# Attention Scuff: Need Your Assistance Again with Bubble Wand...



## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

Scuff had actually talked me through an issue I was having with my Marineland flexible bubble wand, which stopped making a healthy line of bubbles all of a sudden, and it ended up being that I needed to blow some compressed air through the tubing and around the pump's chassis. That seemed to give a sudden rush of explosive bubbles I had never seen before -- but, alas, it was apparently short lived...

It seems the bubble power, again, has been reduced and the wand isn't pumping out massive waves of bubbles anymore, some parts of the wand reduced to little fizzes of air that are barely noticeable -- I don't understand why this keeps happening. I tried taking the airline out again and blowing the compressed air through it, but the bubble current still isn't as strong as when I first did the air-blowing thing when Scuff walked me through that.

What is going on here? Could it be my Tetra Whisper 60 pump -- perhaps it isn't strong enough for this 48" bubble wand, which wraps across the entire rear of my tank? It isn't possible, is it, that this wand continues to get clogged up with debris so quickly? Could that much dust or dirt be getting trapped regularly in the airline tubing run?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

ClinicaTerra said:


> It isn't possible, is it, that this wand continues to get clogged up with debris so quickly? Could that much dust or dirt be getting trapped regularly in the airline tubing run?


If you don't mind me commenting on this....

While I don't have any experience with this particular wand, it is quite common for them to get clogged actually. It's the same with airstones and diffusers as well.

What I do in cases like that is to soak them in a bleach solution for a spell. Rinse well and then soak in a dechlorinator like Prime. They all come out good as new.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

James is correct, bubble wands have much smaller pores than a standard airstone, so they can get clogged a lot easier.


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanks James and Scuff,

But this latest "clogging" of the wand came just weeks after Scuff talked me through blowing the compressed air through the airline tubing -- can they get that clogged that quickly? 

Further, I don't want to introduce anything in my tank to anything even resembling bleach; I know Seachem states that's how you can regenerate their "Purigen" polishing product, but I will not trust it, nor will I trust myself to soak anything for this tank in bleach. 

Is there another alternative to cleaning this wand? I really don't want to keep taking it in and out of the water...


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

Im sure that many here will agree. Bleach is truly the safer thing to use for cleaning a tank or anything that goes in it. It us readily broke down and diluted, as well as "conditioned". You don't have to use much either. I do this in one side of the sink with a dash of bleach, hot water and let sit for an hour or so, sometimes overnight. Drain and rinse in hot water, it is also easy to check to see if it's safe... smell it...
But never use any kind of soap, as that will almost certainly leave residue.
It is possible that when you did the last blow-out to clean you could have loosened somthing that broke free and has re-clogged...
I have rebuilt many air pumps, and often there is a small crack in the rubber diaphragm, so some air comes out but not the proper pressure. 
Try putting your finger on the output and see what happens... If you barley sense pressure and the pump makes only a slight change in sound, then it has internal leak. 
Also you can see if the pump is working properly, by using a small section of hose and a small stone in a glass of water... See if it has enough pressure for that.


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanx, Poppi. 

I think it may be more of what you suggest with regard to blowing the air and dislodging something, just to have it stuff back up again -- but I just don't know how to avoid this.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

If it makes you feel any better/safer, I use bleach on all my diffusers. I will soak them in a 10:1 solution for several hours. Removes all the gunk and algae buildup. I then rinse them really good and soak again using Prime. They say to use 2 drops of Prime per gallon but I use alot more in this application. No reason actually. I then let that sit generally until I'm ready to use the diffusers again. Just another good rinsing before using and we're all good to go. Diffusers look brand new and still produce the micro bubbles.

You can try H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) as well. It will work just not as good as bleach.


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

I was just thinking about your problem, and it may be where you live.
Is there a lot of dust? Or smoke?
You could maybe try a pre filter on the airline. Most LFS's sell inline filters. If you can't find one I can explain how to make a simple one out of stuff lying around the house.
It's amazing what floats around unseen in the air....


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

DocPoppi said:


> You could maybe try a pre filter on the airline. Most LFS's sell inline filters. If you can't find one I can explain how to make a simple one out of stuff lying around the house.
> It's amazing what floats around unseen in the air....


Doc, this sounds like a good idear actually. How about making a write on it and posting in the DIY section?


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

DocPoppi said:


> I was just thinking about your problem, and it may be where you live.
> Is there a lot of dust? Or smoke?


No smoke in this house. Dust is negligible; we clean often, but the pump sits behind the tank, on a carpeted floor. Still, I have blown around with compressed air -- several times -- and nothing seems to want to bring the bubbles back, so I'm suspecting an issue beneath the water, on the actual wand itself...



> You could maybe try a pre filter on the airline. Most LFS's sell inline filters. If you can't find one I can explain how to make a simple one out of stuff lying around the house.
> It's amazing what floats around unseen in the air....


You mean something that pre-filters the actual plastic airline tubing?


