Tiny air pumps?

[Dawn T]

I've got a tiny air pump that came with one of those pico tank kits (I bought it years ago). It's slowly dying, not too surprising given its age, putting out less and less air. I thought at first the air stone was just getting clogged (AC airstone), but I checked and that's fine. It's on my 1.5g jarrarium. I use it mainly to keep a tiny bit of surface agitation to discourage mosquitoes from setting up residence since I don't have a tight cover on there. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near any other tanks that I have air going to, so I can't just tap into an existing air supply.

Can anyone recommend a nano air pump to replace the one I have? Reviews online haven't proven helpful, as they recommend pumps that are actually for anywhere from 5g up to 20g! That's way more than my little 1.5g needs.

[Gideyon]

I like the Aquarium Co-op USB powered pump. But mine did have an issue of overheating after long continuous use.  Others on here didn't, so I may have gotten a lemon

I do plan to get another one as it is quite handy. 

If it's just for agitation, I would maybe put it on a timer to ensure it doesn't overwork just in case that is an issue. 

[lefty o]

id go with the co-op nano pump. i have a sample of 1, been running for 6 months so far.

[GameCzar]

Another vote for the nano pumps, so far they've outlasted the standard box store pumps I own.

[eatyourpeas]

I have the ACO nano pumps running in six FW tanks, one SW and a sump. I also have one in an ACO specimen container to aereate the black worm culture. They are amazing, and reliable. Highly recommended!

Edited December 16, 2021 by eatyourpeas

[Guppysnail]

I run 10 in freshwater tanks 1 in plant hold and 1 for hatching bbs. Since I found them I won’t settle for less. They are silent. Coop also sell flow adjusters for your airline so you control how much air goes through. Hooked to a phone battery pack (cheap on Amazon) it acts as an emergency power out or for transporting fish. I love them. 

[fkoran]

I ran four generic USB air pumps from Amazon for six months in a hydroponic setup, they're shockingly quiet and work fine.

Edited December 16, 2021 by fkoran

[Dawn T]

I currently one of AC's USB Nano pumps running an airstone on one of my 29g tanks (no overheating issues thus far). Got tired of the noise the Whisper on that tank was making. It puts out exactly what I want and need for that particular tank and use, but it would be way too much agitation for the 1.5g jar. I wouldn't want to put strain on the pump by tightening the airstone to block most of the air it pumps out to get the right amount for my jar.

On 12/15/2021 at 8:37 PM, Guppysnail said:

Coop also sell flow adjusters for your airline so you control how much air goes through. 

Does that put back pressure on the pump that can cause damage to it over time?

[GameCzar]

On 12/15/2021 at 9:39 PM, Dawn T said:

I currently one of AC's USB Nano pumps running an airstone on one of my 29g tanks (no overheating issues thus far). Got tired of the noise the Whisper on that tank was making. It puts out exactly what I want and need for that particular tank and use, but it would be way too much agitation for the 1.5g jar. I wouldn't want to put strain on the pump by tightening the airstone to block most of the air it pumps out to get the right amount for my jar.

Does that put back pressure on the pump that can cause damage to it over time?

Not that I've noticed.  I keep a flow valve on all ours as well.

[Guppysnail]

On 12/15/2021 at 10:39 PM, Dawn T said:

I currently one of AC's USB Nano pumps running an airstone on one of my 29g tanks (no overheating issues thus far). Got tired of the noise the Whisper on that tank was making. It puts out exactly what I want and need for that particular tank and use, but it would be way too much agitation for the 1.5g jar. I wouldn't want to put strain on the pump by tightening the airstone to block most of the air it pumps out to get the right amount for my jar.

Does that put back pressure on the pump that can cause damage to it over time?

It just restricts air. I’m not really sure but I have had other air pumps run with them for years. The nanos do not put out overwhelming amounts of air but for the jar it might be much. It’s just a screw that tightens to the desired depth. 

[Dawn T]

Thanks, gang. I'll get another nano pump ordered from AC, along with the control valve. See if the pump can take that much restriction of air flow. I guess I can be a test case, huh? LOL

[Gideyon]

On 12/15/2021 at 10:39 PM, Dawn T said:

I wouldn't want to put strain on the pump by tightening the airstone to block most of the air it pumps out to get the right amount for my jar.

