Horrific Yellow-ish "Oxidation" Staining in Airline Tubing?

Kaskade10729

Kaskade10729

AC Members
Jun 16, 2013
361
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I'm running two bubble bars off of one Top Fin AIR-8000 pump, which has four air outlets (so I have "bridged" two outlets with a "T-connector" to feed one bar, and did the same with the other two outlets) and I noticed that near the area where the air actually pumps from the outlets, the sets of airline tubing down there have turned a heavy, almost alarming yellow-ish color that I assumed was from the constant pumping of the air into the tubes...is this just oxidation staining and are there any dangers?
 
Someone will know and be able to tell us what causes this. I only can say it is nothing to worry about. I have had this ever since I can remember with airline tubing and air pumps.

Byron.
 
Byron Amazonas said:
Someone will know and be able to tell us what causes this. I only can say it is nothing to worry about. I have had this ever since I can remember with airline tubing and air pumps.

Byron.
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Thank you, Bryron. :lol:
 
It's probably just the plastic/vinyl becoming discolored. Is there any UV light or sunlight hitting the tubing? This used to happen to clear t-shirt bags at my shop when we would sit them on display outdoors for sidewalk sales. The yellowing even passed through to white t-shirts once, so we stopped putting them outside inside the bags. Doesn't sound alarming to me, but you can never be too careful :)
 
ZorroNet said:
It's probably just the plastic/vinyl becoming discolored. Is there any UV light or sunlight hitting the tubing? This used to happen to clear t-shirt bags at my shop when we would sit them on display outdoors for sidewalk sales. The yellowing even passed through to white t-shirts once, so we stopped putting them outside inside the bags. Doesn't sound alarming to me, but you can never be too careful :)
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No, Zorro, no sunlight touching these tubes...
 
Narwhal72 said:
It's normal discoloration of the vinyl airline tubing. Nothing to worry about.
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Thanks, Nar...

These tubes, though, are made of vinyl, not plastic?
 
And what does this discoloration come from? It's only on the areas that are coming out of the pump...
 
Kaskade10729 said:
And what does this discoloration come from? It's only on the areas that are coming out of the pump...
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I believe its from constantly having air pushed through it. Maybe its from contact with the pump and the connectors just discoloring it over time.

Air has an effect on everything it touches. Just like rust on metal. When metal is exposed to oxygen for an extended amount of time rust will start to appear. Water just speeds up the oxidation.


Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Just about all tubing used in aquariums is made from vinyl. Occasionally you will see silicone tubing used in airline applications but it is softer and kinks more easily. Silicone tubing expands too much under pressure and explodes which is why it isn't used in water lines. Vinyl is a type of plastic so technically it's still plastic tubing.

The discoloration is probably caused by the heat generated by the motor inside the air pump. The heat from the motor transfers to the air and is then pumped out of the airline. It's not a lot of heat and quickly cools down which is why the coloration is generally within a few inches of the pump and disappears after that.

Andy
 
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