Time to remove the bloody Air Pump...

waring192

Active Member
Hey people,

I'm sick to death of the noise of the 80 litres p/m air pump noise and cleaning the diffusion rings so I was thinking of going down the Venturi route.

I currently use 6 or 8 40-litre/9-gallon buckets/pots with the same size control/header tank. I was thinking of getting larger pots/buckets which are more rectangular in shape and the Venturi valve goes on one side so it has longer too (shoot). I was thinking maybe 65-litre/15-gallon rectangular buckets with a second header/control tank outside the tent which would be connected to the system from the main header so the water pump has its own tank/pot (there is too much going on in the control/header tank already due to the probes etc. I guess if I removed the normal water pump there might be room, it just depends on the physical size of the pump, I also thought more water so less heat buildup and the water tank with the pump would be on its own.

Can anyone let me know what they think about the design and also recommendations on water pump size for 4 or 6 x 65 litres plus a header/control tank of 40 litres (total system volume is around 440 litres or 96 gallons? The diagram attached is without the extra tank and only 4 pots as with the original water pump taken out it should fit fine.

In the diagram, the pumped water for Venturi is a lighter blue colour and return is the dark blue. The black square above the header/control is the water chiller and inside the header/control is the water pump. There are quite a few things missing like my filter on the return line etc.

The questions I have are, does it look ok in the diagram? Do the pumped water lines for the Venturi have to be equal in length to the pump? If so how would I add two more pots?

What would be the required water pump for this setup is the attached setup with 65-litre/15-gallon pots to give enough pressure for 4 Venturi valves?

If I was to add two more 64-litre pots then what size for that and also the best way to attach them while keeping the water lines the same length (if needed). I could install two water pumps going to the same line and reduce the intake of both for redundancy maybe?

Cheersven.png
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Is there no way you could relocate the air pump and run a line to your grow area? Or stick it in a cooler with a biscuit fan to keep good air flow to keep the pump cool and reduce the noise by half or better.

Would be an easier and much cheaper way to fix the noise problem.

Sounds like you'll need a fairly beefy water pump to do what you're looking at and they aren't silent either.

I don't know much about water pumps so can't help you there.

The two cylinder air pump I have running to aerate the dugout is noisy as hell but down in the basement so can barely hear it unless the house is very quiet. It could aerate dozens of grow tanks.

AirDiffuser03x.jpg

:peace:
 

waring192

Active Member
Yeah, it's possible I could do that intake from the Attic? I just hate the noise and welcome the idea of the Venturi.
 
Last edited:

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's possible I could do that intake from the Attic? I just hate the noise and welcome the idea of the Venturi.
Just a thought but it's your place so what you think will work best is really up to you. More work and expense to change things around I'd think and I like to avoid both where possible.

Our tap water comes out of the dugout so good aeration is a necessity for us or it's dark grey and stinky water.

From the attic should be fine and if you can suspend the air pump from soft, stretchy bungee cords it will help with the noise. Don't need a heavy air hose like ones to hook up a compressor either. Probably only dealing with 5 - 20 psi so may get by with a lot lighter and cheaper type of line but I'm not sure which to suggest.

:peace:
 

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Hey people,

I'm sick to death of the noise of the 80 litres p/m air pump noise and cleaning the diffusion rings so I was thinking of going down the Venturi route.

I currently use 6 or 8 40-litre/9-gallon buckets/pots with the same size control/header tank. I was thinking of getting larger pots/buckets which are more rectangular in shape and the Venturi valve goes on one side so it has longer too (shoot). I was thinking maybe 65-litre/15-gallon rectangular buckets with a second header/control tank outside the tent which would be connected to the system from the main header so the water pump has its own tank/pot (there is too much going on in the control/header tank already due to the probes etc. I guess if I removed the normal water pump there might be room, it just depends on the physical size of the pump, I also thought more water so less heat buildup and the water tank with the pump would be on its own.

Can anyone let me know what they think about the design and also recommendations on water pump size for 4 or 6 x 65 litres plus a header/control tank of 40 litres (total system volume is around 440 litres or 96 gallons? The diagram attached is without the extra tank and only 4 pots as with the original water pump taken out it should fit fine.

In the diagram, the pumped water for Venturi is a lighter blue colour and return is the dark blue. The black square above the header/control is the water chiller and inside the header/control is the water pump. There are quite a few things missing like my filter on the return line etc.

The questions I have are, does it look ok in the diagram? Do the pumped water lines for the Venturi have to be equal in length to the pump? If so how would I add two more pots?

What would be the required water pump for this setup is the attached setup with 65-litre/15-gallon pots to give enough pressure for 4 Venturi valves?

If I was to add two more 64-litre pots then what size for that and also the best way to attach them while keeping the water lines the same length (if needed). I could install two water pumps going to the same line and reduce the intake of both for redundancy maybe?

CheersView attachment 5266118
Look into flooming.
 

amneziaHaze

Well-Known Member
whats that thing called where you put a Y connector on your water pump and one of them goes outside and then the water pump,pumps air in your water
 

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
I've done some reading! No air pump is required apparently and also just the one pump in the header, I guess there would be two so water can be recirculated?

Is it as good a Venturi?
Sure, but you could probably hybrid it, and have the best of both worlds.
 
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