Air pump for whole fish room.

**Brittney Rau** · 05-17-2017, 09:44 PM

So as the amount of tanks grow in the fish room I have been looking into getting a large linear air pump. Right now we are running several smaller ones but I refuse to buy anymore small ones. I'm considering an Alita brand pump as I have read really good reviews. My issue is that I'm not sure which size to get. I don't want a huge one where I'm going to need to set up a valve to release excess air so that it doesn't damage the pump itself. That being said, the fish room is pretty far from finished/furnished so I might have to do just that.

Right now I have room for about 20 or so 10g tanks on the main 2 shelves my husband built. In addition there are also several small shrimp tanks, and 3 20-30g tanks that I would also like to have hooked into the system. Can I buy a pump with room to grow without having to have a ball valve to release excess air? Any suggestions or what size pump? Most everything in the fish room is either growing out pr my dwarf cichlid/apisto pairs.

It's all still a work in progress.

The new rack won't have 10s like pictured but rather 5s and 2.5s for the shrimp.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**pinaki_pal** · 05-17-2017, 10:00 PM

Great set up :)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

**Tangfan** · 05-17-2017, 10:31 PM

I just set up a Jehmco DAPH30 which has a stated output of 40 lpm and I'm running 19 outlets in my fish room -various size tanks and some tanks have 2 filters in them. I still have room to add more drops if needed. With that said, you could probably drop down to a 20-25lpm pump and have sufficient air for 20-10 gal tanks. Alita is a well known brand with a good reputation. I looked at their pumps real close prior to getting the Jehmco (also very good reputation). Deciding factor was price.

**Brittney Rau** · 05-17-2017, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by Tangfan

I just set up a Jehmco DAPH30 which has a stated output of 40 lpm and I'm running 19 outlets in my fish room -various size tanks and some tanks have 2 filters in them. I still have room to add more drops if needed. With that said, you could probably drop down to a 20-25lpm pump and have sufficient air for 20-10 gal tanks. Alita is a well known brand with a good reputation. I looked at their pumps real close prior to getting the Jehmco (also very good reputation). Deciding factor was price.

How quiet is the Jehmco? Our fish room is on the main level of the house and although it's at the end of a long hall, I don't want to hear a buzzing throughout the rest of the house!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Brittney Rau** · 05-17-2017, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by pinaki_pal

Great set up :)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Thanks!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Larry Bugg** · 05-17-2017, 11:05 PM

Call Jehmco and talk with them about your needs. I don't know another place that I would go to for one. He will take the time to talk with you and is extremely knowledgeable and won't steer you wrong. The DAHP pumps are good but those are Diaphragm and not what you want, too noisy. As you mentioned, the linear is the way you want to go. Those are the LP series. I have the LPH80 and couldn't be happier. I didn't know a pump could be that quiet. Mine is probably bigger than you need. I'm running a little over 40 outlets right now and will eventually be up to around 60 eventually. When I talked with him about my needs, one of his concerns was that I initially ran enough outlets so the pump wouldn't be harmed but still be able to meet my eventual needs. I simply left a couple of air valves that weren't being used yet open. I simply opened the extra valves until some of the filters weren't pumping and them closed enough of the open valves to get the flow going again. The difference between the blower I was using and the linear is night and day. Another benefit that I hadn't considered is that the linear pump is very energy efficient compared to the blower and I'm saving money on the electricity.

http://www.jehmco.com/html/central_air_pumps.html

You can hear how quiet the pump is in this video.

**mountainman36** · 05-18-2017, 05:54 AM

i have used many in my pond business. the price of the Alita is what we go with a lot, but the Medo pumps are the top of the line. I have an alita model 80 in my fish room with 30 or so drops. running continuously for 4 years with zero issues. We cant hear it unless we are in the room.

As Larry said, if those folks will talk to you and be so awesome, then they deserve your business. Id try them.

**caricell** · 05-18-2017, 06:54 AM

Jehmco for sure. I had a 20 or 30 (I forget) and it blew away the 19 tanks I had. I actually had to put a relief valve at the end of the line to let out some of the pressure...

**LTygress** · 05-18-2017, 09:59 AM

I actually use an EcoPlus Commercial air pump for my fish room. I saw the reviews were good, but it did say "loud noise" a lot. However, I kept going down the reviews, and other ones said "loud noise, but it gets REALLY quiet when you actually connect or close all of the valves".

What really got me though was when I talked with a fish store owner who described the pump he had that was a "powerhorse" but very cheap for what it did. He said the pump looked like a big heat sink with no fancy plastic covering it - and it was the same one I had been looking at! He didn't remember the name, but the description was an exact fit! I pulled up a picture, and he confirmed it!

Right now, I have five 10Gs, one 5G, and two 29Gs running off of this ONE pump that cost only about $50 (although I see it on Amazon now for about $33, and the LARGER one is about $50). It could probably do more, but this is all I need it for right now (plus I don't have anything to divide it up with any further right now). It comes with it's own 6-valve manifold. I connected a 4-way gang valve to ONE of those 6 for the extra tanks and it's working fine. The fish store owner I talked with who already had one said his was running 23 tanks! And this is for the smallest version they have!

The only problem I had is that I ordered one, and a friend ordered one a few weeks later, and neither one came with the brass valve that screws into the pump housing for the manifold to connect to. But an email to the actual manufacturing company fixed that, and they sent me a free brass valve in the mail.

But be warned, it IS very loud if you don't have the valves connected to something or closed off. When you first turn it on with nothing connected, you'll probably dread buying it! But the moment everything is connected or closed, it's very quiet! The good part is, you will know if you have a leak, didn't close a valve off completely, or you accidentally hit the manifold and the larger tube came loose! You can't miss the noise if it happens!