Sink my air line!

[Lisak1]

We just bought a new aerator and it comes with a nice big air hose - this thing pumps the air like crazy! However - the line floats, which is so annoying. My old aerator had the tiny airlines that were relatively easy to tuck between the rocks and keep hidden. This is 3/8 inch "braided clear tubing" so it's not going to disappear behind any rocks. They suggested at the pond store that I bury it in gravel and I was like "I like gravel in my bottom, but I don't have THAT much gravel!" I tried sticking it under a lily pot and it floated right out from under it before I could even straighten up. It's not going down easy!

I've seen many of you comment in the past that you've successfully sunk aerator hoses in various ways, but I can't fathom a way to make it work. Like heavy nuts or washers make sense, but how do you attach them to the line? How many do I need? And how do you keep them from sliding down the slippery hose? Do I just try to find washers that fit snugly on the hose and slip them right on the line? Or do I hang something weighted from the hose with... I don't know what? And do I need a special kind of something so it won't rust in the pond? And why don't they just sell these dang things with weighted line? NO ONE WANTS FLOATING AIR LINES!

Should I just bite the bullet and buy the weighted line?

 

[carolinaguy]

if you want to weight your air line an inexpensive way, then put styrofoam cups on the line and fill the styrofoam with cement. when the cement hardens remove the cup. you can paint the surface of the cement to mask the look. if a cup shape is a problem there are styrofoam trays used in takeout or even a ziplock bag shaped whatever way you wish. one of our club members who has a knack for creative solutions came up with that one and weighted a 25 foot drip hose used in shrub beds and draped it around his massive 8 foot deep pond so that he has air bubbles all around the perimeter. even with all that air in the hose, the cups are spaced about 3 feet apart and they hold the entire thing down.

 

[Lisak1]

I love the creativity @carolinaguy ! That will get my gears turning!

 

[j.w]

I think when I had the stainless steel nuts on my lines I used about 2 or 3 of them just stuck them on above the air stone. Trouble is if you are netting out your pond and get hooked on an air stone it might pull it all apart and then you have to go air stone and nut hunting. I finally broke down and bought a big air thingy bubble that fills w/gravel and stays put and is now bubbling it's life away. No more hooky on lines that meander all over.

 

[RobAmy]

Wrap the hose in lead. It will wrap very nicely around the hose. You can cut strips very easy. I have used it for plants and air hose without issue.

 

[poconojoe]

I know what you mean. My hose floats too! Someone on this forum suggested using stainless steel hex nuts, but I don't recall how to stop them from sliding downward. I'm thinking of losely knotting the line at each nut or maybe use ty-wraps to hold the nuts. Or nuts that fit snugly on the air line? How about those strips of lead that you use for fishing or weighting down plants in an aquarium? Would lead be bad for the fish and plants?

 

[RobAmy]

I know what you mean. My hose floats too! Someone on this forum suggested using stainless steel hex nuts, but I don't recall how to stop them from sliding downward. I'm thinking of losely knotting the line at each nut or maybe use ty-wraps to hold the nuts. Or nuts that fit snugly on the air line? How about those strips of lead that you use for fishing or weighting down plants in an aquarium? Would lead be bad for the fish and plants?

Lead is fine in small quantities. Where lead is bad when it is shot into something then something else eats it. Fish will not just eat lead around a tube or plant.

 

[poconojoe]

Lead is fine in small quantities. Where lead is bad when it is shot into something then something else eats it. Fish will not just eat lead around a tube or plant.

I have some of those lead strips that were shipped with some hornwort. I'll use that. Nice, simple and easy enough.

 

[Tula]

I vote for buying the weighted tubing.......but then I'm lazy ! LOL

 

[GBBUDD]

http://www.underwaterwarehouse.com/...essories-Air-Pumps-and-Accessories-sc-45.html

I vote for buying the weighted tubing.......but then I'm lazy ! LOL

Lisa I know the pains you have gone trough on your pond i'm with Tula I would purchase weighted air line tube. like this it's weighted and it is 3/8"

http://www.underwaterwarehouse.com/...essories-Air-Pumps-and-Accessories-sc-45.html

 

[Mmathis]

I use the lead strips (plant weights), but I have the smaller, aquarium size tubing.

 

[RobAmy]

My AirMax came with 3/8 weighted tubing, works great.

 

[Lisak1]

Thanks everyone! The lead strips would never work - unless I used like 5 pounds worth! This hose is buoyant! Like I said - even a heavy lily pot wouldn't hold it down.

I wonder if I can splice a weighted air line to a non weighted one - I only need the line that's actually in the pond to be weighted, which is like 10 feet - not the whole 30 feet. The weighted hose it like a buck a foot - I'm not cheap, but I do tend to be frugal!

 

[Lisak1]

I think when I had the stainless steel nuts on my lines I used about 2 or 3 of them just stuck them on above the air stone.

The diffuser is heavy, so it sinks no problem. And it came with clamps to hold the hose on, which HALLELUJAH! I can't tell you how many air stones I have lost in the pond just as you described - either caught the line when scooping the pond, or caught the line with my leg while walking in the pond and there's my floating air line with no stone attached! I don't know why they don't add clamps to the small ones. I've been told to just keep trimming the end of the hose to get a tighter fit because it tends to stretch out over time. That's great, but eventually I'll run out of hose to trim and my air stones will be laying next to the pond instead of in it! This one won't fall off for sure.

It's the line from pond edge to where it drops down below the water that floats. I think if I try to attach anything to the line it would just slide down which won't help at all.

 

[j.w]

I too looked at that weighted tubing and it was pricey but it might be worth it in the long run. Not sure on how to splice the weighted tubing to regular tubing but don't they have connectors like they use for aquariums only bigger that you could use?