Picking an Air Pump?

[Beanie Seagus]

So, as my fish room continues to ramp up, i think its time to switch from 10+ individual air pumps, to one central airpump.

I'm having trouble picking out a model though, as I'm fairly new to this idea.

Here are my requirements:
-Must be reasonably quiet, or at least not any more nosy than the 10x smaller air pumps i'm running currently
-must have capacity to service 30+ tanks at once of various sizes and various heights. I've got 15 tanks now and am wanting to buy something that will last me past many expansions
-must be fairly easily to use, maintain, and add manifolds/additional air tubes to

Are there any other traits i should be looking out for?

In a Perfect world, I would be able to achieve this around the price point of $100. If thats not possible, can you give me options that might fit the $150, $200, or $250 price points?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[dogofwar]

They're not as quiet as some but the Coralife SL-65 is a wonderful pump. I have a couple in my fishroom and they're great bang for the buck. http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/air-pumps/coralife-super-luft-air-pump-sl-65.html

As an aside, for really deep tanks (I have a 4' 150g that's over 30" deep, for example) I just use a separate pump than the central ones. You'll need a good manifold / air system as well to get air to all of the tanks.

I'm doing a presentation on Building a fishroom at ACLC on Saturday 11/19

 

[QuarterMiler]

Take a look at some of the diaphragm air pumps on Jehmco.com. I have the DAPMH-20 and it's currently running about 23 usage points easily. You could probably step up to one of the bigger ones for your setup. I've had mine running for about 4 years now and it has not skipped a beat. They sell replacement diaphragm kits for them if needed. Their customer service is excellent and they will talk to you about your needs. They have many other pumps besides the diaphragm versions also, plus all of the supplies for the system you could need.

 

[Frank Cowherd]

You should look at linear piston air pumps. They come in various sizes (and prices) to run various numbers of tanks. And linear air pumps are virtually noiseless and maintenance free. Talk with John at JEHMCO or call Aquatic Eco Systems. Both companies will help you decide what pump is right for your situation and they have more than one manufacturer of these types of pumps.

I have had three of these pumps. None have produced any noise in the fish room compared to the noise of the bubbles rising in the tanks. All have worked for years. I've only bought bigger ones to replace the old ones that could not produce the amount of air needed as I added tanks.

I would recommend you get one that produces more air than you think you need. The more air you run through a tank the better the water quality, within reasonable limits. And linear piston pumps are not hurt (that is, need no bleed of air) due to developing high pressure. They basically produce the amount of air needed depending on how many outlets you are running, again within the range the particular pump was designed for.

I am running my current pump now for 6 years continuously with only stoppages when the power has gone out. I always enhance the intake air filter on the pump with a couple layers of quilt batting. Dust or other particles in the air are the only things that could hurt this kind of pump. I am running about 100 outlets off of a 30 ft manifold and can add more outlets as I need them.

 

[chriscoli]

I second Frank's comments100%. I'm running two of jehmco's linear piston pumps and they are very quiet. Call and tak to them about what you need. Leave a little room to grow, too. You may need some extra air if you want to tuck a bin of fry somewhere, run an egg tumbler, or use the marina hang on boxes that many of us like.

 

[jonclark96]

+1 on Frank and Christine's comments. I got my pump from Jehmco last year. It is virtually silent compared to some of the other pumps that I've used.

 

[Pat Kelly]

My linear from Jehmco may be more money but it has been quietly running over 100 outlets since July of 2007
with no problems.

 

[killiedave57]

__++ Frank and Christy..
heres the skinny from my pov....
I run almost 100 valves on a 1 1/4" pvc closed circuit system.
currently, i am running an Alita pond pump that is handling this system well...
probably a little noisier than a linear, and cheaper, but if it burns out, then I am in trouble...
My plan is to upgrade to a Linear Piston pump, and Jehmco is the place to go.
I have used jehmco's smaller range of pumps, like the DAPH15, or 20 (i think that is the size)
but needed to switch things up as I had several smaller pumps running things.
I guess my bottom line is you can't skimp on this part of your fish room.
good luck

 

[Pat Kelly]

__++ Frank and Christy..
heres the skinny from my pov....
I run almost 100 valves on a 1 1/4" pvc closed circuit system.
currently, i am running an Alita pond pump that is handling this system well...
probably a little noisier than a linear, and cheaper, but if it burns out, then I am in trouble...
My plan is to upgrade to a Linear Piston pump, and Jehmco is the place to go.
I have used jehmco's smaller range of pumps, like the DAPH15, or 20 (i think that is the size)
but needed to switch things up as I had several smaller pumps running things.
I guess my bottom line is you can't skimp on this part of your fish room.
good luck

And keep your old pump as a back up.
Over the years I have found a couple of nice blowers in our mini auction. Any of which will more than do my room.
I do not like the noise of a blower but I bought them as back up's.
I have since gotten rid of one but the other is sitting there just in case. Think it went for like $30.00 in the auction.
Bottom line is (as you put it) I like having a back up in case of failure.

 

[Beanie Seagus]

Thank you all for your insight. I will certainly be looking into several of these options moving forward

 

[Reed]

Linear piston are the way to go. Listen to all the expert advice in this thread. Go bigger then you think you need. I am running an Alita 60 with approximately 50 outlets. It's dead silent and works great.
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