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

Yep... They go between the water line and the pump.
So your sure the pump is ok? Try disconnecting airline from the pump, and blowing in the end... It should be somewhat effortless to create bubbles. If you have to blow really hard to get bubbles then it's the wand. Otherwise it will be a pump issue.
Can you return the wand? 

James
Be happy to do a DYI. but posting things other than quick reply's is hard right now because I don't have a computer. I use my iPhone, so as soon as I get one up and running I'll do it...


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

DocPoppi said:


> Yep... They go between the water line and the pump.


I've never seen these; could you possibly send me a link to a vendor that carries these? 



> So your sure the pump is ok? Try disconnecting airline from the pump, and blowing in the end... It should be somewhat effortless to create bubbles. If you have to blow really hard to get bubbles then it's the wand. Otherwise it will be a pump issue.


I will do that -- however, I have done the compressed air blow through the tubing (I didn't actually blow myself through the tube) and while that worked the first time based on Scuff's suggestion, it didn't this time, leading me to believe that it's the wand possibly now...

But I'll do that and get back to you; thanks...



> Can you return the wand?


No; I bought it online some time back from a vendor that carried the Marineland 48" flexible wand -- none of my LFSes had these.


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

Okay...

I just took the tubing off the pump and tried physically blowing into the tube -- no matter how hard I blew, no bubbles would emerge from the wand. 

I then tried a can of compressed air again, and that pushed a full-force line of bubbles through the wand -- but temporarily, as when I continued to blast air through, the bubble pressure got less and less. Very weird.

Then, to make things weirder, I tried switching the pump line the air tube is connected to -- there are dual outputs on this Tetra pump -- and the other line will not give ANY bubbles at all, as if it's dead...

I tried blowing air around the pump chassis again, through the tube and the best I could get out of the wand is what I had before -- that is, a decent stream of bubbles, but nowhere near full force output. 

Could it possibly be the length of my airline tubing run? It's a pretty long run, and I don't really need all that tubing for the wand to connect to the airline, but I just hooked it up that way with plenty of slack -- could the airline run be too long? Should I cut it down?


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

If it worked fine for you for a while, then suddenly conked out, it's either the air pump or the bubble wand. Like I suggested before, you can try putting another stone on the end of the air line to test if it's the wand; it's a lot cheaper than buying a new pump.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Why don't you replace with a bubble bar? I've run mine for months and never had a clogging problem and it stayed submerged in my gravel to the day I removed it. They make some pretty long ones.


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

Scuff said:


> If it worked fine for you for a while, then suddenly conked out, it's either the air pump or the bubble wand.


Well, I don't mean to be a jerk, but..._DUH!_

I'm kidding; but my point is, of course it's either one of these (if it isn't the tubing), but what is going on here? Why do the bubbles sometimes stream hard when air is blown up the tube, but then when connected to the pump they kind of weaken? Why was there no stream when I physically blew into the tubing? Why are one of the pump outlets not providing air for bubbles when the tube is plugged into it?

Could my tubing line be "too long"?


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Why don't you replace with a bubble bar? I've run mine for months and never had a clogging problem and it stayed submerged in my gravel to the day I removed it. They make some pretty long ones.


I've considered a bar, but couldn't find a long one (at least 48 inches for the length of my tank in back)...where do you know of a long one?


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

ClinicaTerra said:


> Well, I don't mean to be a jerk, but..._DUH!_


My point is, if you know it's one of two things that's not working, try replacing each to see if it does start working, starting with the airstone because that's the cheaper one to replace.


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

AAARGH! I just spent an hour writing a detailed diagnostic reply for you, hit the preview, went to another window to copy a picture, and lost all of my reply!
I'll re-do it but later tonight.
Quickly though... Yes tubing length affects the pumps ability to be effective. Do a quick check of the pump by using a short piece of tube in each output, with the open end in a cup of water.
I'll explain how to combine the outputs as well (if you don't already)
Start at "the beginning and work down the line" Pump, Hose, Wand...


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

Just saw your last post...
Length of tube affects your ability to blow...
One of diaphragms is likely shot.
Your pump is easiest to check, cause it is external. The wand I presume is burrows in substraight...


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

DocPoppi said:


> AAARGH! I just spent an hour writing a detailed diagnostic reply for you, hit the preview, went to another window to copy a picture, and lost all of my reply!
> I'll re-do it but later tonight.
> Quickly though... Yes tubing length affects the pumps ability to be effective. Do a quick check of the pump by using a short piece of tube in each output, with the open end in a cup of water.
> I'll explain how to combine the outputs as well (if you don't already)
> Start at "the beginning and work down the line" Pump, Hose, Wand...


I'm very sorry you lost your diagnostic reply, Poppi -- I truly do appreciate the effort, though. Thank you.

In order to do what you suggest to test the tubing, I'll have to cut portions of it from the main line -- allow me some time to do this. Good to know, though, that the length could be affecting the bubbles -- it's a pretty hefty length of tubing, as I bought a package of it (Top Fin brand) with the pump, and just connected the entire length of tubing, as-is from the package, to the wand and pump...perhaps this run is too long...

