Troubleshooting Multiple USB Nano Air Pump Failures

[PluckyD]

Hello,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I have been tempted to post many times, but always got too shy. However, I haven't been able to find any information about my current mystery and figured it's time to dive in 🙂

I have ordered several USB Nano Air Pumps over the past year and a half or so and have about a dozen running right now after replacing all my blue Tetra Whispers. Because I've ordered them over time, I have no idea how old any given one is and I never thought I'd need to keep track.

About a month ago, I noticed one of my pumps had stopped working. I gave it a smack and it started again. I did this whenever it went off which could be a few hours or a few days. However, after a while, I decided to contact customer service and got credit for a new one. I got a replacement a couple of weeks ago. The day I went to change it, I noticed another one on another tank had stopped working. The tanks are close together so I thought maybe I got them mixed up, so just set up all three and eventually one went out and I took it out of the rotation. A week or so later, I found that indeed, another one was also going off. It was a lot harder to get going again, and it wouldn't put out nearly as much air as it should. I contacted customer service about it yesterday, and literally right after I sent the email, *another* one went out. I have since gotten credit for both.

I thought it was all coincidental, but then I have since had 3 more go out, so now it seems the problem is me. I went around and checked all of them and smacked all the ones that were out yesterday, but as of this morning, 3 were out again. One won't start at all so I have unplugged it. 

Each pump runs to a Ziss airstone or sponge filter with Ziss air stone. The airline averages about 2-4 feet each and there are no kinks in the tubing for back pressure. Some of them use Aquarium Coop black tubing, some are on regular clear tubing. I've never dropped them into water as far as I know.

Any ideas? The only thing I can think of is maybe ambient temperature change? Now that fall is here, the average temperature in my house went from high-70s/low-80s to mid-60s/low-70s. 

Thanks for any help!

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by PluckyD
Making it clearer that I am referring to the USB Nano Air Pumps sold by Aquarium Coop as opposed to Aquarium Coop-branded air pumps.

[MattyM]

I think you're talking about the nano usb pumps? I've only had one die over the past few months I've been using them. For me, they are more likely to start making weird noises than die, that's when I replace them. Have you noticed yours making more noise than usual? How do you position them in relation to your tank? Any chance they might be getting splashed? 

[Cory]

Yeah, if it's the usb nano air pump. That isn't branded aquarium co-op. We are working on making a better version of that, but that air pump isn't under our umbrella of products yet. The usb nanos can run for a very long time, but also you can shorten their life with air stones getting clogged, up, creating back pressure from check valves etc. The pumps are quiet but also low power to achieve this. So a large pore airstone on airline with no check valve, in 18 inches of water will run much longer than 30 inch water, with 20 feet of hose and a check valve and an airstone making fine bubbles. So there are a lot of variables.

[PluckyD]

@MattyMYes, I am referring to the USB Nano Air Pump. They are making no weird noises. I have them all "mounted" in various ways. Some are just hanging by the light of a taller aquarium, some are on a shelf above the aquarium, some are on the wall just hanging on a push pin. None are getting splashed as far as I can tell, but even if they were, I don't see how they would all suddenly succumb to whatever duress they are under at the same time. Literally, pumps on different tanks were affected yesterday after they were running fine the previous day (in case my previous post made it seem like I only discovered they had gone out yesterday). 

@CoryI have them all above the water line so no check valves, and the longest length of tube is about 4 feet, but some as short as 2 feet with just a few inches in the water. I suppose I haven't cleaned the airstones in a while so I will do that, but it still seems mighty coincidental that clogged airstones would result in failure all at the same time. FWIW, I also don't have them on the "fine bubbles" setting.

[MattyM]

On 11/9/2022 at 4:03 PM, Cory said:

We are working on making a better version of that

AWESOME

@PluckyD - if you bought them all around the same time, maybe it's just that batch. Sounds like you are treating yours better than I treat mine. 

