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Battery Powered Air Pumps


Ant

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G'day I will be purchasing about 4 Battery powered air pumps for the big move. What brand would be the best? I Have purchased one from the local tackle shop that takes 2 big D size batteries and I really wasn't happy with the amount of airation. I can also get hold of some cosmo brand pumps or the ones off of AOA. I want something that has a little bit of guts to it.

Anthony

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Ant

Have you considered buying a 12V air compressor that are sold in 4WD shops? Some models will just plug straight into your cigarette lighter. You should be able to run all your buckets of the one compressor.

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Ged, you are a genius. Will i be able to attach air hose? Also will they run for 5 hours straight? That is definitely the way to go i think if they can.

Anthony

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most air pumps designed for fish have a rubber diaphram that moves the air - totally inert stuff shifting air

most compressors have an alloy piston lubricated with oil - not so inert

with all the effort & money invested in the fish to date - is risking them on saving $50-70 for 12v pump vs automotive compressor really worth it?

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When your on my budget it is, remember I am still a student who has to move out into the country with basically no money, I am relying on my parents and the Education Department for support.....plus there isn't anywhere in Adelaide that sells 12 volt air pumps. They also need to drive about 5 sponge filters during the drive, i think the air compressor will have a little more guts than an air pump.

Anthony

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Ok here is what I would do/have done/would be doing. Go to Dick Smith’s or somewhere like that and buy an inverter. Here is a link to two I quickly looked up but do your own research and by what’s best for your own needs. Link One Link Two

The size of your inverter will depend on the watts your current air pump draws.

Hook that up to the car battery and away you go. Can be used every time there is a black out or anything like that. I have one with a couple of deep cycle batteries. Run’s my water and air pump for 6hrs. Will run an Aquaclear 500 for a week.

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i don't think a car compressor is design to run 5 hrs straight. it will get hot and over heat. there design to pump tyre's up in a few mins. so make sure you ask the sale's man about the compressor before you buy it. you might be saving a few $$ now, but you will spend more if all your fish die when the compressor stop working.

i'm with Ben.

the way i would go is get a 12v dc to 240v ac inverter and use the air pumps that you have already.

good luck on the move

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minh, yes you are completely correct. The Air compressors specifically say that they should not be ran for over 10 minutes, so 5 hours is a definate no. Will definately look into the inverters.

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I don't see why not, how long it will work will be an issue - are you going to buy/rent an oxygen bottle? You're makin the inverter look cheap me thinks - unless you have "connections".

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just for peoples interest i'm purchasing a 300 watt inverter, here is the link: Projecta 300w Inverter

You can get them from auto shops such as Sprint Auto or maybe Super Cheap Auto. The price is less than all the others i've seen which is about $85 for the 300w. They go up to 2000w. Likely a good investment considering you can hook them up to a car battery incase of power outage and you can connect them while transporting fish.

One last questioin though. Is styrophome ok to use to put floating on top of water while transporting fish? Just to stop too much water movement during the trip.

Anthony

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I'd still be worried about them nibbling it - can you seal the styro in a bag or something so they can't nibble?

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