Plastic Modular Airstones vs. Typical stone airstones

[fishmosy]

This is general review for plastic modular airstones vs. typical 'stone' air stones. If you don't know what I am referring to, see the first pic below. The modular airstone works by pushing air out through gaps between the modules.

Now those of you who regularly use airstones will know that typical airstones block up over time. You can soak them in bleach or vinegar to try to get them bubbling away again, but this doesn't always work. I find the older the airstone, the less flow you get regardless of how you try to clean it.

heres where the plastic airstone comes in. the biggest advantage of these is that they should never need replacing. As shown in the pic below, they come apart for cleaning. Just wipe the parts over on a cloth/rag/your shirt and it goes back to its original high bubbling state.

these also have another advantage over your typical airstone. The end module is weighted, so holds it down in the water when the air flow through it is high. On some typical airstones, if you have your air supply too high, it increases the buoyancy of the stone making it float up until it bubbles uselessly on the surface.

A possible disadvantage of the plastic stone is that they have a larger bubble size that what can sometimes occur using typical stones. However at full bore (which is where I use them in air driven filters) I've noticed no size difference in the bubbles when compared to the stone airstone I used to use.

Now price, typical airstone is somewhere in the range of 20cents to $2 depending on where you buy and how many. The plastic airstones are around $5 or so each here in Aus from online stores, but you can get them alot cheaper on Ebay out of Asia (Hong Kong). I recently bought four delivered for just under $5. Either way if you compare the life of these plastic stones to the life of the typical airstone then you will surely be saving money.

I now use only plastic airstones in all my tanks, running full bore off a 40LPM blower. I clean them every two weeks or so, not because they are blocked completely, but to ensure they are running at max capacity in my air driven filters. I highly recommend these to any of you who regularly use airstones.

Edited August 10, 2017 by fishmosy

[BlueBolts]

Thanks for the time and in-depth write up.....very informative.

[northboy]

Good write up mate

i only use the plastic, WAY better, cost more but worth every bit

Bob