Air Pumps

I have a RENA pump that got noisy over time. I tried 2 methods:
1) Tie something to the pump and hang it off something like the tank tables edge. I read that somewhere years ago and it worked for me.
2) Experiemnt with "dr.scholl" type of jelly, or silicone padding that you can attach to the bottom of the filter.

Also makes sure there are no items that can resonate around the filter like a near-empty tub of fish food. The vibrations will travel at night.

Good luck!!
 
My mom hated the sound of my air pump because in our old house you could really hear it vibrate all over the place because it was on a wooden floor.. so I used to wrap it in a towel.
You could try to deafen the sound somehow like that and then maybe make the bubbles smaller at night so that the water didn't make so much sound.
 
If your hob filter is causing the water surface to ripple, move, bubble, etc. then you have surface aggitation that will be sufficient for gas exchange... certainly enough to maintain your fish. If you are concerned about it, lower your water level just a small bit and that will increase it as well. Or... leave the bubbles on...I personally never run any airpumps because of noise and because I don't want them to gas out my co2.

However, on my daughters beta tank, she has an air filter. Last night I had to take the airstone off because it was clogged and ready for replacement. She was having a very tough time going to sleep (she is almost 3) she kept calling me into her room asking what that popping corn sound was and asking if she could have some... I had no clue what she was talking about... she said, " its quiet pop corn, jus listen." sure enough I heard it... it was the big bubbles coming out of the airline... so yeah, the air pumps can be pretty noisy. hahaha.
 
Schego is the quietest air pump but I always turn my air pumps off at night. The noise drives me up the wall. Just make sure your filters are adequate for your bioload.
 
I have shortened the 23" wand down to about a foot and have it running along the side wall instead of the back. This means it is completely under the hood. So that helps decrease the sound. I was also able to turn the air pump down because the wand is shorter. This new set up is much quieter. When I am in my bedroom, I can hardly hear it at all.
 
Glad you found a solution that works for you. I run my air pump all the time and in a second tank I have a powerhead with air injection. I would hardly call it silent. Luckily I have no plants to worry about (the fish would just eat them).

Wrapping a towel around an air pump is not a good idea as it can cause the pump to overheat. (It needs the surrounding air to draw off the heat.) I used a sponge as a pad to set mine on and made sure the hose didn't lay against anything. I found the vibrating hose to be part of the noise source as well.
 
biibii said:
I have a 29 gallon tank with a topfin 60 HOB filter running at almost full speed. I have a fancy comet, a common goldfish (I think), and 3 cory catfish in the tank. I have a 23" bubble wand along the back of the tank. Do I need to run the air pump all the time? The fish do not seem to mind if I turn it off. The noise from the pump and the bubbles keeps me awake at night but if it needs to be on, I will deal with it. Any advice?
Click to expand...

Sorry to be the one to point this out, biibii, but given your tank size and stocking of mixed fish that should not be housed together at all, having a noisy air pump is going to be the least of your worries. Your two goldfish (by themselves) are sadly overstocked in this tank. A 29 gallon tank is not going to keep them healthy. They are also incompatible with cories as tankmates.

Please look into this further before committing yourself to all these fish together unless you can manage an immediate and substantial upgrade, while also separating the goldies from the corries.

The best suggestion I can make would be to create an introductory post in our General Temperate & Coldwater forum. That's where your questions will be seen by our most experienced goldfish keepers (who will also be very happy to advise you further with more specific information).
 
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