I'd love to learn how to combine the outputs of the air lines, as well -- as I'm not running them this way, as far as I know. Just one tube is going from one of the outputs and the other output is simply not used, and open...


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

DocPoppi said:


> Just saw your last post...
> Length of tube affects your ability to blow...


So, it probably was way too long to be affected by my breath/blowing...correct? 



> One of diaphragms is likely shot.


If I knew this for sure, I'd simply start looking for a new pump -- but how often do these crap out? My tank isn't even running a year...



> Your pump is easiest to check, cause it is external. The wand I presume is burrows in substraight...


No, the wand is not buried in the gravel (substrate) -- it actually just sits right above the gravel line, because this Marineland model has special "weighting" that allows it to sink to the bottom without needing suction cups and such. Still, I'd rather not remove the line from the tank because it snakes and winds around so many ornaments and plants, it would simply uproot all that decor and it took so much time to anchor all those down...


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

Well once you test pump with tubing in a glass you'll know. Some pumps last a very long time, some not... Prices have dropped and it is typically easier to replace than repair. If you can ever find replacement parts. If the pump is not working 100% then obviously just replace it...
I wrote all of this, but alas it's gone... But it would be one way to explain the limited bubble flow. The other is limited pressure for the length of tubing and size of wand, then trimming and putting two outputs together will make higher pressure and flow. And then there could be a manufacturers defect in the wand, glue or other obstruction?

To use both out puts cut two pieces about 5/6" long, put one on each output, then connect each end to the top of the "tee" (--), then the tube that goes to your wand/stone goes on the bottom part of the "tee". You can also add a airflow valve to control the air if it's to strong. (LFS's sell little packs that have a couple of each of these in it)
Little tired to do the whole thing over again... Can give you more info if needed.










This is the airline filter...








This is a fuel line filter... Can be used for airline...








This is the "tee" needed to run both outputs on a pump.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I'm guessing that the tubing you got is 25' correct? That's pretty standard on the prepackaged tubing at the LFS. In which case, you are going to need a good sized pump to push the air the length of the tube and then out the wand.

Definately explains as well why you can't simply manually blow air through it.

Since the pump is dual port, use the T as doc pictured below. Two short pieces of tubing from the ports to the T and then one piece of tubing from the T to the wand. Use only as much tubing as necessary from the pump to the tank. Cut off any excesss.

Give that a whirl and see what you get. What size pump are we working with anyway?


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

Thank you very much, James and Poppi...

James: I am working, as my signature says, with a Tetra Whisper 60...

Poppi: I actually have one of those "T" bars that came with the pump -- it's really cheesy and plasticky though. 

I will attempt to try what you guys suggested and will check back in. Thanks again.


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

James0816 said:


> I'm guessing that the tubing you got is 25' correct? That's pretty standard on the prepackaged tubing at the LFS. In which case, you are going to need a good sized pump to push the air the length of the tube and then out the wand.
> 
> Definately explains as well why you can't simply manually blow air through it.
> 
> ...


James:

I believe you're 100 percent right about the length of the tubing I'm using; here's the package I purchased, which is in fact 25 feet...

Top Fin® Airline Tubing - Air Pumps & Accessories - Fish - PetSmart

Given that it's 25 feet long, could this be the problem in pushing the air through for a good flow to the wand? If so, then how can we explain the first time Scuff walked me through blowing air through the line which opened up the wand to offer explosive bolts of bubbles? This only lasted a week or so, but if the line is too long to receive effective air from the pump, why would this have even worked briefly?


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

The pump
There is a bunch of physic's going on here. 
I was a underwater welder/ commercial diver for many years. The length of hose provides a certain amount of volume, and requires a certain amount of pressure for air to pass through the tube. Factors include length and diameter. Also if there is any kind of restriction ie: a kink or collapse. 
You may well have had a blockage and the blast of hp air cleared it, meanwhile the pump has been dead heading (working hard at doing nothing) this may have fatigued it and created a small leak in the diaphragm.
And the side that does not work... Well these air pumps are designed to have a slight resistance in the diaphragm chamber, so without a line hooked up it may have failed as well only took longer.
Or.... Drum roll.....
With all that hose it has had a kink in it, and that's the only problem... so once you cut it to the proper length everything will work fine.
Wich would be why a blast of high pressure air worked, and temporally straightened the kink, until gravity worked and it folded on it's self again.
You blowing through that much tubing is like trying to blow up a 3foot long animal balloon... Very hard by mouth, easy with compressed air.


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanks, Poppi...

I will attempt some of the things you guys have suggested and report back...


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## DocPoppi (Mar 4, 2011)

So I hope all has worked out..
If there is anything else, let me know.

And don't forget to vote for tank of the month!
[mines in there.... Hint hint  ]


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## ClinicaTerra (Nov 12, 2010)

I actually didn't try it yet, but most likely will -- actually right now, the bubble stream isn't that bad...

This is driving me nuts.


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