# Advice needed on an air pump



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I know most of you are much more experienced at the fishkeeping side of aquaria than I am so I hope you can offer some help....

Within the next week I hope to have at least three 10g shrimp tanks set up in my basement. I am looking for an air pump that will power nine 10g tanks at a minimum. Of course these tanks will have sponge filters, probably the Hydro Sponge like Ken has on his site.

I would prefer a pump that could eventually handle more than 9 tanks and possibly even double that amount but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg either  I also want a pump that is quiet. That is probably my major concern over how many tanks it will do.

I'm not in a hurry for the pump but sometime this week(end) I will be setting up three 10g tanks for shrimp. I already have Aqua Clear Mini filters running on these so they should be OK until I get the other tanks set up. I know Chris (Cincy Cichlids) uses some sort of air pump for his basement setup but I don't remember what type he uses.

Any recommendations?


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I can't recomend a specific pump because I haven't really used many air pumps in my time fish keeping. I think the most problematic thing about what your looking for will be the noise created by it... I bet the cheaper pumps will be pretty noisy. Do you have a nearby closet or something you could house the pump??? If you do it could broaden your options.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I have literally no experience with air pumps other than those cheapy Whisper units from back in the 80's and 90's. I have always hated the noise air pumps make so I definately want something quiet. The whole setup will be in a storage area in the basement so need for a closet but I don't want to hear the pump in the family room above the storage area either.

I don't mind spending $50-$100 for a good quiet pump if one can even be had for that kind of money. I'm totally ignorant when it comes to air pumps


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

What if you built an simple isolation box for it? That might be overkill but would make it extremely quiet, then it wouldnt' really matter what brand you bought just as long as it had the number of outputs you wanted. I was thinking about doing something similar if I ever use an air pump at night on the 50gal in my bedroom.


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## JRJ (Feb 9, 2005)

Just to play devil's advocate briefly... You'll have to get a nasty, noisy, piston pump. Why not go down to 'All About Pets' and pick up a bunch of quiet, small, used AquaClear filters and put a pre-filter sponge on the intakes? Put two sponge filter elements in the filter and when it is rarely is necessary to clean them, pull out the first one in the flow path and rinse it under the tap and rotate the other into its place. It'll be quieter, cheaper, and work as well as or better than the sponge filters. I grew oodles of red cherry shrimp, w/o effort, just that way - ask Rob, who now has the descendants of my accidental shrimp farm.

-Russ :snakeman:


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I acutally have four of those filters in use right now on my 10g tanks. I like the idea of being able to replace a single foam insert in each filter. I can then use the old foam insert in a new filter and have instant bio material in the filter for a new tank setup. 

However, I think this may get expensive in the long run if I get to 10-12 (or more) 10g tanks set up. 10 filters at $8 each is a good chunk of change  I was hoping to be able to get a quiet pump that would run 20 or so airstones for under $100 if at all possible

If you make it to the meeting on Saturday you will be able to see why I want the air pump and sponge filters versus the Aquaclears ;-)


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## JRJ (Feb 9, 2005)

Did you put your post up on the GCAS forum? I know a bunch of people in the club use sponge filters in their breeding tanks. They'll undoubtedly have info on pumps.

-Russ


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

JRJ said:


> Did you put your post up on the GCAS forum? I know a bunch of people in the club use sponge filters in their breeding tanks. They'll undoubtedly have info on pumps.


I just did that this morning. I was hoping that some SWOAPE members had some experience with air pumps before I posted on GCAS. I don't like to cross post between forums very much but sometimes you have to I guess


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## CincyCichlids (Oct 14, 2005)

Unfortunately, I haven't had much time to enjoy the hobby lately. Between work, travel, and girlfriend, I've been neglecting the forums a bit.

Anyway, I'd recommend a linear pump. I have one powering all of my tanks.. to the bottom of three 30" deep tanks (something I've never had a blower be able to do) with lots more power to spare. They can be pricey, but I can get one for about $80-$85 with shipping, so not too bad, and probably powerful enough to run as many tanks as your spouses will allow.

