Any suggestion for an air pump that works and is quiet?

Any suggestion for an air pump that works and is quiet (if one exists). I have a second hand one that vibrates unless I hold it really tight in my hands... I though it was broken but after reading some reviews it seems that a lot of the air pumps are loud...

Also, is it better to use an air stone, or let the bubbles rise from the tubing directly. Aren't fish scared of bubbles?

Thanks, Dasha

 

most people recommend airstones, it oxygenates the water better...plus they aren't expensive

some fish might be scared of bubbles, but from what i've heard, most really enjoy swimming in them

 

HI Kevin, any suggestion for a quiet air pump?
Thanks,Dasha

 

I actually hang mine from a hook inside my cabinet because no matter what I tried I couldn't keep it quiet. Be sure to have a check valve installed in your hose to keep water from backing up into the pump in the event of a power failure.

 

Th problem is my vibrates too much even when it's not touching anything, unless I press hard with my thumb and hold the vibrating piece inside the pump. I'm afraid it is shot...

 

we have the tetra whisper air pump running the air stones for 8 of our tanks and it's totally quiet.. we got it at wallyworld for 9.97. it has 2 outlets and we have each outlet going to a 4-way gang valve so that we have 8 lines of air going out. we're going to another one to power a couple tanks on a smaller pump now and the new 30 gallon tall.. and a 3rd to power a bunch of sponge filters we want to put in the established tanks (so they'll be full of good bacteria when we get new tanks).. anyway, when you have 10 tanks in the room and the only thing you hear is the water splash from a purposely half-full tank (for our wild bettas), I think the filters and air pumps are doing a good quiet job. so we definitely are happy with our tetra whisper air pumps and power filters.

 

I think I might get one of those for my new betta...should I wait a couple days...let him get used to the tank...and can you control the air flow? I don't want my tank to turn into one of those lavaquariums

 

if you put a gang valve on the line, you can use it to control the air flow.

 

get a peguin biowheel powerfilter mine is really quiet.

 

get a peguin biowheel powerfilter mine is really quiet.

we're talking about air pumps...not filters

 

isnt a powerfilter a pump too?

 

no air pumps are the machines that pump air through tubes and into your tank water...which oxygenates the water, and keeps the water moving around and circulating through the filter

 

ok, it's time for me to take my meds now.. I don't know why I thought our air pump was a whisper.. (shows how long since I looked at it - it's down behind the back of a dresser). We bought a 2nd one and surprise, surprise at the store when I look at the box and it's actually an "Aqua Culture" brand air pump. I'm sorry for the mis-information.. I found a link to an ebay store selling it or if you can find it local & save the shipping..



It says it can do 6 devices but if they're not all running full force, 8 is definitely doable. Again, oops & sorry on saying we had a quiet whisper air pump.. we have a quiet Aqua Culture air pump.. even powering 8 things and putting out 2800cc per minute, it's completely quiet. Not bad for a $10 at wallyworld air pump, huh?

 

we have the tetra whisper air pump running the air stones for 8 of our tanks and it's totally quiet

I have a Tetra Whisper airpump too - it aerates both my 10 and 30 gallon tanks. It's so quiet I can't hear it at all. And it's not expensive either compared to other airpumps that are not only loud but expensive too.

This is what I have:

 

I have the same air pump as Isabella and this one except a smaller model. The tetra tec one that I have is better than the regular tetra one but I think when the changed the design the don't make the small one's anymore which is what I have. The tetra one is good too, wish mine was as quiet as yours Isabella :'(

 

Atm, when I went to buy the air pump at my LFS, they gave me some other brand (don't remember which one it was) which they said was "the best" and "the quietest" one they had. It was also the most expensive one. So, thinking they know their stuff, I bought it. It turned out to be so terribly loud, I couldn't sleep all night. The next day I've returned it and chose another airpump myself (which was the Tetra Whisper one). It was much much cheaper, and much much quieter. Yeah ... like **** they know their stuff!

When I once asked them about light spectra in Kelvin temperatures, they had no idea what I was talking about, lol. I'm so sick of these people.

P.S. Atm, I think it's the legs in the Tetra Whisper airpump design that make them so quiet. If you don't have the one with legs, that's probably why it's loud.

 

I have the same one that you linked with the legs. It's quiet, just don't like the vibration noise, for some reason the tetra tec has almost no vibration while the tetra has some more, though I agree, tetra actually makes good air pumps. Don't know the type you got but I've seen and heard elite and they are loud.

 

some fish love the boubles and will play with them in a way...others don't really notice them...my air pump is a whisper brand and I don't even notice it

 

The bubbles coming ot of my 4 inch air stone vary in size a lot. It seems the longer it's plugged in the finer they get. Yesterday the power went out (thank god for the valve I put in the air line tubing). Now the bubbles are huge.

Has anybody experienced the same thing? Am I doing something wrong with the air stone? I just have it sitting on top of gravel at the back of the tank.

BTW, the bubbles also never come out uniformly from the whole airstone but only maybe 2/3 of it. Is my pump too weak?

 

This is the pump I have (which btw is very quiet):



I have the second one:
Aquatic Gardens Single Outlet Hi-tech 1000 UL Air Pump
For Use With Tanks Between 10-15 Gallons - MK-1601

My tank is 33 gallon...

 

This is the airstone bar I have (4inch)


Do I bury it?

 

This is the airstone bar I have (4inch)


Do I bury it?

When buried the bubbles will become bigger and few in number, when resting on gravel they will be small and large in number.