Air pump frustration

[Cinnebuns]

I keep hearing about people running 100+ sponge filters on 1 air pump. Despite trying 4 different kinds, I apparently don't have the right air pump. It's running all 4 just to run 4 filters and 2 hang on breeder boxes, and they really aren't running the best. 

Would the aquarium coop air pump be able to run 2 hang on breeder boxes, 1 small and 2 ACO sponge filters so I don't have to use 3 for the job? The 4th filter in question is in a diff room and running fine on the pump its on. 

[Fish Folk]

I just got rid of all these…

Everything I need is now run on this one pump…

That is supplying air to approximately… 39 sponge filters… 8 extra air stones… 1 powerhead.

This is spread between 3x rooms, 16 tanks, and 10x jugs.

I used a full 300 ft spool of ACO Airline…

I ran the airline up above drop-ceiling in my basement. It comes off the pump in 5 separated lines that run down to ACO gang valves…

 

Glad to answer any questions, make a video, etc. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/8/2022 at 2:22 PM, Fish Folk said:

I just got rid of all these…

Everything I need is now run on this one pump…

That is supplying air to approximately… 39 sponge filters… 8 extra air stones… 1 powerhead.

This is spread between 3x rooms, 16 tanks, and 10x jugs.

I used a full 300 ft spool of ACO Airline…

I ran the airline up above drop-ceiling in my basement. It comes off the pump in 5 separated lines that run down to ACO gang valves…

 

Glad to answer any questions, make a video, etc. 

I see a few of the air pumps I'm currently using in there lol. You might just save my day lol. What air pump is that? Might be overkill for what I need if it can run all that but better too much than not enough. I have 2 different rooms but one room only needs a ACO small sponge filter so a bad pump would be fine there. That's so far at least. Who knows if I add more lol. Running it to different rooms seems annoying to me. I def need some better organization regardless of what pump I run. 

[Fish Folk]

If you’re only doing a handful, it’s overkill to get the Danner Pondmaster AP-40.

I’d suggest just one pump for each room.

The 100 is probably overkill, but this series was my favorite before the PondMaster…

 

[modified lung]

I often run one sponge filter and one breeding box on 10 or 20 gal tanks with the same ACO usb air pump. I under filter everything compared to most people's standards though.

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/8/2022 at 12:08 PM, Cinnebuns said:

I keep hearing about people running 100+ sponge filters on 1 air pump. Despite trying 4 different kinds, I apparently don't have the right air pump. It's running all 4 just to run 4 filters and 2 hang on breeder boxes, and they really aren't running the best. 

Would the aquarium coop air pump be able to run 2 hang on breeder boxes, 1 small and 2 ACO sponge filters so I don't have to use 3 for the job? The 4th filter in question is in a diff room and running fine on the pump its on. 

The first thing I will say is that I HIGHLY recommend the metal gang valve available pretty much everywhere, but specifically the metal version.   @Fish Folk has shown off an amazing method for using these to create as many "drops" as you need for as many items as you need. NOW...... you just need to size the standard pump with what you effectively need to power.

This gives you two main options I will get to in a moment, but first, I will give you two pieces of advice I can from my "trial and error" of trying to run things and ruining far too many pumps. Aqueon, fluval, etc.

1. Make sure you run a check valve (leading into the gang valve)
2. DO NOT buy a pump that touts multiple outputs. Instead, find a pump that will more robustly power one output and use the gang valve.

This is what I prefer and it will power anywhere from 2 devices intensely strong, 4 devices really well, and 5+ devices would likely work.  There is two sizes available. The key for this one being, this is a bit more robust than other STD air pumps because it has the "deep water" feature.

I pretty much won't use anything besides these now. I highly recommend the CO-OP air pump when the USB-C version is released, but if you're trying to run several devices for a very large setup or a spot with 2-3 tanks in one region, you cannot beat what this pump can do.

It might be more readily available other places, but it gives you an idea of what to look for when you're buying a pump in comparison to other dual output or lower power traditional style air pumps.

https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Whisper-AP150-Aquarium-Applications/dp/B000V7KM32

Edited May 9, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/8/2022 at 3:58 PM, Fish Folk said:

Using one of these now on my tank because I am trying to run a bit "lower flow" for a short period.  This thing works great, BUT I would avoid dual output.  I have one output that works fine, the other is pretty beat up and barely runs an airstone.  Even trying to replace the diaphragm I've never gotten it to be repaired once they get to that point.  I've gone through 4-5 of these just because of age and they don't last as long as I'd prefer.  The Fluval ones are a bit more "omph" but only slightly.  The fluval one I had lasted about 2-3 months trying to power a ziss bubble bio moving bed filter and at some point you get those things with slightly reduced flow and they just stop working. 

Edit: to be clear, I love the design of this pump. I just wish it didn't have the issues I've run into.

Edited May 9, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/8/2022 at 11:37 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

1. Make sure you run a check valve (leading into the gang valve)

Great tip. I didn't even know about these. Added some to my cart now. 

