need a QUIET air pump!

Curious as to opinions on brands, styles of air pumps that are quiet? and by quiet I mean you don't know it's on unless you're within two feet of it, or better?

I'm like many and are bothered by things that hum obtrusively. Atm I've got two pumps going in my living room - an Aquaclear 10 and an Aqua Expert 600. The Aquaclear is bearable, when I was buying that I plugged it in at the store and listened to it along with a Rena-Cal one (that was extremely loud and so not bought). The other one came with an aquarium kit I bought a long time ago, it was meant to power a small UGF. It is quite loud.

Usually what I end up doing is putting towels under the pump or hanging them in the air somehow. I know you can make a 'silencer', but if I could start with one that's already quiet it would really help. I plan to use check and gang valves. I've heard the pump styles with 'feet' are quieter, thoughts? There's one at Petland called an Airpod.

I need two or three of these, not sure yet, each one to power one airstone, one to be in my living room right next to where I sit to watch tv, and another in my bedroom.

 

Try TetraTec AP and I found Rena Air pump to be quiet as I am using 200 now sitting on window sill. Maybe Rena you checked was Defective One.
Putting towel over any pump is bad idea though, perhaps secure something heavy on top,

 

you could probably put them in a cardboard box or something to dampen the noise. just as long as they don't get too hot they should be fine.

 

I use the TopFins (petsmart brand) as well as Tetra Whispers, and they're all just fine for me. The trick is placement, really. But I may not be the best source, since I sleep great in a room with 5 tanks running

 

lol, yeah the water from the filter flow is louder than any air pump i've used. the whisper pumps have worked pretty well for me, I just wrap them in towels and don't hear a thing

 

lol, yeah the water from the filter flow is louder than any air pump i've used. the whisper pumps have worked pretty well for me, I just wrap them in towels and don't hear a thing

Wrapping pump with towel may shorten the life of air pump due to heat build up and not too mention FIRE(hopefully not).

 

I also use the Tetra Whisper. It is quiet. I have used and have many air pumps around some are more quieter than others. Sometimes it really depends on the placement of the air pump.
I agree with not wrapping up the air pump in a towel. I believe it does need some air flow around it. I would suggest a cheap remedy in that I use inexpensive mouse pads under the air pumps. This seems to work really well.
They are rubbery spongy and work great as a noise barrier.

 

Oh the mousepad is a great idea. The pump noise drives me nuts too. I either have them sitting on a towel or zip tie them to hang them so they don't vibrate and hummmmmmm.

 

lol I should definitely clarify don't tighten the towel around it!!! the only way mine will fit is to have them against a wall, so part of the towel goes underneath and the other goes against the side and part sits on top of the pump, so the other part of the top and the wider side and smaller front and back sit open

 

Hmmm, I've never actually wrapped them up in a towel, I just fold up a towel and put it underneath...I like the mouse pad idea, I'll have to give that a try.

A little hhhhmmmm isn't so bad, it's like white noise, drowns out other stuff. It's when I feel like my teeth are vibrating that I get a little well, nuts.

Thanks for the input everybody! Whisper is sounding good

 

I have a Whisper and a TopFin(Petsmart). They are super quiet, but I also have a mouse pad under them!

 

I have two of the Whisper pumps and they are totally silent.

 

I've had good luck with my TopFin as well. Mine stays inside the stand cabinet, so that muffles the sound/vibration for me.

 

Was out yet again today to return/purchase new fishie stuff...at Walmart I plugged in one of the Whisper pumps - couldn't believe how quiet it was! They actually cost more at Walmart than at Big Al's online, so I just ordered two of them!

Thanks everyone!

 

The Tetra Whisper pumps are insanely quiet. If it was not for the bubbles going up into the water I would not know they are working. I have 2 of the 40s and the only reason I hear them is because they are just slightly louder than my silent canister filters.

 

Was out yet again today to return/purchase new fishie stuff...at Walmart I plugged in one of the Whisper pumps - couldn't believe how quiet it was! They actually cost more at Walmart than at Big Al's online, so I just ordered two of them!

Thanks everyone!

Good for you! I have also price shopped around online for items and Ive found that BigAls really has some of the lowest prices going. I bought the Tetra Whisper 100 air pump at Petsmart for 44.00 ! When I was doing my order at BigAls for other items I saw the exact same thing for 18.99! I couldnt believe it so I returned the pump to Petsmart right away after putting the whisper in with my online order. What a huge difference in price and I had my order delivered in four days.

 

I got my Whisper 110 at petmountain for $17

 

Whisper 10 air pump is available around here from Big Al's store, Big Al's online, and Walmart (called the Whisper 10-30 there).

Big Al's store: $15.99 (out of stock)
Big Al's online: $16.99 (ordered two)
Walmart: $19.98

I found that (here anyway) this was one of the cheapest - Elite, Rena, AquaClear were all more expensive.

 

Whisper 10 air pump is available around here from Big Al's store, Big Al's online, and Walmart (called the Whisper 10-30 there).

Big Al's store: $15.99 (out of stock)
Big Al's online: $16.99 (ordered two)
Walmart: $19.98

I found that (here anyway) this was one of the cheapest - Elite, Rena, AquaClear were all more expensive.

I love BigAls online... I must have caught them at a great sale two weeks ago. The Tetra Whisper air pump 100 went for 18.99 and that was for the '100'g rated one.. I also picked up some coralife T-5 fixtures 36' size for about 44 dollars each and when I went back a week later online they were something like 89.00 ea. So it does pay to shop during those great sale days!