[PluckyD]

@MattyM I bought my whole stash of them at different times but I didn't keep track of which ones belonged to which order, so I suppose it's possible the faulty ones all belong to the same batch. I would expect more people to be reporting problems though if they are all suddenly giving out within a few weeks of each other 🤔

Anyway, thanks for thinking on it 🙂 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/9/2022 at 1:39 PM, PluckyD said:

Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I have been tempted to post many times, but always got too shy. However, I haven't been able to find any information about my current mystery and figured it's time to dive in 🙂

Welcome to the forums, glad to have you here finally!

 

 

On 11/9/2022 at 1:39 PM, PluckyD said:

I have ordered several USB Nano Air Pumps over the past year and a half or so and have about a dozen running right now after replacing all my blue Tetra Whispers. Because I've ordered them over time, I have no idea how old any given one is and I never thought I'd need to keep track.

About a month ago, I noticed one of my pumps had stopped working. I gave it a smack and it started again. I did this whenever it went off which could be a few hours or a few days. However, after a while, I decided to contact customer service and got credit for a new one. I got a replacement a couple of weeks ago. The day I went to change it, I noticed another one on another tank had stopped working. The tanks are close together so I thought maybe I got them mixed up, so just set up all three and eventually one went out and I took it out of the rotation. A week or so later, I found that indeed, another one was also going off. It was a lot harder to get going again, and it wouldn't put out nearly as much air as it should. I contacted customer service about it yesterday, and literally right after I sent the email, *another* one went out. I have since gotten credit for both.

I thought it was all coincidental, but then I have since had 3 more go out, so now it seems the problem is me. I went around and checked all of them and smacked all the ones that were out yesterday, but as of this morning, 3 were out again. One won't start at all so I have unplugged it. 

Each pump runs to a Ziss airstone or sponge filter with Ziss air stone. The airline averages about 2-4 feet each and there are no kinks in the tubing for back pressure. Some of them use Aquarium Coop black tubing, some are on regular clear tubing. I've never dropped them into water as far as I know.

Any ideas? The only thing I can think of is maybe ambient temperature change? Now that fall is here, the average temperature in my house went from high-70s/low-80s to mid-60s/low-70s. 

As mentioned by Cory there is a very possible issue of back pressure.  The older (full plastic) airstones that were branded never clog might work better for this application or specifically the cheap stone types.  The felt pads on the new ziss airstones can tend to get caught with stuff if you're trying to push fine bubbles out.  You can open them up as well, but just make sure they don't come apart on you.

For a more technical dive into what's going on, here is this thread.
 

 

[PluckyD]

@nabokovfan87Thanks for the welcome and the link to the other thread, it was interesting to read. Although I understand that back pressure can cause these problems, what I don't understand is why my pumps would all be failing within hours/days of each other whether it's due to back pressure or otherwise...it seems far too coincidental. I now have 3 dead pumps in the course of about a month and 3 or 4 more that started needing the "percussive maintenance" within days of each other when I did not have any noticeable problem before. Anyway, I'll keep poking at this to see if I can figure it out but was hoping someone else might have already solved it. Thanks again.

 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/10/2022 at 7:29 PM, PluckyD said:

I now have 3 dead pumps in the course of about a month and 3 or 4 more that started needing the "percussive maintenance" within days of each other when I did not have any noticeable problem before.

Are they the same age, same order so to speak (within a few weeks), and used the same amount of time or does each one have different timelines of wear?

How are they mounted? Can you show me the airstone setup and how it's adjusted? (Out of water)

[PluckyD]

Most of the following is extracted from the prose above:

• Age: Max of ~20 months (Because I've ordered them over time, I have no idea how old any given one is and I never thought I'd need to keep track)
• Same order: Unknown
• Timelines of wear: Varies (but maybe a year maximum since I didn't use them immediately on purchase and switched them over time)
• Mount: Varies (Some hanging by the light of a taller aquarium, some are on a shelf above the aquarium, some are on the wall just hanging on a push pin)
• Airstone setup: I already went and cleaned them all up so no picture representing what they were like before. However, I do not tighten them for fine bubblage because I am aware of back pressure issues.
• tubing length: 2-4 feet
• no check valves
• non-smoking home (noticed air quality blamed in one of the other posts)
• no kinks in tubing
• no splitters
• never dropped in water
• all lead to Ziss adjustable airstones (some to the airstones in AC sponge filters)
• all used indoors
• ambient temperature: 64-84 degrees

I am guilty of not having cleaned the airstones since I started using them, but upon cleaning, found most fairly clean and one filthy. Even if they were all filthy, I don't see how they could all affect the pumps at around the same time given all the other variables.

