Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.-- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought~fortune cookie
I have the 'largest version' of the one Stucco mentioned. I've been using it about a year. They produce lots of air for the money.. However, they are not considered an 'outdoor' pump...I have mine in a vented box....and mine is very noisy....I can hear it from 15 -20 feet away. ...
My buddy Sahib, has the larger of these two.... http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories ... -Air-Pumps
He's had them for over a year ...they are an outdoor pump, and they are perfectly quite. I don't hear them, even when I'm right beside them.
If you can spend the extra cash....consider a piston pump....thery are quite too and are supposed to last the better part of a decade. I asked Santa for one ....
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan
From my reading I find that the recommendation is
10 gallons of air per minute per 1,000 gallons of water.
That would mean your tank needs 2.5 gallons per minute,
or 10 liters or 0.33 cubic feet or 578 cubic inches per minute.
(I really wish the manufacturers would agree on which units to advertise in)
The unit stucco mentioned pushes 600 gallons per hour,
which is 10 gallons per minute,
making it theoretically appropriate for 1,000 gallons of water.
In my experience most manufacturers have little shame
in overstating the power of their pumps
I've been out of the business for 25 years
and the old piston pumps I used are no longer available,
so I, Like you, am looking at pumps.
I went to Amazon.com,
searched for AIR PUMPS,
and read the reviews posted there.
I think I'm going to buy a Pondmaster pump by Danner Manufacturing.
They seem to be powerful, fairly quiet,
and above all SERVICEABLE.
The small Pondmaster, the AP-20
comes with a 1-year warranty,
pushes 28 liters per minute with 20 watts
and costs around $80, with the rebuild kit at $10.
That will leave you enough excess power
to run some diffusers under the media in your grow beds,
and will likely last you a long time.
That's not a sales pitch,
just the fruits of my recent and ongoing research.
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you're a nice person
is like expecting a bull not to charge you because you're a vegetarian.
I am familiar with the Sunleaves 600 GPH air pump. The problem we've had with them, is that the supplied hard black air divider (manifold) is very brittle and the vibration from the pump through the supplied short connecting tube over time causes the manifold to come apart (break).
As far as the amount of air required to be pumped through your fish tank water in order to have good aeration, that particular pump is good for about 100 gallons of fish tank maximum, in my opinion.
In order to get the DO level we require, we are now pumping 950 GPH of air into a 120 gallon fish tank. With the addition of the water conditioning tower, we may stop aerating the grow beds and decrease the air going into the fish tanks. If so, then that 600 GPH number for 120 gallon FT looks about right. We will be testing it to find the optimum number of air GPH to water gallons in our system.
This is all about reducing our energy costs without compromising on the operation of the system.
We have learned that it is a good idea to place a check valve in the air line to prevent water from siphoning back into your air pump when turned off, if it is located at a level below that of the water.
Pondmaster and Danner are VERY good. I have copious amounts of stuff from them. I like em all.
At first I left this blank...but now I believe: "It's better to keep your mouth closed, and have the world think your a fool, than open it and confirm it."
IF you have any problems, which I doubt you will, but if you do please let me know. I don't have that particular model.
At first I left this blank...but now I believe: "It's better to keep your mouth closed, and have the world think your a fool, than open it and confirm it."