I honestly don't recommend rotary blowers anymore... they're noisey, drain a good amount of power, and they usually don't have the pressure I need to power airstones deep in tanks. These linear pumps have come a long way in the past 5-7 years and wouldn't think twice about using those soley if I could go back to when my fishroom was in it's prime.

Aquaclear filters are great, in my opinion. Put two sponges in them, and they will do excellent filtration. However, they don't mix well with shrimp and small fry as they will suck them up, not to mention they don't start up usually after a power outage of more than a few seconds.

As far as sponges go, I've always used the Hydro Sponge filters, they're made well and last for years.

Just my $.02 I'm sure at the meeting tomorrow I'll be discussing this more with Matt.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I figured you'd get around to replying sooner or later. We can yap about the pump before or after the meeting


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

eBay: 8 Way Air Pump Manifold -KOI/FISH/POND/AQUARIUM (item 250022658048 end time Dec-23-06 16:05:49 PST)

I don't know if that would work or not, but it's cheap and there's lots of outputs!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Thanks for the heads up E! 

I'm still debating the air pump thing. I've never liked the sound of bubbling water but I don't want to have filters fail on me during a power outage either...decisions, decisions


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## CincyCichlids (Oct 14, 2005)

Another note on "power failures".. backup battery systems are definitely becoming cheaper as time goes on... if you get one that's big enough.. you could run ONE air pump on it... of course you'd have to test it out to see how long it takes for it to run out... but if you had it connected and kept a watchful eye... if you turned on the pump every hour for 10 min or so.. that'd definitely increase the survival rate of fish....


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Definately something to think about once I get all 12 tanks up and running. Thanks for the info Chris.


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## CincyCichlids (Oct 14, 2005)

Now, now... Blasphemer... it isn't 12.. lets think realistically... you know it'll be 36 tanks!

:toimonst: (<-- just wanted to use this haha)


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

CincyCichlids said:


> Now, now... Blasphemer... it isn't 12.. lets think realistically... you know it'll be 36 tanks!
> 
> :toimonst: (<-- just wanted to use this haha)


Oh man, I sure hope not...that may put me into divorce land :-s


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## t2000kw (Jul 29, 2006)

Here's an idea. It might not be workable for you, but an idea it is.

IF (and it's a BIG if) you have the room and it's isolated enough from the rest of the house (like a garage, outbuilding, whatever), you could get an automotove air compressor with a large sized tank. Use a regulator to drop the pressure down to a few PSI. It wouldn't come on very often, but it would come on to pump the tank back up. The air in the tank would last several mours, maybe a day or more, depending on how big of an air tank it is.

If you consider this, get an oil-less type. You don't want oil in your air lines. They don't last as long, but this would not be cycling on and off very often at all. 

This would give you more capacity that you would ever realistically need, unless you ran a large aquarium store. And it might even do a good job for that.


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## CincyCichlids (Oct 14, 2005)

t2000kw,

Although I've never used a compressor of such a large capacity (I've used those small linear pumps which are a type of compressor).. the large ones typically use oil. Plus the fact that they do have to cycle on and off, and when they do, they're LOUD, means that they are not a great choice.

I'm sure there have been those who have done it, but I just can't see it be cost effective.... You can get a new pump for anywhere from $70-150 and a used one for less than that.

Not knocking your idea, just don't see how it would be feasible.. unless you already had a garage/car shop and just wanted to run an airline...


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## t2000kw (Jul 29, 2006)

CincyCichlids said:


> Not knocking your idea, just don't see how it would be feasible.. unless you already had a garage/car shop and just wanted to run an airline...


That was more or less my idea, since I already have one in the garage. It is oil-less, so if I decide to use it for aquarium use it should be OK. You can also add another storage tank to a smaller compressor to reduce cycling.

But if you can get some quiet large aquarium air pumps for use in the home, that is a better idea. My idea was to put the sound elsewhere, but you COULD also do the same with a loud aquarium pump.

We put one in the basement when we lived in Pennsylvania and you couldn't hear it upstairs. You have a small risk of a siphon problem but it's unlikely. There are check valves for that if there's a concern.


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