 

 

[Gompka]

On 11/10/2022 at 9:29 PM, PluckyD said:

@nabokovfan87Thanks for the welcome and the link to the other thread, it was interesting to read. Although I understand that back pressure can cause these problems, what I don't understand is why my pumps would all be failing within hours/days of each other whether it's due to back pressure or otherwise...it seems far too coincidental. I now have 3 dead pumps in the course of about a month and 3 or 4 more that started needing the "percussive maintenance" within days of each other when I did not have any noticeable problem before. Anyway, I'll keep poking at this to see if I can figure it out but was hoping someone else might have already solved it. Thanks again.

 

 

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but two of my non aquarium coop ones also died around the same time. Just short of 2 years in. Upon taking them apart the brushes on the dc motor are toast. These dc motors aren't meant to survive so long 24/7, luckily my local American science and surplus has replacement motors that should work to get these back up and running. I will keep them as emergency and spares though, I just ordered some piezo air pumps to test out. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/24/2023 at 8:05 AM, Gompka said:

I will keep them as emergency and spares though, I just ordered some piezo air pumps to test out. 

Agreed. They are very good for hooking up to USB power sources, those little battery banks for charging tablets and a pump can last several days in an emergency.

Let us know how the piezo testing goes.

[Tazalanche]

I bought a handful of these over about a 1 year period & only one is still working. I don't feel it's just a backpressure issue because one of the initial "smack it if it stops working" ones was used for the ziss brine shrimp hatchery, hanging about 6" above the hatchery without an airstone.

Since shipping is about the same as their cost, I just trashed them.

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/24/2023 at 4:03 PM, Tazalanche said:

I don't feel it's just a backpressure issue because one of the initial "smack it if it stops working" ones was used for the ziss brine shrimp hatchery, hanging about 6" above the hatchery without an airstone.

Location wouldn't change it being a back pressure issue. It also has been recorded as a material selection issue in that original thread.

[Tazalanche]

On 8/24/2023 at 6:19 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Location wouldn't change it being a back pressure issue. It also has been recorded as a material selection issue in that original thread.

So you're saying 6" of airline straight down into a 6" tube with no airstone has the same level of backpressure as 8' of airline that goes from a typical height wall outlet up & over to the substrate of a 24"+ deep aquarium with a check valve & generic 99 cent blue airstone?

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/24/2023 at 4:39 PM, Tazalanche said:

So you're saying 6" of airline straight down into a 6" tube with no airstone has the same level of backpressure as 8' of airline that goes from a typical height wall outlet up & over to the substrate of a 24"+ deep aquarium with a check valve & generic 99 cent blue airstone?

Let's say it's an open line (no airstone).  The ziss things usually come with hard plastic style airstones in their stuff, but let's just say something like this is your air diffuser:



This thing above does actually clog due to things going through it as well as calcium building up on the sharp edges where the air and water meet.  I've seen videos of someone using a pushpin to crunch off the stuck on minerals.  Over time, let's just say that diameter of the hole gets smaller and smaller.  That means there is pressure (back pressure) building up on that line over time.  The same thing happens with sponge filters, with or without an airstone.  The diffusers can get gunked up and those get debris clogging the air, restricting flow. 

What I was mentioning in my post quoted above was simply that an airstone does have a certain amount restriction on the airflow.  It is much less than something where you're using a valve to control the pressure in the line.  You're not using a bleed valve, so the pump may notice some backpressure over time.  BUT, generally speaking in pretty much every instance mentioned, the line is "open". 

