Need Help Choosing an Air Pump

Hello! I am “expanding my operations”, one could say. Lol. I have a small new shelving unit which will hold six sterlite storage bins for my fry to grow out in. I will be using sponge filters for filtration. I’ve looked around a bit and I am hoping I can use one air pump that will power all six of these sponge filters. I don’t need one with multiple outlets because I will be using a gang valve/manifold to separate my lines. My question is, how can I determine how powerful the air pump needs to be? Each storage bin is 16 quarts, so 4 gallons. That would make it a total of 24 gallons it needs to be able to power. Would a pump recommended for a 30 Gallon tank work?

 

That's not how it works.

The rating for air pumps and filters regarding tank size is determined by the brand's marketing dept, so they can have a product to fit each range of tank size. There is no scientific testing behind tank size ratings.

Plus, a pump rated for a 30 gallon tank is designed to feed 1-2 air stones in 1 tank, not 6 air stones with air lines stretching to different tanks.

I would recommend a larger air pump. If it has 2 outlets, that's fine. Each outlet can power 3 sponge filters each.

Plus a larger pump will have to overcome the additional friction of all the extra tubing , airstones and associated valving.

If I was planning a setup like yours, I would consider one of the following:

Fluval Q1
Eheim 200
Ehiem 400
Tetra Whisper 100
Tetra AP150
Tetra AP300

 

Thank you. I did assume that it was something the company came up with themselves, but not knowing exactly how to determine how to find the best pump on my own it was just what I went with. I will take a look at the options you suggested.

 

Yep. There are other brands as well, I just shot out ones that I could remember.

I own 3x Fluval Q1's. Each one has its 2 outlets on a "T" fitting running a single large sponge filter in different tanks.

They have ran without incident so far.

 

Tetras are good, I have 3 of them. One of them is the 60 I use in my 55G.