Air pumps

[inverted]

Anyone one here have a good knowledge of air pumps. Some of our retailers perhaps?

I'm looking to run 12-14 small sponge filters and perhaps one or two airstones. What size air pump should I be looking at ? I don't want to over engineer it and waste energy and create unnecessary noise!

All advice is welcomed.

Thanks

Saul

[ineke]

I am using a second hand schego M2K3 pump -it was being used by a shop but I don't know how old it is- anyway at present it runs 10 sponge filters over a distance of 3 meters. There is plenty of air left to run more and the amount of air to each filter is very good. Given that mine is old and worn out  -I have replaced the diaphragms and all the rest of the spare parts are available  -you can almost completely rebuild the thing - I am extremely happy with it.. Tech Den has one on special at the moment for $114 I think -the pump pushes out 350 litres an hour and I have been assured that a new one should be able to run double what I have. It is in a bedroom next to  mine and I can't hear it running outside of the room. I will definitely be getting another one when the time comes to replace it- I have been using it for over 12 months now.

Edited February 20, 2015 by ineke

[northboy]

Saul

 

Whatever you do, over engineer your main pipe that all the 6mm air lines come from, regardless of what you will be told, 25mm pipe will act like a compressor tank and give even flow all around, the other side of it is, it won't flog you pump out so quickly.

 

I like 25mm white polly it is easy to work in and you can use garden irrigation 6mm fittings for the airline, thread one end and nob the other, to make a threaded  hole use a self tapping screw that is the same thread and size, cut the screw head off and use it in a cordless drill, makes a perfect hole to screw the fitting in to, one more tip, have the compressor pipe higher than the tanks, that way in a power out you don't get syphon back to your pump. OH clear poly glue is AOK as you don't get to the pressures that need the strong glues and the clear wont show up the messy gluing if you are anything like me LOL

 

I have heard silly things in the past like no using big main pipes because the pump won't work?? It leads to the pump working too hard and shortening its life

 

I have built lots of shops and fish rooms so any questions fire away. Pump what ever is recommended as you wont be flogging it with that set up

 

Bob

Edited February 20, 2015 by northboy

[inverted]

Thanks Ineke, sounds like a good pump and I was thinking of getting whatever I choose from the techden so good advice there.

[inverted]

Hey Bob,

Great tips . Do you mean 25 mm pvc? The hard stuff? I have noticed the LFS uses 19 mm poly pipe (black soft)as a mainline and then 4mm tube as the laterals to the tanks.

I have lots of irrigation fittings(15 years as a contractor). So I have the fittings covered either way.

Edited February 20, 2015 by inverted

[ineke]

Check out Squiggles air system in the DIY section- I can never get the links to work on my iPad . That shows a complete airline setup with the black poly hose. I'm setting mine up like that except I have a bench running both sides of my room with tanks - not a rack as such. It's a good write up by Squiggs

[newbreed]

I have followed Squiggs DIY thread in the library using irrigation pipe and it works a treat.

 

http://shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/index.php/page/articles.html/_/documentation/diy/diy-air-system-r29

 

 I use an LP40. I run around 20 sponge filters. But this air blower is quite a noisy beast, wouldn't be wonderful inside the house.

 

It was suggested to me in the past to run 3l per minute per tank.

 

Following the DIY thread, I also leave a couple of taps open on my system to act as relief valves. To eliminate the noise of these, I have run air hose from the tap and down behind some of the tanks. Still an open connection but no extra noise.

 

With this type of system you can add new connections whenever you need. It makes life easy when you run external breeder boxes etc.

[Squiggle]

With the LP's you can generally use the number of airlines to the number of the pump, i.e. An LP40 can do 40 airlines & an LP20 can do 20 airlines(this is how many I have used on my 20 & 40) I have also found the AirLabs air pumps are just as good & half the noise. I bought an EV80 off the boys at AOA to upgrade the LP40 & it is twice the size with less than half the noise, my shrimp room is quiet again!

[northboy]

I am so glad that the right advice is given, on ya Squig I have seen so much krap advice over the years.

 

Yea the pvc pipe is harder to do but neater, being in the trade it will be a breeze for you, use the cut off screw to tap the thread.

 

On the noise side, with out the large main line/ compressor tank the pumps really sing a loud song and kill diaphragms at a rapid pace

 

 

 

A shop I worked on years ago, you can see 40mm main air line pipe up top.

 

Bob

Edited February 20, 2015 by northboy

[buck]

ive been thinking about geting an airlabs pump for my new rack glade to hear they're good :)

[petfish]

Anyone one here have a good knowledge of air pumps. Some of our retailers perhaps?

I'm looking to run 12-14 small sponge filters and perhaps one or two airstones. What size air pump should I be looking at ? I don't want to over engineer it and waste energy and create unnecessary noise!

All advice is welcomed.

Thanks

Saul

sounds like an airlab 20 would do you nicely, as squgg's was saying a 20 = 20 sponges BUT that is in 30cm tanks, if you had 45cm tanks the 20 would run about 10-12.