There's an example from school that fits your description though that can better indicate what's going on. 
A.  How easily is it to move the air from point A to point B in that system?  How much does the fluid (air) itself resist movement in that line?
B.  How far does it have to go.

Using those 2-3 characteristics you can run all the physics calculations on the system and get some insight, but that's not really the purpose.  Think of it like a person standing at a wall switch looking up at a light.  They flick the switch, there is a delay, and the light turns on.  The electron has to go from one segment of the wire all the way to the light for that light to receive the energy and turn on.

So yes.... the shorter an airline, the less resistance, the less back pressure.  I don't think it matter, with this pump, realistically, if it's mounted above of below the waterline with all things equal though.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I love the nano usb air pumps, but they’re not designed for longevity. I used to run tanks with them, but have since updated and upgraded some air pumps and now use the nano USB’s only for my 2.5 gallon tanks for hatching eggs and starting to grow out fry. Those tanks come up and go down as needed so the pumps get some rest time when the tanks are down. I still use one on my Ziss hatchery, too. 
 

I buy them on Amazon as you can get multiple for the price of one and keep a back up or two on hand. I love them, just simply wish they would last longer. Hopefully ACO will put their stamp of approval on a different model and bring them under the umbrella at some point. 

Edited August 25, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/24/2023 at 8:48 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Hopefully ACO will put their stamp of approval on a different model and bring them under the umbrella at some point. 

Cory has mentioned a few times v2.0 is in work.

[Gompka]

On 8/24/2023 at 10:15 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Agreed. They are very good for hooking up to USB power sources, those little battery banks for charging tablets and a pump can last several days in an emergency.

Let us know how the piezo testing goes.

I got this one, FUMAK Super Mini Aquarium Air... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3HL38G6?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share, it puts out as much air as the tetra 10 next to it and it's absolutely silent. The tetra is also silent, but it vibrates if it touches anything. These piezo units don't vibrate at all and they still work even if I tighten down the size air stone really tight. 

[Matt B]

It's crazy all the different experiences everyone can have with what at first appears to be identical conditions.

I haven't had one of these usb nano pumps quit yet! Pretty good for the price..  I'm sure it's just a matter of time, nothing lasts forever   and I'm putting a couple to the test! Including 2 outside. One under a home made cover and another under a covered deck . No back flow preventers.

So far so good.  We  will see what happens when the rainy season kicks in!  

[Matt B]

So far,  so good...

[Matt B]

I finally destroyed a USB pump!!  It's been outside, uncovered for at least 8 months!   I think the moisture finally got it.   Honestly,  I wanted to see what kind of abuse it could take.  One tuff little pump! 

[nabokovfan87]

Interesting. I'm guessing the UV/Heat played a role too. Cool to see, thanks for sharing.

[Chris]

I've had a total of 7 of these things - I ordered my first in September of 2020, and ended up buying 6 more over the course of 2020/2021. Of those 7, I still have 2 running in my fishroom - the other 5 all quit working in a similar way to what y'all are talking about. They'd quit pumping, and a quick smack or wallop with something would get them going again. Some started making rattling sounds, and I think one or two were "working" but barely pumping air. Eventually the 5 I threw out became so weak that I replaced them with the Aquatop pumps (this was before Co-Op pumps were available, I think) and they've been great. The 2 nano pumps I still have are both being used on tanks running sponge filters, no issues. Most of the pumps burned out in the first year I had them, with one or two quietly dying since then.

I wouldn't buy a nano pump to run 24/7 again (unless there's a re-design), but they're still a useful tool to have and they're still better than most air pumps you can buy from Tetra/Fluval/Chain stores, at least in my opinion.

[PluckyD]

Quote

I finally destroyed a USB pump!!

Congratulations on reaching this milestone @Matt B 😁

I have a box of over a dozen dead ones that gave out within months to a year under no specifically stressful conditions and like @Chris I don't plan to get any more unless there is a redesign. I loved them while they were running, but they just died too quickly...like the annual killifish of the air pump world 😛