Loud airlift, excessive gurgling?
January 20, 2010 in Getting Started, Seeking Advice, questions by bennett4senate
I was lucky enough to inherit one of the windowfarm systems that was used in the Whitney museum installation. It is essentially a suspended, 4-plant version of the basic 3-plant system, with the bottom container used as the reservoir.
I got it up and running today, with two plants (so far). The pump is doing fine getting the water through the system, but the airlift seems to be gurgling quite loudly, with corresponding bubbles escaping from the tube into the bottom of the reservoir.
Any troubleshooting advice for making the system a little quieter by reducing the gurgling sounds? Or if this is the level of noise that I should expect, has anyone come up with timer solutions that would allow me to reduce or turn off the pumps (especially when I’m trying to go to sleep)? I saw the Arduino-controlled timer, but don’t have Arduino skills myself…
Thanks!
Bennett!
Somewhere in this website is a post about a “silencer” fashioned out of an old vitamin bottle.
Do it to it!
Maya
Oh, I see – its actually the Optional Step 12 in the 3-plant install PDF. http://our.windowfarms.org/2009/07/29/3-plant-air-lift-window-farm/ Thanks!
edit:
Worked like a charm! From the airlift hose’s natural inclination to bend up, and lack of space inside the top of the plastic bottle, the ibuprofen bottle tends to hang on its side, as opposed to the vertical orientation in the How To. So I poked holes in the side of the bottle and it drips down perfectly, while leaving the hose flexible and more room to move the top plant cup in and out.
Now to deaden the quiet hum of the air pump…
To quiet the pump itself, try inserting a thin piece of styrofoam or even doubled over fabric between the bottle and the pump, Bennett. But don’t let it cover the hole with the clear plastic ring around it. That’s where it sucks in air!