together causes them to clog). I have a 24 inch deep tank with a two 18" airwall stones (which are heavy enough to stay sunk and not have to be attached suction cups) and it runs on the Luft pump, which is on the floor of my stand (use a check valve though to protect that air pump in a power outage!).
Good luck!

[kSpieler]

I have a (20") bubblewall in my tank @work ... I think it's Elite brand...but I don't remember...it's running alone on a Whisper 20 pump. It does OK, but the bubble sizes are not consistent...but then, it's just there for the Khulis to play in!

[goose8651]

I saw the Elite bubblewall today at Petco. I have tried out a different brand and have not had luck with it. Wanted to see if anyone had the elite brand. noticed it was also cheaper than the other brands.
I am not worried about the bubbles getting into my filter, that should not be a problem due to my locations. I really liked the small bubble effect, but I am glad that you let me know that they are not very nice.

[ElijahTurtle]

pay a little extra & buy the white ceramic wand if you can find one. The produce ultra fine bubbles. Used to use a short one for my CO2 injection & it works fantastic. a couple of the 6" ones will probably get the look your aiming for.
Here's a link:
Top fin ceramic air stone (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752197)

[goose8651]

That is what I am looking for. Do they make these ceramic ones any larger than 6"?

[Bubbles]

I have heard that the wood blocks actually make the finest bubbles. Does anyone know or have experience with them?

[OOwl]

Years ago I had a wood block air "stone" in my skimmer and they work, like anything else, for a while until their performance tapers off, then, eventually, they just burp out big, useless bubbles. But brand new ones have tiny-tiny bubbles. I would wonder how one would make a bubble wall out of the wood blocks. I'll check out those ceramic stone ones. I would think a good vinegar soak once in a while would send those back to almost new. For now, I'm happy with what I have. Over a month of continuous use and bubbles are consistent all down the wall and tiny in size with the heavy one I'm using.

[ElijahTurtle]

That is what I am looking for. Do they make these ceramic ones any larger than 6"?
They might, but I have not seen them locally. Uo can drill a small hole in the end of one & tap a line connector into it & make the connection verry nearly permanant.
BTW ~ I went and bought another one after you posted the question. I will try to get pics of mine up & running ASAP.

I have heard that the wood blocks actually make the finest bubbles. Does anyone know or have experience with them?
They do work well, but they have a greater capacity to clog up, when they do they are usually toast. The ceramic ones can be cleaned with steel wool & reused.

[rolloffhill]

Gonna need to get as big of an air pump as you can afford to get a lot of volume. If you really wanna get crazy get a luft pump...:D

[goose8651]

thanks for the help, appreciate it.

[guppyfreak2]

i have the marineland wand and 2 azoo model 8500 pump and it works good. I have it in my 55g tucked under the sand

[greeneyed]

If you can raise the pump above tank level, you can rn it without a check valve. This will greatly improve pressure.

[AndrewH]

Yeah, the main component for having a "wall of bubbles" is definitely the pump.

I have a Rena air pump rated at 125 gallons. If it's below the tank and the air stones go to the bottom of the tank, it has trouble pumping air to the bottom of a 10 gallon. If I shorten the air lines to the top of the tank or raise the pump it's output is changed drastically.

I would agree that raising the pump to the top of the tank or getting a much larger pump would be your best bets.