# aquarium bubble stones ??



## donald7755 (Apr 9, 2017)

i was looking at some aquarium bubble stones earlier and was thinking about the AP/HCL process .
now from everything that i have learned so far , i have learned that H2O2 is not needed . only O2 is needed .
they say that these bubble stones gives the aquarium more O2 , so i was wondering if that same concept would work for the AP/HCL process . 

in other words by adding these stones to the O2 line and adding more O2 to the solution would this dissolve the metals ( such as copper ) much faster :?: :?:


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## g_axelsson (Apr 9, 2017)

Yes, finer bubbles will speed up the dissolving process within some limits by increasing the area where oxygen can be absorbed into the liquid and increase circulation. At some point you will have excess oxygen and the CuCl2 dissolving copper will be the limiting process. Pumping in finer air bubbles will circulate the etchant faster so fresh CuCl2 gets to the copper faster, leading to faster etching.

Exactly where the limit is I don't know. Maybe just a tube without a stone takes you close to the limit. You just have to experiment a bit. If you have two similar buckets you could run them in parallel and compare how long time it takes until completion for tube or stone.

Göran


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## g_axelsson (Apr 9, 2017)

Here is a picture of my minimalist vacuum filtration setup.
http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=19840#p236827

Göran


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## Shark (Apr 9, 2017)

Yes, it can speed things up. The down side is that sometimes the stones fall apart, or stop up. I use one of the larger stones about 8 inches long in my AP bucket. I use 5 gallon buckets when working on my own stuff. As for the stone in mine I went through three before getting one that held up. The typical two port aquarium pump seems to work better in my set up than the single port. I use the single port type on a smaller two gallon bucket that I use at times for tests or when running material that belongs to some else. In a five gallon bucket with roughly 3 1/2 gallons of AP, using more air than the double port air pump could supply didn't seem to speed things up. The two port did speed things up considerably over the single port though. In the two gallon bucket, roughly 2/3 full, the smaller single port pump seemed to work just as fast as the two port in the larger bucket. The large stone I use has a opening on each end so I hook up a separate line from each port of the air pump to a port on each end of the stone for the bigger system and use only one for the smaller system.


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## patnor1011 (Apr 9, 2017)

You will be better served to use just a tube where you glue end of it shut. Take needle and make as many small holes as you can. 
Aquarium stones does not survive long in acid. They become brittle within days and break in pieces with ease.


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## geedigity (Apr 9, 2017)

I was going through aquarium stones routinely and ended up making my own, until I learned about the regular blue ones found at Walmart. 

http://goldrefiningforum.com/~goldrefi/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=22166&p=231338&hilit=walmart+stones#p231338

Amazingly enough, I have used the same blue stone since Phil made that recommendation about 2 years ago.


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## 4metals (Apr 9, 2017)

I like to see bubblers made of PVC pipe. For the good old 5 gallon bucket (20 liters for you metric guys) I make a big + sign with 1/2" PVC pipe. The fittings needed are 1 cross tee, 3 caps, and 2, 90 degree elbows and the pipe. 

The caps go on the ends of 3 of the legs of the + and the elbow goes on the last leg facing up. The length of the legs are cut so they fit snugly in a bucket. A length of pipe goes high enough to clear the top of the bucket and another 90 degree elbow is added. You will need fittings to reduce to the airline hose from your bubbler to attach to the end of the top elbow. 

I drill 1/8" holes every inch on the bottom of the 4 outward extending legs. Drilling holes on the bottom seems to help prevent clogging. If you drill only in the pipe and not in the fittings, the holes will be raised ever so slightly off the bottom which helps in the flow. If you make the length of the legs a bit snug the air will not lift the bubbler while it is in use. 

This arrangement gives good agitation and the PVC will last a long time. I do not like to use the tiny cheap air bubblers made for a gallon goldfish bowl, I much prefer an air pump made for a large aquarium of a small pond with a 3/8" air hose. 



A good source for PVC fittings is https://flexpvc.com/ They have a great assortment of odd PVC fittings that can really fulfill anyone's creative plumbing fantasies!


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## donald7755 (Apr 9, 2017)

4metals said:


> I like to see bubblers made of PVC pipe. For the good old 5 gallon bucket (20 liters for you metric guys) I make a big + sign with 1/2" PVC pipe. The fittings needed are 1 cross tee, 3 caps, and 2, 90 degree elbows and the pipe.
> 
> The caps go on the ends of 3 of the legs of the + and the elbow goes on the last leg facing up. The length of the legs are cut so they fit snugly in a bucket. A length of pipe goes high enough to clear the top of the bucket and another 90 degree elbow is added. You will need fittings to reduce to the airline hose from your bubbler to attach to the end of the top elbow.
> 
> ...




wow , i actually like this idea better than the stone idea . i also like the diagram shown . 

would it be possible for you to share some pictures of your bubblier piping fixture please .


