AP300 AIR PUMP

[glovanator]

Hi All,

Does anyone have experience with the TETRA AP 300 air pump?

I thought I'd buy a big pump then set it up to run 8 sponge filters across four 40 gallon tanks.

Needless to say it' runs about 3 filters out of the 8.

Any advice? Is it not working well because it's specifically designed for deep water? Or is just 8 filters too much?

 

[FJB]

Additional depth will only add more back pressure, causing it to perform even less well. Your best bet is to make airlines as short as possible. It also helps to make a 'drum-distributor pit of pvc, which receives all the air from the pump and delivers it to various lines with valves.

 

[glovanator]

Well, 2 lines come out of the pump into two separate 4 gang valves. Then from the two 4-way gang valves, there are 8 lines going to each sponge filter.

I'll try shorter lines in the morning. My original thought process was that the pressure would be the same in each of the gang valve lines. But maybe there is some pressure loss due to long lines.

I'll try in the morning.