Electro magnetic air pump/ Sharks   8/31/06
Hi Bob,
<Joe>
Was hoping you could shed some light on the myth that sharks are sensitive to electro magnetic fields?
<Mmm, not a myth. Established fact>
I am thinking of purchasing a new air pump for my tank, although it is described as operating via an electro-magnetic motor. I have a port Jackson shark in my tank, and was wondering if this would affect him, or any shark in general.
<Not likely... through the air... or even if this pump is placed near the tank>
Also, could you please tell me what a sufficient air output in an 8ft tank should be (if there is a suggested air volume at all)? The air pump I have selected distributes 70 litres per minute.
<... At what pressure? Depends on the depth, number of discharges... what mechanical diffuser devices, other outputs are employed. 70 LPM is a bunch of volume>
Thanks
Joe.
<Bob Fenner>

Air pump choices, Printed works on Aquariology  02-05-06
Dear Fenner,
<Stephan>
As i
<... I>
consider myself more immersed within the intricacies of the hobby i would like to ask you a few questions, if that's alright. I'm considering
building a fish room and would like to know the appropriate air pump for the job. I've done some searching around and found 3 types available to the
everyday consumers. Larger regular pumps, air compressors and blowers (diaphragms etc). What i wanted to know was whether high pressure low volume
or high volume low pressure air was more desirable for the longevity of the fish.
<Blowers are by far the most appropriate technology for such fish rooms... you don't (likely) need high/er pressure... or the noise that goes with such...>
As they seem to be the only discrepancy between the available models. Furthermore, i would like to ask if there were more sources that i can view
to learn more about the biology of tropical fish. Being a science major myself, i feel that the science behind living fish is pertinent to my needs.
Thank you for your time,
Sincerely,
Stephen Fang
<The last is a very good question. Presently there are few "scientific" works on Aquariology... so a person is faced with sampling from related fields (Aquaculture, Ichthyology, Physiology...) and making inference... Perhaps you will pen such a work. Bob Fenner>

Noisy Air Pump  12/15/05
We have a "Elite 802" air stone
< Actually the Elite 802 is a pump, not an airstone.>
for a 10 gallon tank that is really noisy. Do you have any recommendations for any air stone's <pumps> that aren't noisy? This thing is pretty loud and we even have it laying on a folded over dishtowel to buffer some of the noise. Thank you!
< This is a very common problem that aquarists encounter with small aquariums. Little vibrating air pumps are relatively inexpensive but almost all of them work off a vibrating diaphragm. With little plastic housings there is not enough ballast around them to contain the vibration or the noise. Bigger ones were sometimes no better. The was a company many years ago that made an outstanding pump called the Silent Giant. It was an incredibly powerful pump that you could hardly hear. Unfortunately they began to use cheaper materials, the quality went down and they were not nearly as good and the company went out of business. Unplug the air pump from the airline while it is till plugged in. This is as quiet as it is ever going to get. Lots of the vibration comes from excessive back pressure, liked clogged airstones or kinked airlines. If the problems are fixed but it is still too noisy then you will have to change to an outside power filter. Other little air pumps are not going to be much better. Look at the penguin brands. The only noise you will hear is the sound of water running over the filter. Some people actually find it relaxing.-Chuck>

Air pump
Hey folks!
Just started a 20g saltwater tank and got a, (shudder) Skilter 250. Yea, I know, say it ain't so. Anyway, I found the Skilter modification in the FAQ and have completed it with the help of the LFS that I like here. Main reason for doing it was it seems to inject a ton of bubbles back into the tank. Much better now. I have an ashwood air stone running off of a Tectra Deep water 24-2. I was wondering if it would be appropriate to simply plug the non-used outlet of the pump for the time being (and to save my sanity from the noise) with a piece of tube with a plug on the end of it. I was thinking that when I setup an additional tank for QT, I would run hose from the other outlet to it for air, etc. Will this burn out my pump or be ok? Love your site, very
very informational! <Dan, I would use a "T" and use both lines, if it's too much air you can always add an inline flow control.> James (Salty Dog)>

Rebuild Kits for Whisper Air Pumps
I have two Whisper air pumps, one is a 700, the other is a 600....I cannot find the rebuild kits in my local shops anymore! Where can I get them besides on the Web? I live in Saint Joseph Michigan.
Thank you
              Donna
<Most any of the larger LFS or etailers that carry much in the way of Tetra's product lines should be able to get this for you. Check with Custom Aquatic, Marine Depot (.coms). Bob Fenner>

