Quietest adjustable air filter

[Milliardo Peacecraft]

I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion for a quiet air pump for a 75 gallon aquarium, preferably one with an adjustable air flow on it.  Over the weekend I replaced my 29 gallon aquarium with a 75 gallon aquarium and my old AquaClear 20 air pump is now screaming in disapproval.  It is definitely not happy on its new home.  I'm not sure how old that pump is.  I'm guessing 10 to 15 years maybe, it's been long enough that I don't really remember, so it probably is time to replace it.  Since the aquarium is on my livingroom, low sound is a high priority.

[mynameisnobody]

@Milliardo Peacecraft technically any air pump is adjustable if you add a control valve to the airline. I have an aquarium coop dual out air pump on both of my 75’s and they are silent and adjustable without any need for a valve. Plus the added bonus of having a battery backup in case of a power outage. 

[Milliardo Peacecraft]

@mynameisnobody I currently use a multiple needle valve setup and bleed the excess air off to control the flow rate without putting excess strain on the diaphragm of the pump.  I am trying to get away from that if possible, because appaerntly I'm not the best at keeping up with preventative maintenance on the cheap plastic check valve, as I currently discovered my current one has failed in the open position.  Thus you end up with a line that is directly open to your room should the water backflow in the line.  Thankfully I discovered the failed check valve when I turned off the air pump myself, otherwise I could have had quite the mess...  

[Milliardo Peacecraft]

@Pepere The main preventative maintenance on a plastic check valve is to remember to replace it more frequently instead of running to failure and then replacing it.  Kind of like what i do with all of the seals on my canister filter.  Every 3 years or so I replace all of the seals on the filter to reduce the chances of having a leak develop.  Same with my HOB Fluval C4 filter, every 2-3 years I change the motor and o-ring on that, granted for that one it seems to start making a ticking sound by then anyways.  

As of the air pump itself, an adjustable rate pump wouldn't outright prevent a leak from occurring, but the hope is that the diaphragm would reduce the leak rate and the gfci would kick out the power if the pump did get soaked and then have the power restored to it.  It wouldn't replace the need for a check valve in the system, it would just be one more thing to try to reduce the size of the leak.

[Milliardo Peacecraft]

On 8/29/2023 at 6:36 AM, Pepere said:

GFCI will only trip if there is an alternate route to ground.  Most air pumps are double insulated with no ground 

Thanks!  Good one to know.