Air Pump Decisions -- EcoPlus 1300gph or HydroFarm

Trying to make a decision on an air pump for multiple uses. I was looking at the General Hydroponics pump which I see a lot of people recommending, but it seems to be low output for the price-- a lot of people recommend EcoPlus as well and their 1300gph pump is similar in price to the GH 110lpm which pumps more air apparently but I'm not sure about the brand...

What do you think and are there other comparable pumps I should be looking at?

EcoPlus water pumps have lasted me for years I have also used Active Aqua air pumps. 1300 gallons per hour is quite a bit of air flow what are you using it for? I checked I think that's about 80 watts

MeJuana said:

EcoPlus water pumps have lasted me for years I have also used Active Aqua air pumps. 1300 gallons per hour is quite a bit of air flow what are you using it for? I checked I think that's about 80 watts

Click to expand...

multiple dwc buckets, teas, and an aquaponics setup! I would like to have more air than less...

Do you prefer one over the other?

No I guess it really does make sense for you then since you will be needing so much air. The only thing that comes to mind is sound but you can muffle it fairly easily I'm sure if that ends up being a nuisance for you.

AnxiousRobot said:

multiple dwc buckets, teas, and an aquaponics setup! I would like to have more air than less...

Do you prefer one over the other?

Click to expand...

How many buckets what sort of max water are you needing to move. Sounds like heaps.

I'm using a 150gal per hour water pump to do a 4 + 1 - 5 gallon rdwc set up and that's heaps.

I guess that's pretty small scale, yours may be much bigger.

My grow is pretty small right now. But I am also doing aquaponics for vegetables and would love to use the pump to do ~6-8 buckets and a few aquariums for the aquaponics. Here is the pump in discussion:

EcoPlus 728457 5 to 80W Single Outlet Commercial Air Pump, 1300 GPH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JLGJVM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xlgDxbSXPWMWT

Some people like to run multiple pumps but I love the idea of consolidating the equipment as noise is not much of an issue in my instance!

Thoughts?

I believe linear diaphragm pumps are quieter (but I haven't compared). Alita and Secoh are good brands but not cheap. I've got a pair of EL-60 and a SLL-40. http://www.septicsolutions.net/store/secohlinear.htm#sll40 I'd recommend the 60, considering your future plans, even if you need to bleed off air for the initial setup (to keep the pressure low for long diaphragm life).

I'm using the SLL-40 to drive five Alita 8" long air stones under 10" of water (aeration for ebb-and-flow reservoirs).

Sorry just realised your talking about an air pump. Id say that would be more than enough. I'm currently running 10 - 5 gal buckets off a 250gph pump

Aquaponics really intrigues me. Have you got any photos of your setup we can see please

kiwipaulie said:

Aquaponics really intrigues me. Have you got any photos of your setup we can see please

Click to expand...

I'll gladly hook you up with some pics once I piece it together! I just moved... I am/was a chef (currently working on farm instead-- still working with food at a different capacity!) and now that I don't work 70 hours a week and don't live in a city I finally have the time and space to do some aquaponics. I'm pretty much done with the planning phase of it and am in the process of acquiring materials (mostly waiting to find some used aquariums since they are expensive).

Stay tuned! Hahaha

Thanks for the advice I think I'm going to go with the larger hydro farm pump.

Update: I purchased the HydroFarm Air Pump. After plugging it in and letting it run for a few hours I concluded it is pretty loud (it is as loud as I expected a commercial air pump to be if not quieter actually. I do not care for it to be stealthy) and it does get warm but I am not growing in a confined space and I plan on running a tube to the intake from a colder source than the grow room itself if I need to. The air it was expelling seemed slightly warmer but I am not concerned.

I just wanted to address anything negative that I had read in regards to this unit. Hope it helps someone.