air pump issues

jeninok

AC Members
Sep 3, 2008
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I recently bought one of the small whisper internal filters that are powered by an air pump for my 5 gallon dwarf platy fry tank. I felt like it needed more flow than the little bitty air pump that came with it so I hooked up an Elite 801 I had sitting around.

Are they always this noisy?
And is it normal for this thing to vibrate enough to "walk" and leave black marks all over the counter from the little legs on the bottom?
 
i would say that is not normal try sitting it on a small hand towel.
 
I put it in a handtowel and it stopped it from putting black marks all over the counter, but it is still noisy.
Is there a brand of air pump that is recommended and maybe a little quieter?
 
i use a few whisper brand air pumps walmart sells and they are quiet to me and are pretty cheap.
 
theyre all electromagnetically driven diaphragms, and the oscillation is going to make some kind of noise. you'll be hard pressed to find any sort of air pump that is completely silent. you could try putting it in an insulated box, wrapped in a towel, but that is kinda overkill.
 
I found IME that topfin has the quietest pump around. I have tried rena, whisper, azoo and top fin. Also if you insulate it in a boxx and wrap a towel around it it might run hot since it doesn't have that much air flow around the pump and might not last as long. Just my opinion though.
 
I own Whispers, Rena, Stellar & Fusion air pumps, all of which claim to be quiet. None of them are quiet to me.
 
have purchased,tried and returned several brands and sizes. found the Whisper 40 to be the quietest of the bunch. Still makes hum noise but can be regulated to minimize. larger models are much noisier and more difficult to silence. IMO the Whisper 40 has plenty of power for most needs.
 
I had problems with noisy air pumps for a while. I had an old one that is roughly over ten years old and recently it starting make so much noise that I decided to take it apart. I found that the electromagnet was placed inside a metal box and it was vibrating out of control causing it to make a ton of noise. Well if I let that box move around, I thought, it might cause the air pump to be quiet.

I took some lubricant I had left over from when I installed my brakes in my car (genius idea) and I spread it around the bottom of the metal box located in the plastic casing of the pump. And let me tell you, the difference is phenomenal. I have never heard this pump be so quiet. It runs so smoothly now I barely notice it being on and at time it seems like it runs quieter then my new pump i just purchased.

I wish I took pictures or a video of what I did, because I bet I just confused a lot of people with my explanation. lol. But let me tell you, the difference is just just incredible.

I hope this helps you a little bit. :P
 
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