Hi all,
First to get to the point:
1. I removed the L tube that came with my aerator and directly connected the tube I bought to the outlet port. This should be ok right?
2. How do I keep the tube underneath the water when the aerator is on?
3. Is an air stone necessary? All of the air stones I have seen online have such a small outlet to connect to. My fear is if I attached a 16mm tube onto a 4mm tube through the use of reducers would that not adversely affect the longevity of the pump?
4. Is the efficacy of the bubbles affected by how deep or how close to the surface I keep the tube?
5. After turning the pump on, do you think I should be testing PH after every hour/2 hours/3 hours...?? (PH very low atm and TA is OK)
Now the longer version
So I have a small inground pool which holds just over 15000 litres of water (15300l approx). Like many in the UK, I seem to be having the problem of very very low PH and "OK" alkalinity: If I use PH plus to balance it, the TA goes too high. Then I lower TA, only for the PH to go down again and repeat. SO through the power of the internet, I learnt that by aerating the water I can raise the PH without raising the TA (although I don't fully quite understand if its the bubbles that raise the PH or the addition of Oxygen: oxygenation). Thus I bought the Hiblow XP40, which is used here for aerating ponds of up to 15000 litres. Although little did I know that it doesn't come with any air line / tubes. So I got in touch it Hiblow who said "The pump comes with a 5/8” ID L tube that fits over the outlet port. You can use a 5/8” OD barb to fit into the L tube and then adapt it to whatever size tubing you need. This is what they are referring to:
I then phoned them and the technical department guy informed me I need a 16mm ID tube (which is about 21/22mm OD). Having visited 4 stores, I figured Amazon it is. Today the tube came. This is what I mean:
But guess what? The tube is exactly the same diameter as the L tube shown above. So instead of going through the trouble of using reducers etc...I simply removed the above L tube and directly connected the tube I bought to the outlet port. This should be ok right?
Next I inserted the tube in the pool and turned on the pump but the air tube keeps rising out of the water (surprise surprise). So I used a cable tie and loosely attached the hose onto the pole of the pool brush then lowered the brush into the pool. Now the tube stays underneath the water and I finally have some bubbles. I know this is a dodgy DIY solution but how would I properly ensure the tube stays inside the water?
Also is an air stone necessary? All of the air stones I have seen online have such a small outlet to connect to. My fear is if I attached a 16mm tube onto a 4mm tube through the use of reducers would that not adversely affect the longevity of the pump?
Also is the efficacy of the bubbles affected by how deep or how close to the surface I keep the tube?
I know no one can tell me exactly how long it will take for the PH to rise up to normal levels but the current PH is VERY orange (Orange = very low PH, Red = too high PH). The TA level at the moment is on the higher end of "OK". Do you think I should be testing PH after every hour/2 hours/3 hours...??
Any help would be most welcome.
Thank you
First to get to the point:
1. I removed the L tube that came with my aerator and directly connected the tube I bought to the outlet port. This should be ok right?
2. How do I keep the tube underneath the water when the aerator is on?
3. Is an air stone necessary? All of the air stones I have seen online have such a small outlet to connect to. My fear is if I attached a 16mm tube onto a 4mm tube through the use of reducers would that not adversely affect the longevity of the pump?
4. Is the efficacy of the bubbles affected by how deep or how close to the surface I keep the tube?
5. After turning the pump on, do you think I should be testing PH after every hour/2 hours/3 hours...?? (PH very low atm and TA is OK)
Now the longer version
So I have a small inground pool which holds just over 15000 litres of water (15300l approx). Like many in the UK, I seem to be having the problem of very very low PH and "OK" alkalinity: If I use PH plus to balance it, the TA goes too high. Then I lower TA, only for the PH to go down again and repeat. SO through the power of the internet, I learnt that by aerating the water I can raise the PH without raising the TA (although I don't fully quite understand if its the bubbles that raise the PH or the addition of Oxygen: oxygenation). Thus I bought the Hiblow XP40, which is used here for aerating ponds of up to 15000 litres. Although little did I know that it doesn't come with any air line / tubes. So I got in touch it Hiblow who said "The pump comes with a 5/8” ID L tube that fits over the outlet port. You can use a 5/8” OD barb to fit into the L tube and then adapt it to whatever size tubing you need. This is what they are referring to:
I then phoned them and the technical department guy informed me I need a 16mm ID tube (which is about 21/22mm OD). Having visited 4 stores, I figured Amazon it is. Today the tube came. This is what I mean:
But guess what? The tube is exactly the same diameter as the L tube shown above. So instead of going through the trouble of using reducers etc...I simply removed the above L tube and directly connected the tube I bought to the outlet port. This should be ok right?
Next I inserted the tube in the pool and turned on the pump but the air tube keeps rising out of the water (surprise surprise). So I used a cable tie and loosely attached the hose onto the pole of the pool brush then lowered the brush into the pool. Now the tube stays underneath the water and I finally have some bubbles. I know this is a dodgy DIY solution but how would I properly ensure the tube stays inside the water?
Also is an air stone necessary? All of the air stones I have seen online have such a small outlet to connect to. My fear is if I attached a 16mm tube onto a 4mm tube through the use of reducers would that not adversely affect the longevity of the pump?
Also is the efficacy of the bubbles affected by how deep or how close to the surface I keep the tube?
I know no one can tell me exactly how long it will take for the PH to rise up to normal levels but the current PH is VERY orange (Orange = very low PH, Red = too high PH). The TA level at the moment is on the higher end of "OK". Do you think I should be testing PH after every hour/2 hours/3 hours...??
Any help would be most welcome.
Thank you
