12" Airstone--pump issue?

[Jrob]

ok so i went out today and used my 5$ off coupon at petsmart, and bought or ...free'd? lol a 12" airstone, one of the blue ones..nothing special...Brought it home, it said let it soak for an hour so i did...

Hooked it up to my air pump and only the first 2 inches of airstone are actually bubbling--by the side with the hose...so if i hold it upright, away from the hose then the other side bubbles...

So question--if i leave it in there, will it all begin to bubble overtime?? or could my pump be the problem--as in not having enough power??

i have it hooked up to an Elite 801 Pump

 

[Knowdafish]

How deep is your tank?

 

[Jrob]

its just a 30 gall...uhhh i believe like 18 or so inches

 

[Knowdafish]

Raise it up more towards the surface with your hand. If you get bubbles along the whole length when you raise it higher, than the problem is your pump is not strong enough for the depth of your tank.

 

[Jrob]

it makes no difference with my 12" airstone

But with my 4" airstone it makes a difference....

do you have any recommendations of higher quality pumps..??

 

[Jrob]

Top Fin® Air Pump AIR 8000...

thats what im looking at right now

 

[VPBassist]

the Tetra Whisper 60 powers my 12" bubble wand and 40g sponge filter just fine!

 

[Jrob]

did u get one of those splitter valves??

 

[Cleanbio]

Yes, it will take time for all the pores on the airstone to open up. I've had an airstone that took about a month before the entire thing started to bubble up.