Ged Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I have been doing a bit of reading regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using air pumps v's air blowers in fish rooms. If any one make suggestions regarding their own experiences on the matter I would be grateful. The fish room will initially have 16 tanks and posssibly three display tanks. I was going to have UGF in each tank as well as an altenative filtration system. Any suggestions on brands would also assist me. I know Age of Aquariums have air pumps but are there others on the market? Gerard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colfish Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 hi Gerard if your tanks are much deper than 18in. a blower is not the answer. they blow a good volume, but not much pressure, and can be rather noisy[jet engine whine] i had a 70ltr per min model and it was not enough. after a couple of bearing replacements it had a total meltdown and was not worth fixing. there are many brands of pumps on the market, some require a replacment of the diaphrams and flapper valves 2/3 times a year, others can go for ages before any repairs are required, so make sure spare parts are available. of course the $$s important, but do the best model you can afford. i've tried a couple of different brands and found them fairly equall in perfermance.some are a bit quieter than others. compare the power requirments between different brands and models as this can differ greatly!! i'm hesitant to suggest brands, for my opinion could differ from others, leaving you scatching your head and no further than when you started. do your research, compare brands/models and i'm sure you will make the decision to suit your pocket/performance requirements. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 G'day Ged Try these pumps. Hiblow I have one and they are very good. But they do cost a lot more than the copies. They are also very quiet and reliable. I also have an older model that this company supplies parts for. It is at least 15 years old and still works. I am just about to replace its diaphram, for the first time. (Please do not expect this kind of performance from their current pumps. The current pumps are made by a different manufacturer and also have not had it for 15 years yet) HTH Matthew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatoscarlover Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Hey ged, I brought an LP60 from AOA(link-click click) and it hasnt missed a beat scince i got it. Had a mate who brought the LP40 and has sold it already and upgraded to the 60, i hear that the diaphrams in the 40`s arnt as good as the 60 model aswell. Pretty much silent too.HTH Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Hi ged, After much consideration between air blowers and pumps I went for a LP60 but it is too early to tell how it goes however. It is reasonable quite, and I have used 2 corner filters (rather than u/g filters) in 9 of my 2x18x18 and they are running well (it has only been a few weeks ) I have a mixture of matrix and noodles in some of the filters. HTH cheers Rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I have two LP40's which I bought from AoA as above. One works a treat and has done since the day I bought it. The other lasted a little over 10 days - in the process of seeing if diaphragm replacement helps . So I guess my experiences with these pumps are a little each way - they are, however, cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 have owned a few of the LP series and you couldn't GIVE me another, let alone make me buy it. its worth the effort to spend a bit more on a hiblow. they are just such above the others in quality. there is nothing worse than having a pump give out on you and scrambling around to find replacement air, especially when a large amount of tanks are air filter only. you get what you pay for in life, and more so in aquarium dry goods IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 G'day Ged I personally do not like UGF's. The reason: If a bacteria colony dies for some reason (Eg a power failure) then all of your fish may die. The difference between say a cannister/side drop filter/etc and a UGF is that you can easily remove the filter media and clean out all of the dead bacteria. With a UGF it is extremely difficult. In my fishroom I have lots of 'Side Drop Filters' in the 4ft tanks and in the 2ft tanks I have 'Ice Cream filters'. These work well for me, are air powered and can easily be removed should a disaster occur. PS. The problem with a dead bacteria colony post power failure is that the water goes into the filter/dead bacteria colony WITH oxygen and it leaves WITHOUT any oxygen. Hence the fish can literally drown I have had this occur to me once and I can still see the fish gasping at the surface and dying, it was a terrible sight to come home and find. Oh yes and that brings me to another point. Power failures. Do you have any plans for when the power goes out? I am currently testing an old modified UPS that is attached to a 75 Amp hour Deep cycle battery. Total cost would be about $150. ($90 for the battery and $60 for the connectable UPS) Regarding the air pumps. If you decide on the LP series of pumps I would definitely get at least the LP60 or above from AOA. Just bleed off any excess air produced. But like I said I own a HiBlow and an old Sakuragowi (spellin???) Pump. I cannot speak highly enough of these pumps. However I am thinking of purchasing an LP60 as a backup should one of mine fail. Just my 2 cents worth HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions It seems that everyones experiences with the different brands and makes is fairly variable. It is this very reason why I posted in the first place. It seems to me that it comes down to the old adage "You get what you pay for". Matthew point taken regarding UGF and the problems associated with this method. When I started planning to set up a fish room I have discoveredfor knowledge which entails me reading extensively. I will continue to read and take suggestion before I reach a final system. Do many people have a back up for system in place for power failures? Our supply is fairly good so I was not considering this option. Gerard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canerod Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 With air pumps you are better off buying the best you can afford in my opinion. I bought an lp40 from aoa and it works but i was unhappy with the aftersales service (after 7 months I'm still waiting for them to replace a part that arrived broken)and the pump is quite noisy. The Sonic pumps are quieter than the lp and ive been told they are far better quality as well. I think the price on the sonic is about $40 - $50 more in the 50 lpm pump. When my fishroom is complete i envisage a dual filter system, two filters in each tank running off different air supplies so if a pump fails the tanks are still getting filtered. I am still at the mercy of secwa for electricity , unless someone has a brite and cheap idea to replace them Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyme Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I recently installed a 670lit/min rotary blower. As col said they are noisy, probably too noisey to use in a house. The 18" thing I disagree with, I have it blowing into several 2' deep tanks without issue. Being high volume low pressure they are just used differently to a piston pump. As Gav said you cant beat hiblow, there is no equal. I have an old 40 litre a minute and 100 lit in my septic tank. Expensive but you only buy one once in your life. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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