Vote for best air pump....

[[email protected]]

Which air pump is better - the luft pump, the rena 400, or the supreme
dynamaster #2? I love the luft pump but need as much air as possible
and my understanding of the supreme dynamaster #2 is that it is both
higher pressure than the luft and supplies more air volume than the
luft? I have heard great things about the rena 400 as well so please
vote for your most favorite air pump (and feel free to add your own
favorite if I missed it above) so I can decide which one I might get in
the future. Thanks all, later!

[Mean_Chlorine]

Thusly Spake Unto All:

>Which air pump is better - the luft pump, the rena 400, or the supreme
>dynamaster #2?

Depends on what you mean by 'better', I guess.
For what it's worth, I love my Rena Air 100 because it's _quiet_. I
can't hear it at all if I'm more than a meter from it.
It pumps actually quite respectable amounts of air and has offered
completely trouble-free operation for two years now, which is great,
but the thing I *love* about it is that it's the quietest air pump
I've ever owned. Very highly recommended.

[Baho Utot]

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:28:02 -0700, videoman wrote:

> Which air pump is better

George Bush ?

--
Tayo'y Mga Pinoy

[Tom Randy]

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 16:28:02 -0700, videoman wrote:

> Which air pump is better - the luft pump, the rena 400, or the supreme
> dynamaster #2? I love the luft pump but need as much air as possible and
> my understanding of the supreme dynamaster #2 is that it is both higher
> pressure than the luft and supplies more air volume than the luft? I have
> heard great things about the rena 400 as well so please vote for your most
> favorite air pump (and feel free to add your own favorite if I missed it
> above) so I can decide which one I might get in the future. Thanks all,
> later!


I find Whispers VERY quiet, I have a Whisper 10. Actually I have 2.

[[email protected]]

I agree - whisper air pumps are very quiet. I am currently using a old
whisper 800 (with air output set to maximum), a old whisper 300, and a
luft pump for my massively aerated tank in my bedroom. I have the pumps
on a large, flat sponge and the only sound I hear is the slight hum of
probably the luft and the water movement (i.e. air bubbles popping at
the surface of the water). My planned changes are to replace a
deteriorated wood airstone with a discardastone slim and the same with
the rena microbubbler. I keep all of my airstones primed by forcing a
reasonably high amount of air through them every few weeks and have
been using those previously mentioned airstones plus 2 23 inch bubble
walls made by penn plax, for over a year and a half with identical
performance and I realize I could do this for a decade or more but the
bubble walls have irregular lengths which I want to fix by getting a
marineland bendable bubble wall/wand or 2 (at 24 inch lengths) and
using them instead and I also want to at the very least replace the
wood airstone with the lee's slim discardastone for no deterioration in
air output at that area on the airline. I'd also like to get more air
output out of my 2 air wands/walls, which is what this vote is all
about. Please vote everyone!

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> I agree - whisper air pumps are very quiet. I am currently using a old
> whisper 800 (with air output set to maximum), a old whisper 300, and a
> luft pump for my massively aerated tank in my bedroom. I have the pumps
> on a large, flat sponge and the only sound I hear is the slight hum of
> probably the luft and the water movement (i.e. air bubbles popping at
> the surface of the water). My planned changes are to replace a
> deteriorated wood airstone with a discardastone slim and the same with
> the rena microbubbler. I keep all of my airstones primed by forcing a
> reasonably high amount of air through them every few weeks and have
> been using those previously mentioned airstones plus 2 23 inch bubble
> walls made by penn plax, for over a year and a half with identical
> performance and I realize I could do this for a decade or more but the
> bubble walls have irregular lengths which I want to fix by getting a
> marineland bendable bubble wall/wand or 2 (at 24 inch lengths) and
> using them instead and I also want to at the very least replace the
> wood airstone with the lee's slim discardastone for no deterioration in
> air output at that area on the airline. I'd also like to get more air
> output out of my 2 air wands/walls, which is what this vote is all
> about. Please vote everyone!
>
I have the smallest Tetra Deep Water and it's almost as quiet as a
Whisper with more air output. So far, I'm pleased with it.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[George Pontis]

In article >, eetmail-
says...

> ...
> I have the smallest Tetra Deep Water and it's almost as quiet as a
> Whisper with more air output. So far, I'm pleased with it.
>

I tried one of those at the recommendation of our good LFS but found it way to
loud for my living room. It was obvious as soon as I plugged it in. Then I tried a
Rena 100 and could not live with that either though it was somewhat quieter (and a
lot less powerful). With either of these I could hear them in my quiet house about
20' away in the next room. I found that putting them on a sponge or foam was only
partially effective because the pulsations in the airline were communicated to
things, including the aquarium water. Try putting an ear against the side of the
tank sometime.

After some searching I ended up with an Apollo 5, with the input voltage stepped
down to less than 48V, and a muffler on the output!!! I would say that was
actually a quiet solution and it still pumped quite a bit of air. In the end I
decided that I did not need the airstones and now rely only on the circulation of
two canister filters. One an Eheim Pro 2224 and the other a small Fluval 204. They
are both wonderfully quiet.

My point is this: some people can put any air pump on a tank next to their bed and
not notice any noise, while others like myself have a hard time making any air
pump livable. I hope the OP knows where he sits on that sensitivity scale.

Geo.