On 5/8/2022 at 11:37 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

metal gang valve available pretty much everywhere, but specifically the metal version.  

I'm not 100% confident I'm aware of which this is, but would it be the 2 and 4 way connectors I have? It's a mess and needs to be organized better but I'll share the pic of one of them. 

 

On 5/8/2022 at 11:37 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

. DO NOT buy a pump that touts multiple outputs. Instead, find a pump that will more robustly power one output and use the gang valve.

I learn this fast. One of the ones I have right now has 2 and I realized how much I hate that pretty fast. 

 

On 5/8/2022 at 11:37 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

might be more readily available other places, but it gives you an idea of what to look for when you're buying a pump in comparison to other dual output or lower power traditional style air pumps.

I was looking at the tetra 100. I see 2 diff styles of it. One with 2 output and 1 with 1. Both are $20 compared to the $100 of this 150. Would 100 be sufficient? I says for 60-100 gallons but I've quickly learned they are always under budget for what they say it can work for. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004PB8SRM/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Whisper-Easy-Aquariums-Non-UL/dp/B000A0PYQK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3SYXPQ0Y4OA7J&keywords=tetra+air+pump+100+gallon&qid=1652073438&sprefix=tetra+air+pu%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-3

Edited May 9, 2022 by Cinnebuns

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/8/2022 at 10:17 PM, Cinnebuns said:

I was looking at the tetra 100. I see 2 diff styles of it. One with 2 output and 1 with 1. Both are $20 compared to the $100 of this 150. Would 100 be sufficient? I says for 60-100 gallons but I've quickly learned they are always under budget for what they say it can work for. 

The way I stumbled on the A150 was I was searching for a "deep water" air pump and found out there is some pond air pumps that are available.  You might be able to find a different brand or something that isn't currently overpriced.  On amazon they have the a300, which is a lot more powerful, and it's actually lower price right now.  For the A150 though, I think it's usually 45-55 dollars when in stock (not from a third party seller or something).  Might be available at another pet supply place.

Sorry for the rambling, to your question, I would always use the "low number" and understand that it's a pretty useless number at best.  It matter more about what the output (flow) is and the pressure of that flow.  Sometimes it might be a higher "air volume" pump, but doesn't have the pressure to handle what you need it to.  This is why I ended up looking for the deeper water versions.

Similar to other suppliers, this is the one you were looking at:
 

Quote

Select the proper size for your tank – 10, 20 and 40-gallon pumps have single air outlets, 60 and 100-gallon pumps feature dual outlets.

Eheim has a "400" air pump with dual outuput that might work.  I'm checking the fluval one as well. I found another one that was single output but higher pressure. Yep.  Fluval Q2.  Here's the specs for comparison sake.

For comparison: the AP150 is 2.5 l/min from the one port. The AP300 has 2x of these strength ports.

Here's the gang valves in question. They come in 2, 3, and 4 valve options, and as shown up above in the reply by fish folk, you can expand those as need be.  The one you have looks to work well.  If you ever have any issues check internally for any small plastic bits that might be obstructing flow.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/4-way-metal-gang-valve

Edited May 9, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/9/2022 at 12:37 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

For the A150 though, I think it's usually 45-55 dollars when in stock

I might have to wait to make a purchase of a decent one anyway. After I made this post some financial stuff hit me hard today. I might be able to make $20 work but not more. It's probably better to just get by with what I have for now and buy the 150 later rather than buying the 100 and getting upset if/when it also doesn't work. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/8/2022 at 10:47 PM, Cinnebuns said:

I might have to wait to make a purchase of a decent one anyway. After I made this post some financial stuff hit me hard today. I might be able to make $20 work but not more. It's probably better to just get by with what I have for now and buy the 150 later rather than buying the 100 and getting upset if/when it also doesn't work. 

I am sorry for that. I'll see what I can find on my side and send you a message if I find anything else that'll fit what you're looking for.  For now, I'd suggest the ACO air pump, but I'm not sure about how the price / specs compare to the tetra.  I know bentley pascoe has a few videos comparing the two of them.

Edit:

I found this.... 6 or so items off one air pump.  Not bad.  Obviously it depends *what* each item is and requires, he got the 7th in there, but had some reduced flow to what the user preferred.
 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Tihshho]

The other option is Jehmco. I have one of their smaller pumps that was able to handle about 15 drops or so from a single pump. I won it at an event auction and it's what got me started on consolidating pumps. 

[Odd Duck]

I have one of these running 14 tanks, which have from 1 to 3 air stones apiece, most are a single stone (all Ziss adjustables).  I get the 60-100 gallon size.  They do sometimes fail (usually one side first) but can be rebuilt but at this price it;s barely worth the bother.  At some point I’ll get all my small tanks moved into a fish room and I’ll set up the linear air pump that I hope will run this rack, my other rack, and 3 other tanks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PB8SRM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1