I want BIG bubbles!

[roxcarr]

Ok - I have two tanks. One is natural looking. The other is a fantasy land kind of thing. I just got my castle last night. I know - I am so totally uncool. I'm used to it.
Anyway - I want really big bubbles like in the big cylindrical display tank if Fish Gallery's showroom. I got the pump. I got the wand. I buried the wand halfway in the bubbles. I have lots of little bubbles. I went online, it says less air. Back to Fish Gallery, got a valve to regulate the air. Still no BIG bubbles. HELP! What am I doing wrong?
I called Fish Gallery again. I am not a big spender. I'm sure they're getting sick of me. The guy said the cylindrical tank creates an optical illusion making the bubbles appear larger than they really are. wha-a-at? I don't think it makes them look that much larger. Does any one know how to get an air wand to make a few large bubbles as opposed to zillions of tiny ones?

[CRUSHER]

get one of those bubble discs and bury it in gravel, sand will just blow all over in the tank... you will have big bubble with gravel on top... not huge, but big

[eklikewhoa]

Larger size bubbles? Get some sort of tube and just drill tiny holes in them

[dblondfemme]

They have a flexible wand that is already in a circle shape... bury it under the gravel as stated above and you will have larger bubbles...

[eklikewhoa]

You could just poke holes in some airline tubing with the end capped off. That would be the cheapest route to take.

[roxcarr]

have you done the airline tubing thing yourself? I bought one of those flexible wands, and it's not working for me. I never even liked bubbles until I saw the big ones.
I have plenty of tubing. How do you stop it up? Do they make caps for it?

[roxcarr]

Should I use a hat pin, a small drill bit?

[eklikewhoa]

I would use a pin and move up from there till the desired size is obtained.

[Mzungu]

I agree with those that said to bury a bubble wand or disk in gravel - that'll produce much larger bubbles than just the wand/stone/disk alone. I promise. :)

[roxcarr]

I did bury a wand in gravel. It's got like a half inch on top of it. Do I need to bury it deeper? (this just sounds weird)

[eklikewhoa]

I did bury a wand in gravel. It's got like a half inch on top of it. Do I need to bury it deeper? (this just sounds weird)

LoL...uhm... that's what she said! Hahahahaha

Burying it deeper would cause the bubbles to force their way upwards and re-combine?

[Mzungu]

How big is your gravel?

[roxcarr]

Just ordinary aquarium gravel, 1/4" maybe.

[roxcarr]

OK Folks - Thanks to you who were kind enough to chime in with your ideas. I emailed Fish Gallery. I got a response from the president himself (probably just an ordinary guy, but he's got a title, so that's cool). I spent an hour or more up to my armpits in my tank, which was completely empty 2 nights ago. I now have somewhat largish bubbles.
If I had known then what I know now, here's what I'd do.
You do need a wand or disk. I think if you use a wand getting some little suction cups is also not a bad idea. Before anything else goes in the tank the wand goes directly on the bottom of the tank. I would make sure it is stuck on exactly the way I wanted it with the suction cups. Don't forget to attach your wand to the air hose. Put a lot of gravel on top of the wand. Attach a regulator valve between the air pump and the hose. Add water. Fiddle with the valve until you get the effect you want.
I have big bubbles. I am temporarily at peace.

[Mzungu]

I have big bubbles. I am temporarily at peace.

I'm glad you got what you wanted, at least for now!

P.S. Make sure you've got a check valve on the airline tubing.