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  • Results 1 to 12 of 12

    Thread: Frozen Air Line What to Do?

    1. #1
      Onit12345 is offline Junior Member
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      Frozen Air Line What to Do?

      I noticed today that no bubbles were coming out of my air diffuser and my pond had frozen over. Pulled the air line off the aerator and it seems to be working fine. I’m assuming the air line is frozen can’t think of any other reason it’s not working. The air line is a 3/8ths weighted line. The diffuser is hanging about 1ft from the surface of the pond. Any ideas how to unclog it safely and not harm the fish?

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    2. #2
      Orlando is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Onit12345 View Post
      I noticed today that no bubbles were coming out of my air diffuser and my pond had frozen over. Pulled the air line off the aerator and it seems to be working fine. I’m assuming the air line is frozen can’t think of any other reason it’s not working. The air line is a 3/8ths weighted line. The diffuser is hanging about 1ft from the surface of the pond. Any ideas how to unclog it safely and not harm the fish?
      Not shure if you cleaned your air diffuser prior to winter but to me it looks like your going to have to remove it luckily it's only a foot under the surface bring it in and inspect it my guess is that it wasn't at a 100% prior to colder water temps run it under warm water give it a good scrubbing and re-install it.

    3. #3
      Onit12345 is offline Junior Member
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      Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll try that tomorrow. Once I pull the diffuser off it will also tell me if it is in fact the air line or maybe the diffuser is clogged.

    4. #4
      Orlando is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Onit12345 View Post
      Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll try that tomorrow. Once I pull the diffuser off it will also tell me if it is in fact the air line or maybe the diffuser is clogged.
      Well you better keep this in mind since the diffuser has been clogged the water in the air line will more than likely is also frozen you will have to address that prior to re-installing you diffuser.

    5. #5
      cottagefog is offline Senior Member
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      Just remember not to bang on the ice too hard to break free your hose, and defuse. I have read and that is hard on the koi. Not sure if that is a wives tale or not.

      As an expert on mid-winter pond failures, to speed up the thawing process drag everything to your bathtub and turn on the shower. Just make sure you clean up the tub so you dont get yelled at by the wifie.

      I have had a line just freeze close from the moisture. Thawed it out and never have a problem again that winter. Diffuser was never the issue.

      Good luck


      ***** I am adding this after reading a suggestion to go with a larger air line, and also my thinking you have a large pond, with a typical 12" diffuser*** So I am curious the size of your pond, length of hose, size of diffuser, what aerator you have? Thanks.
      Last edited by cottagefog; 01-24-2020 at 08:14 AM.

    6. #6
      batman is offline Senior Member
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      Compressing the air warms it and causes condensation further down as the cold air line chills it. If cold enough it freezes. 3/8 air line small inside diameter makes the matter worse. We always use larger air line. Make sure there is a ckeck valve right after the diffuser to keep water from backing up the line if the pump goes off for a short duration.
      Last edited by batman; 01-23-2020 at 10:16 PM.
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    7. #7
      jjspond's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by cottagefog View Post
      Just remember not to bang on the ice too hard to break free your hose, and defuse. I have read and that is hard on the koi. Not sure if that is a wives tale or not.

      [/B]
      Not a wive's tale. It is a true tale.
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    8. #8
      cottagefog is offline Senior Member
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      I read a lot JJ, and yes everyone says dont bang on the ice. Horrible for the koi.

      Everything I read says its a no no.

      I search and search but I cant find that link that convinces me beyond that doubt that how detrimental it is to the koi.

      Not saying it aint so. Just wondering if it should be listed under the category of snipes, UFOs and Loch Ness....

    9. #9
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      My info regarding banging on ice comes from those that did it and had dead fish afterwards.
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    10. #10
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      air pumps more so ones with rubber memberbranes / diaphrams. you need to replace the diaphrams every so often pending on bran / make / model. they will pump air. but will loose pressure, and amount of air amount they produce as the rubber wears out.

      example power goes out / pump shuts off. when it turns back on. less air or no air comes out. till you drop the water level some.

      you generally do not need to "over size" an air line. beyond what the outlet of air pump has. to large of pipe for air = air flow through pipe is to slow and water can back up into the air pipe and cause issues.
      Pond and Construction Forum 101 good place for any first timers to the forum. for finding resources and general info.

      Ryan

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    11. #11
      Onit12345 is offline Junior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by boggen View Post
      air pumps more so ones with rubber memberbranes / diaphrams. you need to replace the diaphrams every so often pending on bran / make / model. they will pump air. but will loose pressure, and amount of air amount they produce as the rubber wears out.

      example power goes out / pump shuts off. when it turns back on. less air or no air comes out. till you drop the water level some.

      you generally do not need to "over size" an air line. beyond what the outlet of air pump has. to large of pipe for air = air flow through pipe is to slow and water can back up into the air pipe and cause issues.
      Thanks for the tip. The pump is maybe 2 yrs old and I was planing on changing the diaphragm this summer as I think the manufacture recommend replacing it annually. The air is working good now. I was going to bring the air line and diffuser in the house to clean it but couldn’t pull the air line off the diffuser. I just gave up because it was cold and I didn’t have a knife on me to cut the air line. When I place the diffuser back in the pond it starting working good. So I don’t know if I loosened something in the hose while moving it all around or if by removing the diffuser from the pond allowed all the water to drain out of it because I have a worn diaphragm and it couldn’t push the water out. In any event it’s been working good for a couple of days without any issues.

    12. #12
      boggen's Avatar
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      lifting up and out of water, is exactly the same like draining water level. key point end of hose/diffuser was moved higher and/or out of water.

      diaphragm, more likely wearing out. and would put more money on a temporary power outage, were pump shut off for a bit then when power came back on. the air pump no longer had the humph to push on through.

      ===============
      air line / air house / air pipe / any water pipe/hose/line does not really matter once it ices up. not much can be done, beyond letting ice to unthaw within it. bring in home, hair dryer, etc... is what it is... a pain.

      ===============
      if it is just "water" in the air line and NOT iced up. you should be able to hook up an "air compressor" for airing up tires and like to help push out the water. and then switch back over to the pond air pump to do its job. (if this happens, diagraphagm is going bad, air pump is under sized, you goofed up on the air line in how it is ran and/or sized)
      Last edited by boggen; 01-31-2020 at 09:08 PM.
      Pond and Construction Forum 101 good place for any first timers to the forum. for finding resources and general info.

      Ryan

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