Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

..
Just wondering what folk have decided is "Good-Value-For-Money" in the Air-Pump market..
To me, it's pointless comparing equipment that is five years or more old, as we simply can't trust where ANYTHING is made in 2015..

I just bought two small RESUN ACO-001 (38L/M:38W:0.020MPa) piston pumps from China..
I have been using a Resun ACO-006 (88L/M:80W:0.03MPa) that I purchased second-hand and it has been great..

I have talked myself into thinking that these so called Electro-Mechanical PISTON pumps as they have some benefits....
(ElectroMechanical ?? ElectroMagnetic - {all pumps are ElectroMechanical & Magnetic } )
they have an advantage over the Diaphragm- (Rubber Bellows) devices, in that they last longer and you don't have the drama of trying to get new Rubber Bellows replacements about every year.. and the Piston pumps have a practical heat-sink that can be force-cooled and thus deliver cool air, and they can have an input line that can be fed from an actual cooled source, eg.. AirCon...

Given the state of the art in 2015, what stands out to others as the major reason for air-pump choice..

Has anyone worked out a super efficient means of supplying air.. eg. a commercial high-pressure storage compressor with regulator and filters.. ie might run for two minutes and off for 30min..

PS - I don't see NOISE as an issue with AP, as it is most practical to run your Air-Pump at any location and feed the air to the AP site..
..
.

Hi BuiDoi
I am running a ‘Boyu’ electric-magnetic air compressor ACQ-001. Rated at 25 lt/min. 16Watts.
I think it is a copy of a Halia. I have had it about two months and I think it cost around £25 with 4/6 silicone tubing and four air stones. So far no problems. There is a noise but this is not a problem for me.
However I have been giving some thought to improving my air system, so I went back and reread Ryan’s Back Porch thread.
As I understand it from his photos and description: He is running three different air pumps from a central point. They are all connected into what looks like a 22mm delivery system. He then drilled and tapped into the 22mm pipe to run 4/6 silicone and air stones into the fish tanks DWC etc.
Why?
Why three pumps? Redundancy? Thats what he had lying around?
Why go to all the trouble of constructing a 22mm airtight delivery system.? ( more robust probably)
Why not just use silicone tubing? Cheap readily available.
The only thing I can think of is that it was a trial for a larger system.
You then connect your main air pump, compressor, whatever and also back up compressed air tanks.
With a single source you could possibly also add cooling/heating or even O2 and or auto switch over, in the event of power failure.

For 2 reasons:

First I needed silent pumps because of my neighbors and the fact is was right outside of my bedroom. Bigger pumps will make noise but smaller pumps (the greens did 2.4cfm ea) are so quiet I had to put my hand on the to see if they were running.

Secondly I already had these air pumps from a previous project when I was growing saltwater corals and clown fish so I figured I would put them to good use. The pvc air deliver system was cheap and Silicone tubing would be much more money in that diameter. Any smaller and you would incur major friction losses.

..
Such few opinions.. it seems that there ain't too much to share...
..
.

I got sick of the small ones failing all the time and losing a few fish because of it so I bit the bullet and went for a real one.I have a 120 litre ac pump and a 110 12v back up all conected to the same pipe.Might be a bit of a over kill but I have a fairly big system and just for peace of mind it is worth it.Since having a lot of air the water is much clearer.I have used 12mm poly pipe to distribute it to five tanks and a aquarium.The reason I used 12mm is to cut friction but if I did it again I might use 19mmfor some as there is still a high volume going through it.I have a electronic switch to change over to 12v if the power goes off.I have made a pressure switch which easy to make yourself but as the electric was already there I used it. It has also got rid of a lot of tubes and leads.

I will try again to attach pictures.

This is my home made back up switch.

What does it do..

I must admit that I had wondered about a pump based on an aircraft turbine / compressor. (Miniturised)

There just has to be some better technology...
..
.

Looks like a rubber diaphragm in between the 2 flanges, pressure is applied to the sealed lower chamber, pushing the rubber up, which contacts a NO/NC limit switch to turn another air pump on if the pressure falls. IMHO.
However, I'm not sure why there is such a big gap around the bottom end cap, or what the extra hole and fittings? (the black bit on the top part, right side) are for.

Don, it looks like you have no check valves in those air lines, so if one pump has a big diaphragm failure, ie a big hole in it, the backup pump might leak a lot of air through it, rather than sending air to the FT.

The switch on top is Is live wether compressed or not,just use the terminal you nead.In this case the one that is live when not compressed.You connect that by a T to your airline,when the air pressure drops it switches the back up on.I use this same switch on a automatic lid opener on a silo ,when the power comes on it opens the lid and when it goes off the lid closes.I can explain how to make it if anyone is interested.You will nead two 90mm PVC end caps,Two flanges ,1 switch ,a piece of inner car tube or something similar and one washer or round plate and about half an hours time and it is ready to go.

The fitting on the bottom is where you fit the air hose,the hole in the top is so if you get a leak in the diaphragm it won't push the water up into the switch.If you are using a water pump to aerate the water it works just the same only you have it connected to a water line.The black bit on the right hand side is a screw to hold the top on,I had to keep taking it off to get the switch adjusted right.The gap around the bottom is because I had trouble getting it to fit so I turned it over.This is the first one I have made and the main objective was to see if it works,I will worry about looks next time.

These are piston pumps and have no diaphragm and a check valve in the pump.if I use one of my switches I will need a check valve otherwise as soon as the back up starts it will shut it down again.you can connect two diaphragm pumps like this because they have a check valve in them too,I used them before I had this set up.I had a good electric bach up switch already connected so I used that system.Too lazy to change so I left it there and besides it would only collect dust in the shed.It cost me $180.If I switch the power off now you don't even see a break in the air supply.

At last the new airline system is up and running. Sticking with my theme of using readily available piping. I opted to use 15mm household plastic pipe and push fit connections. I did use the super seals.
Larger pipe sizes give less friction loss. Like many things you have to compromise. Using 15mm pipe allowed me to bend the pipe and reduce connectors. “T” and “L”
The only ‘specialist’ part was a brass half inch female to a 5mm hose tail. These I got from E bay. Nominally the inside diameter of silicone tube is 4mm but with a bit of warmth the 5mm fitted fine. The silicone tube was used for the last 50 cm or so and connected to air stones.

The 15mm pipe is not recommended for compressed air use. However with the relatively low air pressure I am using I decided to go ahead. My choice my responsibility.

I switched on the pump and it works great. Tomorrow I will check for leaks. Washing up liquid on the joints will bubble if air is leaking.
There is some noise with this type of air compressor. It’s out in the shed and I put an old mouse mat underneath. No problem.

I thought I would have much better reliability and flow with a linear piston pump (inexpensive one from Amazon 45L $60 I think), but after less than a year it stopped pumping any air to depth (2' no bubbles). Switched out to a large Tetra whisper diaphragm aquarium pump from the pet store which flows much better. The linear piston pump was sooo loud (and hot) too. Reminds me of halogen bulbs, manufacturers have figured out a way to make things fail quickly that should (because of the technology used) last quite long time (halogen bulbs should never have the same lifespan as a standard bulb).