???~ . Tetra vs. Rena . ~??? helllllp

[disintegration]

?¿?~ . Tetra vs. Rena . ~?¿? helllllp

Okay, I am rather new and clueless to the entire aquarium scene. So I ask your advice on air pumps. Done all the research I'm capable of and my budget will allow one these two pumps for my 50 gallon: the Rena air 400 .or. the Tetra deep DW-96. I want them for bubble walls, and I want QUIETNESS. So quiet being the priority and power a ver close second. Which one should I go with????

 

[famman]

Air pumps are not quiet. You may want to consider a small sound enclosure.

I remember a few posts from people who liked the Rena. On the other hand if you want a lot of air, I would go with the DW.

good luck

 

[NJ Devils Fan]

Well, the majority is going to say rena. But the renas are expensive, probably the omst expensive I have seen. Try a Tetra Tec 100, cheap, quiet, and very good. I had a Tetra Tec 80 for about two years and it was great.

 

[JSchmidt]

I have both (although neither in use at the moment) and the reality is that no air pump is silent. You can get creative with relocating the pump, building an enclosure, etc., and that can help a great deal.

Of the two pumps, Rena is by far the quieter. My Tetra DWs (I had several) were much noisier; not quite as loud as an old VW or a sewing machine, but reminiscent of them.

My biggest gripe about Renas is that I've never seen replacement diaphragms sold for them. This part wears out in air pumps and I've not seen anyplace that carries spare Rena parts.

HTH,
Jim

 

[val]

I'd go with the Rena, it is quieter. My air pumps last on average 4 years or so, so I've never worried much about parts. When it starts to go, I just get a new one. Also, to do bubble walls, of which I have three, you just get the smallest, and thus the cheapest, in the line.

Val

 

[OrionGirl]

What will you use the air pump for? Unless they are running a UGF, most aquariums don't need the additional surface agitation provided by a bubble wand.

 

[disintegration]

I want the pump for bubble walls, don't need them, but I want them, for my own amusement if nothing else. The smallest in line, I thought I would need a big airflow to do this?? How powerful a pump would I need for a 50gal tank top run bubble walls?

Thank you so much =)

 

[OrionGirl]

For a bubble wall, you won't need a huge pump. Pretty much any of them will push the air along, but the smaller ones might not make it to the end of the air strip.

 

[thom336]

Despite being a great fan of tetra (and long lived member of their club) I am going to break the rules and recommend Rena. I must confess to have never used tetra air pumps..but the Rena 100 I have running on a small tank in my bedroom is quiet enough for me to sleep in there - and I find noices very distracting while trying to sleep. On acouple of occasions its played up and gone noicy, but after being off for afew hours it works fine again when turned back on. I have had this Rena pump for a number of years now - it was a new range when I got it - and its still working great. But, like I say, I have never tried Tetra air pumps - they could be equally as good or better for all I know.

Thom.

 

[JSchmidt]

Originally posted by OrionGirl
For a bubble wall, you won't need a huge pump. Pretty much any of them will push the air along, but the smaller ones might not make it to the end of the air strip.

Actually, it depends quite a bit on the depth of the tank and the length of the diffuser used to create the bubble wall. Some little air pumps won't push enough air to make much of a bubble wall in a tall tank. Also, my pumps seemed to run quieter if I got an oversized pump and throttled it back (compared to a smaller pump running at full tilt).

In a smallish tank (e.g., 10g), though, I agree small pumps are usually sufficient.

HTH,
Jim