Quality air pump?

papa canna

papa canna

Well-Known Member
I was looking at the different commercial pumps but I have concerns over volume and temperature. A lot of people said that not only are the recommended pump (such as the ecoplus) loud, but they also get quite hot. Which would be pumping warm air into your res. Not good. I was thinking about this one by general hydroponics (http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Dual-Diaphragm-Pump/dp/B008UF9XLY) but holy cow is that expensive for a pump.

Relative information: 4- 5gal coolers for res.
 
blackforest

blackforest

Well-Known Member
papa canna said:
I was looking at the different commercial pumps but I have concerns over volume and temperature. A lot of people said that not only are the recommended pump (such as the ecoplus) loud, but they also get quite hot. Which would be pumping warm air into your res. Not good. I was thinking about this one by general hydroponics (http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Dual-Diaphragm-Pump/dp/B008UF9XLY) but holy cow is that expensive for a pump.

Relative information: 4- 5gal coolers for res.
Click to expand...
Alita and Pondmaster are the best, but for larger system, and fairly expensive. You want to get a pump that fits your system. The way to measure pumps is by lpm (liter per minute). The one you are looking at is 24.8 lpm, so not too powerful, might be good for 1 or 2 buckets. The commercial pumps can be a little noisy, but they are cheap and work well. Your pump size will depend on how much water you want to aerate and what type of hydro system you are going to build.
 
papa canna

papa canna

Well-Known Member
blackforest said:
Alita and Pondmaster are the best, but for larger system, and fairly expensive. You want to get a pump that fits your system. The way to measure pumps is by lpm (liter per minute). The one you are looking at is 24.8 lpm, so not too powerful, might be good for 1 or 2 buckets. The commercial pumps can be a little noisy, but they are cheap and work well. Your pump size will depend on how much water you want to aerate and what type of hydro system you are going to build.
Click to expand...
I planned on running a DWC, (4) 5gallon res. Is the one I posted not enough for 5 gallons? I've seen that some of the other ones are pretty powerful, but the noise and heat they give off concerns me.
 
mytwhyt

mytwhyt

Well-Known Member
Have used the GH pump for the last 5-6 years... Bought a rebuild kit at the same time and it's still on a shelf.... I've used it with 4 waterfarms at a time, they claim it will do eight... You realize of course that the hole for the water spout in the igloo water cooler will take a 1/2 inch grommet and 1/2 barb fitting.... All 5 gal. water coolers seem to use the same spout, so probably most 5 gal water coolers will accept the 1/2 grommet... You can hook a dwc cooler to a passive reservoir and add a drain valve in line for emptying the system... Also a sight tube for checking water level if you don't use a reservoir.....
 
papa canna

papa canna

Well-Known Member
mytwhyt said:
Have used the GH pump for the last 5-6 years... Bought a rebuild kit at the same time and it's still on a shelf.... I've used it with 4 waterfarms at a time, they claim it will do eight... You realize of course that the hole for the water spout in the igloo water cooler will take a 1/2 inch grommet and 1/2 barb fitting.... All 5 gal. water coolers seem to use the same spout, so probably most 5 gal water coolers will accept the 1/2 grommet... You can hook a dwc cooler to a passive reservoir and add a drain valve in line for emptying the system... Also a sight tube for checking water level if you don't use a reservoir.....
Click to expand...
the same pump I linked in the original post? It works well for your 4 then?
 
mytwhyt

mytwhyt

Well-Known Member
Yes, it runs my 4 WFs with each valve open about a third... I run a rdwc drip system and have never done a grow with just bubbles...
 
sanjuan

sanjuan

Well-Known Member
Alita and Secoh are good brands. I currently have a Secoh SLL-40 running four eight-inch Alita air stones in the flower room. A pair of those stones are driven by an Alita AL-15A in the veg room. Do NOT buy the Alita AL-6A because the tiny air inlet causes a steady high-pitched whistle that sounds like a plumbing or gas leak. Weird because the pump is nearly identical to the AL-15A which is nice and quiet.

These do get warm around the outlet. I had an Alita EL-60 hooked up to four stones and it stayed cool. Reverberations were transmitted two floors below, though. I'm going to build a rubber sling for the upstairs pump.
 
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