aquarium aerator, no bubbles...

so, i set up an aquarium aeration system today. i used a .5 micron SS aeration stone, a sanitary filter and an aquarium pump from petco (rated 29 gph and 1.45 psi). the pump had 1/8 id hose, and the stone and filter used 1/4, so i picked up a 1/8 barb x 1/8 MIP fitting and a 1/8 FIP X 1/4 barb fitting to adapt the hose sizes.

sanitized the stone in boiling water for 15 minutes, as the instructions said, sanitized all of the hose past the filter in starsan, hooked it all up, and no visible bubbles. i can hear the pump, and if i pull the 1/8 hose i can feel air coming out, but i see no bubbles.

any guesses?

Do you see bubbles when you drop the stone in a glass of water?

Beer_Guy said:

Do you see bubbles when you drop the stone in a glass of water?

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i haven't tried. i will, but i just did a bunch of reading, and i think my SS stone is waaay too fine to use with the pump i got. most people are saying that the 2 micron stones are too fine for an aquarium pump, and i got a .5 micron stone (the were out of the 2s)

bengerman said:

i haven't tried. i will, but i just did a bunch of reading, and i think my SS stone is waaay too fine to use with the pump i got. most people are saying that the 2 micron stones are too fine for an aquarium pump, and i got a .5 micron stone (the were out of the 2s)

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air pumps don't generate enough pressure to drive anything finer than a regular airstone. you'd need a pressurized o2 system to drive something finer. there are also ceramic airstones for delivering microbubbles of co2 in planted aquariums. not sure how those would compare to a SS stone for homebrew purposes.

also, aeration in an aquarium via air pump is not from bubbles. it's from surface agitation. they increase oxygenation primarily by generating turbualnce at the water's surface and secondarily by circulating unoxygenated water to the surface.

FYI i'm new to homebrewing but i actually ended up here because of aquariums. i have a co2 rig for my planted tanks and was looking into what else i could use the co2 for. my co2 rig will be feeding my aquariums as well as my keezer once it's built.

The .5 micron stone is for pressurized bottle oxygen. The 1 micron stone will work with some aquarium pumps, but the smaller sized ones(5-15 gallons rating) are not nearly enough.

Mcubed must be an aquarium keeper, as the notes about aquarium are something I repeat often. Mcubed might even be a customer of mine...

Back on topic, when using an aquarium style pump, I highly recommend using a NSF rated filter on them. They suck up air and dump it in your wort. They suck up everything with them and the filters built into them suck.

i used this filter, but will hopefully be getting an oxygen tank setup today.

jd3 said:

The .5 micron stone is for pressurized bottle oxygen. The 1 micron stone will work with some aquarium pumps, but the smaller sized ones(5-15 gallons rating) are not nearly enough.

Mcubed must be an aquarium keeper, as the notes about aquarium are something I repeat often. Mcubed might even be a customer of mine...

Back on topic, when using an aquarium style pump, I highly recommend using a NSF rated filter on them. They suck up air and dump it in your wort. They suck up everything with them and the filters built into them suck.

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haha you run an aquarium store?

do the same principles of oxygenation of aquairums apply to brewing or is the process/goal a little different?