If you love fish and are considering either getting a new, or first aquarium, it’s important you research first. Having a fish and an aquarium can be a very expensive investment if you want to maximize your tank to its very best. One of the most crucial parts of your tank is the aquarium air pump.
Before you go out and buy just any air pump, you’ll want to learn a few things about types, and set up information. To help you out, we’ve gleaned some information for providing your fish with the right kind of air pump, and how best to set them up.
Types of Aquarium Air Pumps
It’s important to have an aquarium air pump for your fish tank. These pumps help to push water into or pull it from the filtration systems. These pumps work by utilizing the pressure differences that exist between the intake and outgoing valves.
There are several different pump types:
- Submersible pumps
- External pumps
- Power filter pumps
- Aeration-powered pumps
Submersible pumps are a type of pump that gets placed inside the aquarium itself. These pumps are driven by magnets, and despite their small size can be very efficient and effective.
External pumps are a type of pump that is placed on the outside of the aquarium. There are three main types of external pumps you will come across:
- Centrifugal
- Diaphragm
- Peristaltic
1. Centrifugal External Pumps
Centrifugal pumps are a magnet driven pump. The pump utilizes a spinning impeller to draw water in from the outside of the housing and through a tube.
These types of pumps can draw large volumes of water through the filtration system in a short amount of time and tend to be used on tanks around 55 gallons and upward.
2. Diaphragm External Pumps
Diaphragm pumps don’t pump a steady stream of water. Instead, they bring in water in pulses. The motor in the pump will open and close, and this forces water to go in and out of a chamber.
3. Peristaltic External Pumps
Peristaltic pumps use a novel approach to pumping water. These pumps have rollers positioned along a flexible water tube. The rollers will move and glide over the tube and push the water in the direction the roller is going.
Generally speaking, diaphragm and peristaltic pumps are the kinds used by those with more experience at crafting the ideal aquarium. These two pumps are great at being able to deliver very specific water quality levels, while the centrifugal pumps are less complicated and easier to manage for rookies.
Power filters are another type of pump that is driven by magnets. These pumps get attached to filters and act together as a single unit.
The magnets in this pump are attached to the impeller in the filter and another magnet is attached to the motor. When the motor starts to spin it will cause the impeller to spin as well. This spinning will push water through a tube either away from or towards the filter itself.
Aeration pumps use the effect of air-on-water that is already in a tube. When the air gets pumped into a tube that has water in it, the stream of bubbles will pull the water along with it in an upward motion.
This method is used for both bringing water to be filtered and returned back to the tank itself. This is a rather common and inexpensive filer that is great for smaller aquarium ranging up to 20 gallons.
How to Set up a Fresh Water Aquarium
Setting up a fresh water aquarium for the first time can be intimidating. But we’ve pulled together some information for you as you get started with your new aquarium.
Setting Up Your Aquarium
For the healthiest, best aquarium, you’ll need the right air pump, filter, and other supplies. You should do a fair amount of research to determine each type of supply you need.
We’ve provided the basics so that you can choose the right pump, as well as the overview of setting up an aquarium. But don’t forget to make sure you know which kind of filter, what size tank, and which plants are right for your choice of fish.