Battery Operated pumps
Thanks for the reply.  Any idea how long battery operated pumps last?   I had always thought them to last just a few hours at best.
<you are right, they aren't very long.  I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that if you are going to get a battery operated one, then also invest in a decent rechargeable battery system.  "Monster Power" battery systems work exceedingly well, and have a long power life. You can find it at Circuit city and a reasonable price. have the batteries charging as the other ones are in use. You don't have the have the pump running all the time either.  Just have it going during the warmest part of the day, and sporadically during other times.  It's not really needed directly after a large water change, so keep that in mind.  Actually I'm not sure why I didn't think of this last time, but you don't need to have a pump near the tank.  You can always purchase airline hosing and run a single line of airline to the tank.  The pump can be near an outlet, and just the airline goes to the tank. You can purchase a 25foot roll of it for about 10 dollars at Petco.>  
Thanks again, Mark
<Hope that helps, I would suggest using the long airline tubing rather than the cost of a noisy battery pump, and battery charging expense.  Good luck. -Magnus>

-Rely on battery powered air pumps?-
I was trying to get your opinion as whether or not these battery powered air pumps would be enough to sustain a 75 gallon reef tank for a couple of days if their was a power failure(24 hours +). <It's hard to say, and it depends on how the tank is set up. Assuming the temperature could stay constant, and the tank had ample live rock and a reasonable population of fish and critters, a few air pumps keeping the water from going stagnant may do the trick.> I am in a climate where for the most part, I would not have to worry about the temperature past 48 hours. Hagen makes a battery powered air pump for like seven dollars. Do you have any other recommendation in case of a prolonged power failure? <Yeah, generator. An excellent investment not only for the tank but for your own personal comfort! -Kevin> Please let me know. Thanks Ron

Air Pump Noise
Hey Crew!!
Ok, here's my problem - I have an air pump that's driving me nuts!!  I would like to know if you guys could tell me what the quietest air pump on the market is.   I'm running a protein skimmer, and 2 air stones in the tank.   Would 2 really quiet pumps take care of my needs, and quiet things down??   Thanks for your advise!! Pat Marren
<Try asking in the WetWebFoto forums, Pat. The problem with air pumps for driving skimmer air stones is, they need to be powerful enough to push air quite deep, thus the noise. I'm afraid it's fairly typical.  Someone may know of a particularly quiet model on the forums.  Craig>

Pump It Up?
I have a bio orb and have just changed the filter cartridge on Monday! However have not been able to get it to bubble up since!
<Hmm...>
Have taken pump to my local aquarium 3 times and have had it fixed and checked all seems ok to them! It even blew bubbles into a cup, yet whenever I get it home it just doesn't want to work! Can you think of any other reason for this before I go mad!!!!
Caroline Cutmore
<OK, Caroline- here's my theory: Perhaps there is too much back pressure on the pump in your setup? If the pump is more than say, one meter below the tank, perhaps it cannot overcome the back pressure. Experiment by moving the pump closer to the filter, perhaps even on top of the tank...See if that works for you. It may be as simple as that. If this is the case, you may need to either permanently relocate the pump to a more favorable position, or purchase a more powerful one. Hope this helps! Regards, Scott F!>

Re: two pumps & PSI
UPDATE:
Bob,
I received a new air pump for Christmas.. a 4 PSI one. I'll I can say is WOW, what a difference 2 more PSI make in a skimmer.
<Yes sir!>
With my 2" 5' DIY CC Skimmer and a 2 PSI pump I could barely get foam to the top, and the air stone was only 12" down. With a 4 PSI air pump, and stone 18" down I have foam gushing over the top. I actually had to dial the air pump down to 3 PSI to get the foam at proper levels.
I hope this might help others with foam issues. Thanks again for all your help. Dave
<Thanks for the input. Bob Fenner>

Re: two pumps & PSI
Good Morning to the "All knowing and All seeing keepers of knowledge in all things aquatic". I come before you on bent knee, again seeking counsel and pearls of wisdom.
<Wow!>
If you have two air pumps that are churning out 2 PSI each, when you hook them together (into the same gang valve) would you not get 4 PSI as a result? When I did this and only saw a 0.5 raise in total PSI. Went from 2 to 2.5
Puzzled, Dave
<Well Dave, the answer is simple. My Dad has a saying, "You can't fit ten pounds of sh*! in a five pound bag." Basically, the airline tubing is only able to accomodate so much air. Much like using a 1200 gph external pump and only getting 400 gph out of it because you are returning the water through 1/2" PVC pipe. -Steven Pro>