 

I have a Fusion Quiet Power and a Rena Air 200, the are pretty quiet. The Rena is probly more quiet.

 

I love BigAls online... I must have caught them at a great sale two weeks ago. The Tetra Whisper air pump 100 went for 18.99 and that was for the '100'g rated one.. I also picked up some coralife T-5 fixtures 36' size for about 44 dollars each and when I went back a week later online they were something like 89.00 ea. So it does pay to shop during those great sale days!

I 'usually' do too capekate...however had some recently...

 

buy a tetra whipser 3-5 gallons. Its a airpowered filter than comes with a pump.
Take that out those are small n quiet

 

I'm currently running a topfin on one tank and a tetra whisper on another. both are very quiet and relatively cheap. those two combined is always a good thing.

 

I also use the Tetra Whisper. It is quiet. I have used and have many air pumps around some are more quieter than others. Sometimes it really depends on the placement of the air pump.
I agree with not wrapping up the air pump in a towel. I believe it does need some air flow around it. I would suggest a cheap remedy in that I use inexpensive mouse pads under the air pumps. This seems to work really well.
They are rubbery spongy and work great as a noise barrier.

Mouse pad!!!! what a great Idea!!!!!

Twice now I was at a Meijer store (its our version of wal-mart and its locally owned) and had a tetra whisper (sits on 4 rubber legs) and air lines in hand ready to buy. I always put them back because like so many on here. I hate hearing things that go hum in the night.

I'm going out tommorrow and buying it. I have a few mouse pads floating around here somewhere. With the mouse pads and the pump being placed inside the aquarium cabinet I should be good to go.

AWESOME IDEA!!!!!

 

You can always hang it with a string under the tank away from anything so it has nothing to vibrate on...This is how I stoped mine from vibrateing and driving me NUTS ...LOL Rob

 

unfortunutly I don't think they sell these in america but there is a air pump called "the aqua twister 4500" I have this and it comes inside a sound proof cover and is not audible even when I'm standing next to the tank. however it is expensive mine cost £56.00 which is about $98.00 u.s dollars I think

 

A word about those Tetra Pumps....we bought one for our 30 gallon about 6 months ago, and it broke after about 5 months. The arm that the diaphragm is connected to is mounted by a rubber sleeve that slips inside a plastic socket (hole.) This makes for very quiet operation, because the design prevents any vibration from being transferred to the body of the pump. BUT...the plastic socket is too thin...ours broke into a bunch of pieces. Constant vibration has that effect. Anyway we've bought top-fins from here on out...they're almost (not quite) as quiet as the Tetra's and much cheaper (At Petsmart)

Just thought I'd share our experience...I hope yours is better.

 

Thought I'd update with another little tidbit I learned later rather than sooner: I've been running the Tetra Whispers since this thread and have been very happy with them - sticking it inside the aquarium stand sure doesn't hurt either. However the overall noise level also seems to have a lot to do with the actual air STONE...I had been using Elite AquaFizzz tubular airstones (recommended by Dozey) and they did the job admirably; while cleaning up one day though I had to take the stone off the tubing for whatever reason and it shattered. This had happened to me before with the Elite stones, seems they're fragile. I replaced it with a similar green one bought at Walmart, might be PennPlax. The difference in noise level was substantial - the new setup was much, much louder. Today I replaced the green stone with another Elite one; complete silence. Air stones don't cost much, I'll gladly pay for replacing the Elite ones (should they shatter) in order to get the quietness.

 

I use a tetra whisper and it is super quiet! It's sitting on top of the box it came with b/c my air line tubing is pretty short so that might also be a reason why it's really quiet. The splashing water noise from the filter and airstone makes more noise than the pump. My Dad is using an aquaclear air pump and that makes me want to pull my hair out! I'm going to try using the mouse pad trick and hopefully it works!

 

I got Tetra whisper, and I can't live of the humming sound it produces,
I tried everything- just to find out that humming sound is always there.
Even when I hold it, or when it hangs, or when closed in a wooden box with
towel under and around it, it's the motor that produces humming sound.
Too bad, since my fish really enjoyed the bubbles, and it is so useful, my searcc
for a better pump will go on, this one goes back!

 

I use the Sonpar brand pumps & think they are fantastic. I have the smallest right up to the largest model & you just can't hear them running at all really. I actually have to touch mine to feel them viabrating gently. They last for ages, are very powerful for their size & are the cheapest pumps I can get. As the others said though, positioning is everything when it comes to airpumps. They will all make lots of noise if they start to move around or have the cord against something.

 

I put a mousepad under my air pump (when I have the tank set up in the winter). If one doesn't work, you can always use 2 or 3. Another thing that works well is the foam floor pads that you kneel on (garden store area). They are nice because they are usually water proofed. They are also thicker. If you have several air pumps that can sit in a central location, you could probably fit 3-4 on one pad. Or you can get the heavy duty rubbery rug that you stand on that is supposed to be good for your feet. I've seen those at Costco occasionally. Since they are a solid rubber, they could probably be cut to size for where ever you need them.

 

I have a Tetra 3I pump and I think it would be perfect if it sat strait on the rubber feet. it sits crooked because the hose weighs it down to one side and it buzzes on my shelf. I recently gave up and put a check valve on it and put in on the floor so the carpet muffled it. other than being lopsided, it works great. I also have an S-10 Stellar and an Aqua 20-60 and I love them all, tho the Aqua is my favorite because its super quite. sometimes I forget about unpluging it durring water changes >.<