What I do is put a T-connector on the airline.  The airstone is connected to one side. The control valve on the other. The control valve is connected to nothing on the other end. 

Air goes where there is least resistance. So if you keep the control valve completely open, no air would go to the stone. If you tighten it just a tad, you'll see air coming out of the stone. 

The benefit of this is that all the air that is pushed out of the pump goes out somewhere, and not back to the pump (a concern of mine as well...) 

[CalmedByFish]

To not put backpressure on the pump, I use a gang valve. The unneeded air can be allowed to seep out from the valves I don't have airline attached to. 

For what it's worth, I have five of the nano pumps people are talking about here. Whether or not you get a quiet one is a gamble. Two of my five are loud enough that they've been banished to places I'm not usually near. 

[gardenman]

You might be able to fix your dying pump. Inside the pump you'll likely find a round hard plastic piece with a black rubbery bellows-like thing on top of it. If that bellows-like thing is intact (no holes) then peel that off and you'll find two little (very little) flapper valves covering holes on each side of the hard plastic piece. (The plastic piece is either held in place by a screw on the back, or fits tightly into a slot in the case.) The flapper valves work like a check valve and let air flow one way, but not the other. Over time (years) they will get a bit dirty and let air go both ways. Instead of pushing air into your tank, the pump just shoves it back and forth inside that plastic piece when one of those valves fail. Sometimes just cleaning them will get the pump back to like new. If not, you can replace them (they're typically held in place by a harder piece of black rubber) with a carefully cut piece of a wide rubber band. I've fixed way too many air pumps over the years and more often than not, a bad air pump will be caused by one of those little check valve type pieces of rubber. (Assuming the pump makes noise and sounds "normal.") For some pumps you can buy repair kits containing the bellows, flapper valves and whatnots, but finding the right kit is often hard and expensive, and a simple rubber band can often be cut to replace the little flapper valves instead. If the bellows is damaged you can sometimes get away with repairing it with some rubber cement, but replacement is the best option then.

[CalmedByFish]

@gardenman Do you happen to know if the coop's nano pumps can be quieted when the vibrating sound turns into a rapid ClickClickClick?

[gardenman]

@CalmedByFish

I've never taken apart a nano pump, but I've just watched a video of one being taken apart. The one I saw had essentially three small bellows with a rod beneath them moving on an eccentric wheel to compress each individual little bellow one after another. I would assume the clicking was caused by a failed bellow where the rod was impacting the plastic instead of the bellows. If you take yours apart, draw a line along the length of the sections so you can align everything properly when you reassemble it. It could also be the rod has slipped out of place or broken. They're a pretty neat little device.

[Dawn T]

@gardenmanI tried cleaning my Whispers. More than once each. Finally gave up on them. I used to do that regularly and replace diaphragms when they needed it. Then replacement parts got to where they cost nearly as much as a new pump. So if I needed new parts, they got tossed. The ones that didn't need new parts but I couldn't get to quiet down with cleaning, I put in my "use ONLY in emergencies" drawer. LOL I recently cleaned that stuff out to make room for supplies I actually NEED access to.

I just ordered 3 of AC's nano pumps. Two will go straight into use. The third will go into my overflow drawer, which contains things that work perfectly but I don't need right now. Good backups should a piece of equipment go out. That's also where all my heaters are, since I don't have heaters in use on any of my tanks. Haven't needed them in years.

[CalmedByFish]

On 12/16/2021 at 6:42 PM, Dawn T said:

my "use ONLY in emergencies" drawer...

my overflow drawer... That's also where all my heaters are

I do this too! I guess a lot of us do, but I've never thought about it. My "only emergencies" are labeled as such on the ziplocs I put them in, but that and overflow are just all piled together in one dumpstery box. And indeed, most of the bulk of that stuff is heaters.

[JettsPapa]

I have the little USB pumps supplying air to the sponge filters in most of my tanks.  I usually take a plant weight, bend it into an S-hook, and use it to hang the pump on the back of the tank.

By doing that the pump is out of sight and out of the way, it's close to the filter so I don't need much air line, and it's high enough that I don't need a check valve to prevent backflow inn case of a power outage.

[Dawn T]

I got one of the USB nano pumps from AC put onto the jarrarium. Works like a charm with the gang valve to bleed off the excess air. @CalmedByFish, that suggest worked a charm! The valve allows me to control the air flow so perfectly!

So, thanks for the input, everyone!