Re: Air Pump Question for tall skimmer
I would like to use 1/4" ID acrylic and flexible tubing to supply air into my 5' skimmer.
<yes... but you will not need for the air to go much further than 16 or 18" down a countercurrent body>
If I have a 5' skimmer shouldn't the air go all the way to the bottom or very near it?  
<nope... not necessary at all in a Nilsen style countercurrent. Too expensive to produce and actually a problem when you have adequate water flow through the skimmer: air near the bottom can get sucked out with the excurrent water and be aesthetically irritating to you and especially irritating to corals (the microbubbles).>
Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?
<You understand my friend... just don't have a good diagram or understanding of it yet. It would be obvious after you built the skimmer. This skimmer style is diagramed in my coral propagation book... an old Nilsen style at 4-6 feet tall. Great old design. Best regards, Anthony>

Air Pump Question
A question for the experts at WWM. Great site, great people! Can two, three or four Tetra Luft air pumps be tied into a common header to operate a single CC skimmer?
<yes... but never with significant back pressure... always with a bleeder (blowing off air and throttled just enough to give the other outlets the necessary flow. To illustrate... imagine a gang valve with four outlets and two inlets. Two pumps (single output) would supply the two inlets... three of the outlets would go to a device (airstone) and the fourth must be left to blow off air. The three outlets will need to be run at the same depth and their valves left full open. Only the bleeder is regulated (throttled back) to get enough flow to other outlets>
Or would separate lines for each be necessary?
<always better and safer separately>
Would each require a check valve?
<yes>
I would like to use 1/4" ID acrylic and flexible tubing to supply air into my 5' skimmer.
<yes... but you will not need for the air to go much further than 16 or 18" down a countercurrent body>
Would this combination shorten the life of the pumps?
<the first suggestion would a little. There are industrial airpumps instead that are suited for this job (Schego)>
Do you have a better setup? Any help would be very much appreciated.
<best regards, Anthony>

Schego air pump
Dear crew,
I have just purchased a Schego M2K3 air pump from seeme.com in the Netherlands, what a fantastic piece of kit very well made compared with the majority of what we normally see over here in England.
<and here in America too. Schego has enjoyed a fine reputation for many years. Its a shame that they are so dearly priced>
My question is this, at the moment i am using Sander No2 limewood stones, the action in the skimmer column is very high but it's reluctant to start foaming, i have an internal glass counter current skimmer and the depth is about 18" of the column, i currently only use 1 airstone (should i start using 2 stones),
<dual airstones is not a terrible idea if you cannot increase air through the stone without increasing bubble size>
can you guys give any pointers as to any experience with these pumps, by the way i have it set fairly light in terms of the tension dial on the end of the pump.
<as will all high volume air pumps... hook this one up to a gang valve with one more stem than you need (e.g.- two valves for one running stone or three valves for two running stones). Set the airstone valve(s) full open and use the extra valve as a bleeder/muffler. Attach a length of tubing to it and restrict or open the valve slightly to make adjustments by resistance for the airstones. This maximizes control of airflow and reduces resistance on the pump.
Many thanks Paul, England
<Cheers, Paul. With kind regards... Anthony Calfo>

Schego Air Pumps
Dear Anthony,
<cheers, Paul>
Thank you for your reply with regard to my air pump problem, i will go to my local aquarium shop tomorrow and buy a gang valve and give it a go!
<excellent!>
By the way the site that I bought the pump of does the M2K3 for $31.00 and if you spend in excess of $75.00 they will deliver free to the good old US of A.
<that is very affordable for such a good pump! Please do share the web link with us>
Once again thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated,
<our great pleasure>
I haven't been able to get a satisfactory answer over here in England simply because no-one sells Schego pumps at all.
<I see... well, I suppose you just need to think a little more about retiring early and setting up that fine aquarium Shoppe you've been dreaming about! <G> Do advise me when your grand opening is... I'd love to visit UK on holiday and lecture at your new place (Ha!)...  and I'll travel for good beer, steamed rice and a comfortable chair to sleep in :)  >
Yours Paul, Manchester, England
<kindly, Anthony>

Air Pumps for Skimmers
Dear Mr Fenner,
<Steven Pro in this evening.>
Thank you for your reply regarding the reef secure additive. If you do get any information on this product I would be grateful for your views. A couple of weeks ago, I mailed you with regard to some Kordon mist fine air stones that I purchased on the web. I am trying to increase the efficiency of my air driven counter current skimmer. You kindly pointed me in the direction of Schego or Luft air pumps. I have managed to locate the Schego pumps on the web, but after reading some viewpoints it seems that a lot of people in America think that they can be quite noisy. I have been looking around and I have seen another pump called the TetraTec deep water. Apparently, its been developed for skimmer operation. Could you please let me know if any of the crew or you has ever come across this and what your views are?
<I have seen them, but I am partial to the Tetra Luft pumps, now marketed under the Coralife label, but they should be the same. These are strong, long lasting, and have an adjustable rheostat.>
As always thank you for your efforts, Paul Matthews of Manchester, England
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro>