Poll and question-Air Powered Filtration?

[pturley]

I recently started a fledgling company and just released our first product for the aquarium market.
Being fairly new at this, I am trying to get a feel for how many parts I'll need molded over the next 3-6 months (need to schedule press time at the molder). So, I am trying to get a feel for total market capacity for our products. I don't want to over-buy, but I also don't want to run out of parts

I wonder if I may ask a few questions of the users here to get a understanding of what's needed.

Next question: If you use air-powered filtration (sponge, corner or box filters), how many units do you currently use?

For me, I have 20 fishtanks, most tanks over 30 gallons have 2 sponge filters each (some have 3). The rest have 1 per tank for a total of 35 sponge filters and one tank with a UGF.

Next Question: Do you have a central air feed manifold (blower or linear air pump), how many taps do you currently have in the system?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Shane]

Paul,
I use air powered sponges, powerhead powered sponges and power filters (Penguin Biowheels). I have found, over time that I use less and less air powered filtration media. Although I really like sponge filters for many applications, I am sick of buying and throwing out air pumps. I literally threw out a bag of 6-7 of them the other day because I do not have the time/inclination to take them apart and replace the rubber diaphrams every few months. If I did not move all the time, I would go with a centralized system with a blower that could run sponges for a bank of fry, hospital and quarentine tanks.
Although my fishroom is currently all crated up for shipment to Mexico, my current set up is around 7 ten gallons each with a Penguin Biowheel 170 and sponge prefilter, 4 twenty longs each with a Penguin Biowheel 330, two 40 gallon, a 45 and a 55 each with two Penguin Bioheel 330s per tank. I also have a half dozen Penguin powerheads fitted with sponges that are moved from tank to tank depending on what needs extra aeration/filtration. I will certainly plug a good product when I feel they deserve it and I am very happy with the Penguin Biowheel filters. The first one I ever bought (about 8 years ago) finally died this year. $17.00 for a filter that lasts 8 years is a good value in my book. I find air pumps last 2-3 years before they are so noisy that I toss them.
I have around 10 Tetra Sponge filters (the ones with two sponges) and love them. That said, I only use them on fry/hospital tanks because air pumps take up space and are loud. To keep the sponges active, I place them in the media sections of the Biowheels. That way I get extra bio filtration and have cultured sponges on hand when needed. They can also be placed in new power filters to jump start new filters.
I look forward to trying your new product.
-Shane

[pturley]

As I am sure you are aware, you are killing the air pumps because of too much back pressure through the filter.

The product I came up with eliminates this by giving you a way to clear the air:water interface in the filter itself without taking the filter apart. That's one of the main reasons I came up with this, easier sponge filter maintenance.

I'll P/M a link to a current listing online if you are interested.

[Picklefish]

I would like to get some more info on what you have come up with. For my tanks I have 6 40 Breeders with sponges and emperor 400s on them. I have 9 25G tanks all with sponges and Lustar box filters, 2x 75G tanks with emperors and sponges, a 150G tank sponges emperors and a wetdry, I have a 300G rubbermaid stock tank with sponges and a wetdry, a 100G stock tank with just sponges, an there are assorted 20longs, 15s, a 33 yada yada yada with an assortment of sponges, aquaclears, whispers and lustars on them. I use a centralized air powered by a sweetwater linear piston pump. I have maybe 75-100 outlets but only use about half of them now. I also have a 1/8hp blower that I may switch over too in the future. Hope this helps a little.

[Coryman]

Hi Paul,

In the current Fish House I run 52 tanks, all have air driven filters about 60/40 Box/sponge. They are all supplied by a HiBlow 40 air pump and I have a HiBlow 80 as a back up. I get the same volume and pressure from the pump that I used to get from a blower at 1/4 of the running cost.

I am also working on a filter system that has been around for a long time but as yet I haven't come up with a way to commercialise it. I'll send you a PM on it.

Ian

[pleco_farmer]

Each of our tanks contains a sponge filter, almost all of which are hydro-sponge. (Need to plug Jehmco.com!) This is in addition to power filtration on all but cory tanks. No worries about complete media changes in power filters and we can back up for power failures with stored compressed air.

Sponges are driven from two manifolds which are supplied from two tanks pressurized by an oil-less compressor. We've added dryers and filters and such as well. No back pressure problems since the compressor brings the storage tanks up to 120psi, which is regulated down to the filters.

System drives forty tanks.

[pturley]

plecofarmer wrote:

Sponges are driven from two manifolds which are supplied from two tanks pressurized by an oil-less compressor.

Also the plug Jehmco.com, (they carry linear air pumps) for just 40 tanks, you really ought to consider a linear air pump. How many watts of power are the compressors drawing?

Most that I know of operate in the multiple AMPS range (6-10 amps typically). Even at the low end of this, say 2amp draw, means 250watts/hour MINIMUM. That equated it 0.25 KWhrs/hour. That's per unit!

You could likely get the same performance from a largish linear compressor, not have any noise factor to worry about and only draw 40-60 Watts total!
Not sure what you are paying for electricity, but it may be something for you to consider!

[pleco_farmer]

The compressor is not continuous duty, it only runs about fifteen minutes total per day. Again, we chose this system to provide backup during power failures, which are becoming all too frequent in the DC area. Stored compressed air can carry us through, delivering sponge filtration for about a day when the lights go out. I'll have to work the numbers, but the power consumption has to be at least on a par with continuous duty, since ultimately the same amount of work is done by either system. Pump efficiency and peak current draw become the significant factors.

However, to deal with back pressure in a system without a "sump" you are always going to leak air which will result in a drop in efficiency. This is the other factor which irritated me with continous duty pumps, I hate paying for air that isn't delivered to the filters. At least that is what I tell myself when I have to do the weekly maintenance on the system!

[coelacanth]

Of the 100+ aquaria I am responsible for here at work, 70%+ have purely air-driven filtration. The largest aquaria with this are 150 gallon, but given the performance there's no reason for not using air-driven filters even on very large aquaria. A couple of airstones can easily give the same sort of turnoever as even a very large powerhead if used correctly.
All the air comes from a single blower (with spare on constant stand-by), which feeds into a 5cm ring main from which it is tapped off into standard airline valves, one or two per aquarium (more for larger aquaria).

[medaka]

i have 35 tanks
2 use external canister filtration
5 use internal canister filtration
1 U/G with power head
2 box filters with powerhead
2 U/G air powered
16 box filters airpowered
7 spongefilters airpowered
the air is provided by a hi blow 20. connected to a tubular central airway.

oh and i also run my brine shrimp hatcheries (2)
and a couple of airstones of this supply as well

[corybreed]

Paul,
I maintain 34 tanks using a combination of sponge, box and power filters. When I set up my fish room 10 years ago I had the pvc in place for a blower. I found the blower too noisy as it could be heard from my dining room above. I have recently purchased a linear pump and hope to have all but my largest tanks on sponge and box filters. I have friends using the linear pump now and it cannot be heard.

Mark