How Many Holes In Air Line?

[emmaandaj]

Hi,

Ive made up the air ring for my K1 chamber today-wasn't sure how many holes i need to drill. Any ideas how many 1mm holes i can drill on a air ring so that a 40ltr air pump will run it?

Cheers Andy

[kayoss]

Hi Andy

I guess it depends very much on how long the length of pipe/hose is.

I have a total length of about 5ft-6ft of speedfit pipe and have drilled 3mm holes every 2"-3". About 175 litres K1 in the bay and it works fine on a Secoh 40.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

[GERRY5]

andy , if youve made the ring from speedfit there are marks on the pipe that are ideal to use as spacing, also dont forget to put a few holes facing downwards to release any water that may collect in the pipe ....

[Graham.]

Also done the same as Bob made my holes at 2mm and made sure to add a few extra holes extra at the corners as my filters are square chambers so wanted to make sure no dead spots.

Great tip from Gerry it's important to have a drainage for any water in the pipe.

Regards
Graham

[emmaandaj]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the response

Bob-think it is about a 2 metre length so will try spacing a bit further than you apart to start with.

Gerry-ive never drilled holes in under side before-can i ask how many holes and nwhat sort of size?

Graham-mine is a suare chamber and square air ring so will use bends will definately drill them as you've suggested.

Is it possible to use a pressure guage to check for back pressure at all to ensure you have enough holes???

Cheers Andy

[kayoss]

Hi Andy

Just remeber, you can always drill more holes or make them bigger - but you can't drill less or make them smaller!!

Should have said before, I used the speedfit bends and drilled the corner of each one to make sire there were no dead spots. You also have to fix the airline in place (I used plastic pipe clips) or weigh it down to stop it floating when it's full of air!

Cheers

[emmaandaj]

Hi Mate,

Ive used the 15mm pipe clips to secure the ring. Following the advise ive drilled the holes and have tested in my growing on pond-it works but i only had it at arms depth so may not work if deeper but fingers crossed-just hope i havent made to many holes!. I went for 1.5mm holes to start with and drilled them on every other mark on the pipe. My biggest problem is i bought a large roll of the speed fit pipe and am having trouble straightening out!

Andy

[kayoss]

Andy

If it's not too late try pumping some hot water through it and set it as straight as possible. If you've already drilled the holes, just lay the lengths of pipe in a bath of hot water for a while.

Very difficult to get it exactly sraight, but you'll get it near enough to make no difference to it's effectiveness. It doesn't really matter what it looks like, because once it's fixed in place, hopefully you'll never see it again!

Cheers

[fishy hands]

but do you place the pipe work below the material thats holding your k1 in place or above it , so that its in with the k1 if you see what i mean

[kayoss]

What material holding your K1????

Have a read of this article. It explains the problems I experienced when I used perforated plastic to contain my K1.

http://www.bkks.co.uk/a-detritus-problem-solved.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The airline needs to go as close to the bottom as possible.

Cheers

[emmaandaj]

Hi Bob,

Great article! Ive seen this several times where filters have been converted to k1 and the air ring has been put above a grill.

Have now submersed air rings in boiling water and have put Emma's dressing table upside on top to flatten them out(she isnt to impressed but it works a treat!)

Andy

[kayoss]

Hi Andy

Better appeal to her softer side then just tell Emma that the koi will love her for it!!

Thanks for the compliment

Cheers

Bob

[emmaandaj]

Hi Bob,

I just told her it was your idea

Andy

[fishy hands]

well thanks for the information. now it's just putting it in practice or shall i leave it till it gets warmer ? some one say wait please