Quiet air pump?

[traco]

I have a small air pump (Elite 800) running a hydro IV. Today set up another hydro V and have a dual air pump (Maxima). This thing is loud plus makes a lot of current on the surface! This tank is set in the kitchen/tv room and I don't mind the sound of filters and water but this is too loud and irritating.

Any ideas on something quiet? Is a dual air pump better or just get 2 small air pumps to run each sponge separately? Any brand better than others?

Barb

[traco]

Oops and what size pump for the sponge filters?

[RyanH]

I'm using a centralized air pump now that runs all of my sponges from one unit. It's a Dolphin AV-50. I have about 20 sponges running off of it and I still have to bleed off tons of air. It'll be good in the long run to have a pump that I can grow into. And it's very nearly silent. I believe I paid around 60 dollars for it at Kens Fish.

I used to use the Tetratec Deepwater pumps before I went to the larger setup. They were very nice; really reliable and quiet. I used to run 4-6 sponges off of one unit. They're pretty cheap too. Petsolutions and Big Al's both sell them for about 17 bucks.

www.petsolutions.com

www.bigalsonline.com

www.kensfish.com

hth
-Ryan

[Willie]

A cheap solution would be to put the airpump on a sponge. Usually the sound comes from the vibration against the floor.

Willie

[Bainbridge Mike]

If you want the more expensive solution - - Rena air pumps are very quiet.

Mike

[Cosmo]

Jehmco diaphram air pumps. MUCH more powerful than the Rena 400's and extremely quiet. I have a couple 15watters that put out 15liters per minute of air, and you can't hear them unless you're right on top of them. Each one will push 8 to 12 airstones easily.

Jim

[jeep]

I've tried the "best" names in quiet and powerful pumps and have had terrible experiences. My best, quietest and most powerful pumps are made by Azoo and cost $10.69 at Fosters and Smith...



http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?CatalogCustomerNum=&catalognum=&pCatId=3713&prodId=6601&catId=1019545&siteid=6

[drayman86]

A cheap solution would be to put the airpump on a sponge. Usually the sound comes from the vibration against the floor.

This works, and solved a noisy pump for me, too. :guitarist

[wvt9527]

I did not have an extra sponge at the time so I used an old hand towel it is working just fine for me.

[traco]

The problem is the pump itself. A sponge doesn't cut down on the noise this makes. Even the tiny Hagen I've got is quieter than this big Hagen with two air valves. Is it just the big Hagens that are loud or are most like this?