Nanocraft Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I have something of a bizarre mystery. I’ve used nano USB air pumps to power small sponge filters in my 5 and 10 gallons for years now. For some odd reason, one particular 5g tank setup has killed 4 such pumps from disparate dealers (including AC) in about a 3 week period. The tank has been established for roughly 3 years and never had an issue like this. The setup is a USB air pump to regulator valve to check valve directly to an AC small coarse sponge filter (no air stone mounted). The pump sits table top—hence the need for the check valve. I have my Aqueon heater and Finnex LED attached to the same outlet working great as always, so it does not seem to be electrical. I really hesitate to use any other air pump technology for this 5g, as it merely houses my daughter’s Betta and one 3 year old Nerite Snail feet from her bed, so the sound-to-filtration ratio has been perfect. Am I just unlucky this month or something, or is something else going on that is killing my nano equipment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi_Aquatics Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 By any chance is the check valve installed the wrong way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I killed one. It sat beside the tank and over time the light mist from my airstone shorted it out (my best guess) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanocraft Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) On 1/11/2022 at 2:33 PM, Levi_Aquatics said: By any chance is the check valve installed the wrong way? No. The check valve has remained the same for the full 3-year lifespan of the tank. Do check valves go “bad” with age perhaps? Ever hear of that? Edited January 11, 2022 by Nanocraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall from Texas Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 On 1/11/2022 at 1:42 PM, Nanocraft said: No. The check valve has remained the same for the full 3-year lifespan of the tank. Do they go “bad” perhaps? Ever hear of that? They can get clogged. If it's 3 yr old its possible it got gunk in it. You may also want to try a different USB power supply. They go bad way more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levi_Aquatics Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 If you have a different one lying around it wouldn’t hurt to change that out. It’s probably more likely that the power supply is the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 By the way, I check a check valve by blowing in it the same direction the air is supposed to flow, to see how hard it is to push air through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanocraft Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 Thanks all. I’ll try replacing all the airline components including the check valve and air line. I’ve never had a check valve malfunction on any tanks before, so this is new territory for me in terms of its (possible) effects on pump itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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