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## donald7755 (Apr 9, 2017)

4metals said:


> I much prefer an air pump made for a large aquarium of a small pond with a 3/8" air hose.
> bubbler tee.jpg




what size gph air pump do you use ,if you dont mind my asking ?


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## donald7755 (Apr 9, 2017)

geedigity said:


> I was going through aquarium stones routinely and ended up making my own, until I learned about the regular blue ones found at Walmart.
> 
> http://goldrefiningforum.com/~goldrefi/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=22166&p=231338&hilit=walmart+stones#p231338
> 
> Amazingly enough, I have used the same blue stone since Phil made that recommendation about 2 years ago.



are you talking about those flat round stones :?:


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## Shark (Apr 9, 2017)

> If you make the length of the legs a bit snug the air will not lift the bubbler while it is in use.



Odd how the simplest of things are so often over looked. Now to check and see how much 1/2" pipe I have on hand.


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## 4metals (Apr 9, 2017)

> would it be possible for you to share some pictures of your bubblier piping fixture please .



I would have to wait until I go to a client's shop that does this process, I only do escrap at home on an experimental level using CN- stripping. 

Usually clients do this in bigger containers, like open top 55 gallon drums where the parts are immersed in a perforated basket lowered into the bubbling tank. For this reason a larger bubbler for ponds is used. Most aerators that size are rated in cubic inches per minute so an aerator that does 1500 in3/min is used. The best are what the pond guy's call deep water aerators that pump down top 7' deep. So they will work against a resistance. Lots of aeration and it's done in 24 hours, small cheapie pump and they wait.


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## geedigity (Apr 9, 2017)

Here is what I was referring to. I also use these in my scrubbers.


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## donald7755 (Apr 9, 2017)

geedigity said:


> Here is what I was referring to. I also use these in my scrubbers. blue bubbler stone.jpg



is this what your talking about ?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Aqua-Culture-Bubble-Aquarium-Stone-1ct-Fish-Aquatic-Pets/10532636?action=product_interest&action_type=title&beacon_version=1.0.2&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&client_guid=2c546f48-1b66-4a51-82be-56ef4457f80d&config_id=2&customer_id_enc&findingMethod=p13n&guid=2c546f48-1b66-4a51-82be-56ef4457f80d&item_id=10532636&parent_anchor_item_id=10532630&parent_item_id=10532630&placement_id=irs-2-m2&reporter=recommendations&source=new_site&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=bpE_C1DYSJk058CLaioVIU


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## 4metals (Apr 9, 2017)

I was confused as well. There are glass airstones sold which are blue glass, that is what I thought they were speaking about. They have a very short life in chemical applications.


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## Shark (Apr 9, 2017)

I have been using those same stones as geedigity. They work pretty good and one of mine is three years old. The ones I use are made by Aquaculture and can be found at most Wal-Mart stores.


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## donald7755 (Apr 9, 2017)

Shark said:


> I have been using those same stones as geedigity. They work pretty good and one of mine is three years old. The ones I use are made by Aquaculture and can be found at most Wal-Mart stores.



thanks for that brand name .


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## upcyclist (Apr 10, 2017)

I had a couple like that--the one in my stockpot worked fine, but I also had one in my iron cementation pot and that one got clogged with the fine copper cement.

They make air stones of a similar material that are cylindrical in shape and smaller--they look more like a sanding bur than an airstone.


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## donald7755 (Apr 10, 2017)

upcyclist said:


> I had a couple like that--the one in my stockpot worked fine, but I also had one in my iron cementation pot and that one got clogged with the fine copper cement.
> 
> They make air stones of a similar material that are cylindrical in shape and smaller--they look more like a sanding bur than an airstone.



are you saying that the cylindrical in shape ones are better or are you just commenting 
on there shape :?: :?:


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## upcyclist (Apr 10, 2017)

donald7755 said:


> upcyclist said:
> 
> 
> > I had a couple like that--the one in my stockpot worked fine, but I also had one in my iron cementation pot and that one got clogged with the fine copper cement.
> ...


I'm commenting that they're available. I have the long flat ones like you have at the moment.


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## donald7755 (Apr 10, 2017)

upcyclist said:


> donald7755 said:
> 
> 
> > upcyclist said:
> ...



:lol: ohh ok i see what your saying


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## BSGMiner (Sep 3, 2019)

4metals said:


> I like to see bubblers made of PVC pipe. For the good old 5 gallon bucket (20 liters for you metric guys) I make a big + sign with 1/2" PVC pipe. The fittings needed are 1 cross tee, 3 caps, and 2, 90 degree elbows and the pipe.


Here's a slight twist that you guys' discussion lead to, which is just a 3-way T splitter that was right next to the air bubbling stones. I just used a dremel-type tool to drill a half-dozen tiny holes in it from the x- and y-axis. I also used a lighter to melt and pinch closed the ends of the T's openings so the air would he forced thru the small holes.


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