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RE: air pump

Hi Cameron,

An air pump driven filter is much better for Nothos. I prefer a box filter
with floss over lava rock. It has a smaller foot print, it is easier to
culture and to transfer cultures from and to know when it is dirty. You are
also less likely to get fish stuck underneath. But a sponge filter will do
the trick if you have one on hand.

I like the whisper pumps when it comes to quiet. I believe that the tetra
pumps are the current successors to the whispers. The variable output
whispers were nice but are getting hard to come by.

My experience with savings in pumps is that the cheaper pumps tend to be
louder and require rebuilding more often

With Nothos I recommend that no matter which pump you buy, you should also
add a bleeder valve. Set up the filter to allow for adequate water movement
through it without setting up a current in the tank.  I currently run 4
filters in 4 2.5 gal tanks with a Metaframe "Hush I" pump. I have a Second
Nature Challenger "Special" running 2 10 Gal tanks, with air to spare. This
is a very quiet and reliable pump it was most often given away free with 10
gal starter kits for about $6.00. They cost about $3.00 new and now cost
about $2.50 to rebuild.

I have seen several price point pumps being offered by Hagen. I have never
tried any of them, I have been disappointed with much of Hagen's product
line, so despite the price I have been reluctant to buy one. I prefer to
rebuild pumps made by Metaframe, Second Nature and even Penn Plax even
though the Hagens are often cheaper than the whisper rebuild kits.

If you can not find any of the pumps I have recommended, you might want to
ask your dealer to demonstrate various pumps under a load similar to the one
you are going to be running. You can not really get an idea of the level of
the pumps reliability but at least you can hear how loud it is likely to run
in your home. Also ask your dealer which rebuild kits he stocks. Vibrator
pumps all require rebuilding eventually. It is not too hard and it will save
you a great deal of money. If you can't get parts you will be replacing good
equipment at unnecessary expense.


Peace,

~RJ~

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-killietalk at AKA_Org [mailto:owner-killietalk at AKA_Org]On
Behalf Of Cameron Case
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2001 3:36 PM
To: KillieTalk at AKA_Org
Subject: air pump


Could someone recommend a very small air pump?  Quiet is good, cheap is
better.  I only need it to run one small sponge filter on a 5.5 gallon tank.
  An aquaclear mini caused too much turbulence for the poor nothos, so a
sponge filter should be better (right?).

TIA,

Cameron in AL

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