[Angrie.Woman]

"Mean_Chlorine" > wrote in message
...
> Thusly Spake Unto All:
>
>>Which air pump is better - the luft pump, the rena 400, or the supreme
>>dynamaster #2?
>
> Depends on what you mean by 'better', I guess.
> For what it's worth, I love my Rena Air 100 because it's _quiet_. I
> can't hear it at all if I'm more than a meter from it.
> It pumps actually quite respectable amounts of air and has offered
> completely trouble-free operation for two years now, which is great,
> but the thing I *love* about it is that it's the quietest air pump
> I've ever owned. Very highly recommended.


I just bought a Rena a couple of weeks ago to replace the SpongeBob pump
that lasted about two weeks. I'm amazed. I made the mistake of buying a
little larger than they suggested, the little tank is like a river.

And so very quiet! I cannot vouch for longevity.

A

[Angrie.Woman]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>I agree - whisper air pumps are very quiet. I am currently using a old
> whisper 800 (with air output set to maximum), a old whisper 300, and a
> luft pump for my massively aerated tank in my bedroom. I have the pumps
> on a large, flat sponge and the only sound I hear is the slight hum of
> probably the luft and the water movement (i.e. air bubbles popping at
> the surface of the water). My planned changes are to replace a
> deteriorated wood airstone with a discardastone slim and the same with
> the rena microbubbler. I keep all of my airstones primed by forcing a
> reasonably high amount of air through them every few weeks and have
> been using those previously mentioned airstones plus 2 23 inch bubble
> walls made by penn plax, for over a year and a half with identical
> performance and I realize I could do this for a decade or more but the
> bubble walls have irregular lengths which I want to fix by getting a
> marineland bendable bubble wall/wand or 2 (at 24 inch lengths) and
> using them instead and I also want to at the very least replace the
> wood airstone with the lee's slim discardastone for no deterioration in
> air output at that area on the airline. I'd also like to get more air
> output out of my 2 air wands/walls, which is what this vote is all
> about. Please vote everyone!

Wow - you got a bubble wall to work? I'm jealous...mine never worked right.

A


>

[[email protected]]

Yep, my bubble wall works great but now I want to get that 24 inch
marineland brand bendable bubble wall so I don't have to use weights to
hold it down and I want to not have to deal with joints in the air
stone. Large air stones/walls require a lot more air to operate
compared to the efficiency of the small air stones/walls. I use a small
deep water 12 (the smallest they make I think) to operate a 4 inch rena
microbubbler in 18 or so inches below my silver dollar 55 gallon tank's
surface in the living room and the air comes out of the stone at a
relatively good pace/amount. So far the rena pumps are ahead, please
vote everyone!

[Bill Stock]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Yep, my bubble wall works great but now I want to get that 24 inch
> marineland brand bendable bubble wall so I don't have to use weights to
> hold it down and I want to not have to deal with joints in the air
> stone. Large air stones/walls require a lot more air to operate
> compared to the efficiency of the small air stones/walls. I use a small
> deep water 12 (the smallest they make I think) to operate a 4 inch rena
> microbubbler in 18 or so inches below my silver dollar 55 gallon tank's
> surface in the living room and the air comes out of the stone at a
> relatively good pace/amount. So far the rena pumps are ahead, please
> vote everyone!
>

I've got a flexible 48" air wall, which is sort of cool. But the bubbles
made my filters cavitate, so I had to move it off the bottom (weights) and
use suction cups to anchor it above the filter intakes. I really preferred
the weights, because the suction cups don't hold very well and it really
shows the Algae where it is now. I might end up shortening it slightly and
moving my filter intakes to the very corners of the tank.

I have a Hagen Optima running the bubble wall. This unit hums like a tank. a
smaller unit with two outputs (one on each end of the bubble wall) would
have been a better choice. I had a TetraTec Deep on the pond, also noisy,
until it died of pneumonia. :)

[[email protected]]

Tetra tec deep water tied with the rena everyone? That's cool about the
hagen optima. It is a good backup I guess. Hagen does good stuff but
these new tetra deep waters are starting to prove themselves as I have
noticed they have a lifetime manufacturer's warranty which is pretty
bold and impressive given that the older pumps out there will break
(diaphragm or silicone valve will pop) and I took apart my deep water
12 once and noticed it seemed to be made like the old metaframe
technology except the diaphragm arm is bent at a sharp angle and as
best as I can tell it seems like a regular old air pump except for that
arm being angled which must be the key to improving on the metaframe
technology. I have respect for the luft pump too since it really is a
heavy duty (more durable and more powerful than the old metaframe
technology) air pump but it looks like it is a tie between the rena and
tetra tec deep water series of air pumps. Later!

[[email protected]]

I've decided to stick with the tried and true luft pump. It has a 7.0
psi rating which is sometimes required for aquarium/pond use (don't
forget protein skimmers, air operated) and seems to be the magic number
(I don't know if there ever is too much psi but the dynamaster # 2 has
a 10 psi so I am keeping an eye on one of those just in case) and I
recently added my backup one (luft) to my bedroom tank and the air
output looks dramatic (since removing the whisper 800 which
unfortunately needs one of it's outlets' diaphragms replaced (or valve
or 2)) So in the future I am going to be buying luft pumps. I don't
know what the rena and tetratec psi ratings are so I don't know if they
are more powerful or just output more air at a lower pressure or what.
Other than this I am going to keep an open mind (I might contact a
marine biologist and ask them this question about air pumps and what is
the most recommended one for me), they all cost pretty much the same
too. Later all!