Aquarium Air Pump

An air compressor is part of the basic equipment of an aquarist. Air pumps differ in the amount of air they "blow out". For plant nurseries and breeding facilities, where there's an extensive network of air hoses, more powerful compressors are used, which have a different construction and also generate much greater air pressure compared to the compressors commonly sold in aquarium shops.

I'm happy with the Elite 802 and Maxim-R compressors, which are the two most powerful models from the same brand, Hagen.
The compressor needs to be checked from time to time. Especially if the filter's performance drops. First you need to clean the filter media and check the air supply, to see whether it's narrowed or clogged. If you don't find any such problem, the fault may be in the compressor.
There's usually no problem with the air pumps themselves, and the compressor is an excellent servant, but every now and then it too needs some maintenance or repair.
The advantage then is that in case of a fault, all the spare parts can be bought, and a handy person can repair the air pump themselves.
The biggest problem that can occur is the transformer in the compressor burning out. You can tell because the motor no longer makes any sound and you can smell burning. A problem like that is very serious, and I don't know of any way to buy a replacement transformer, so a problem like that is unrepairable for the average DIYer. The least serious problem can be clogged or gummed-up vents in the compressor. That can be easily solved by disassembling and cleaning it.
The nuts holding the diaphragm can come loose; then you need to put the diaphragm back in the right place and tighten the nuts.
With rough handling, the outlet can break off; then you need to buy a new drum. A replacement costs about 50-60 CZK.


The drum also contains small diaphragms, which over time also stop working properly. Because of them, there's no need to buy a whole new drum - you just need to make new ones at home, for example from a rubber glove.

A fairly common problem is when the large diaphragm fails, which is fitted onto the drum and whose movement creates the flow of air. Its elasticity fades over time, and then a hole forms in it. A replacement diaphragm costs about 30-40 CZK.

The little arm with the magnet, to which the diaphragm is attached, can also be bought separately, but I've never had any problem with that.
I've been powering the filters in my aquariums with these air pumps for years, and I have better experience with them than with other types of filters. Thanks to them I've had success growing aquarium plants as well as keeping aquarium fish.

Air distribution

For the best performance, you need to have the best possible pressure. That's why it's good to use thick air hoses, especially with long runs of air tubing. I recommend using professional reducers and couplings that are thick. That's what they use, for example, in factories.

With a coupling like that, the hose is pushed onto it, unlike thin aquarium reducers, which are pushed into the hose. That's an unnecessary loss of pressure. The biggest loss of pressure, though, is caused by the check valve, which is basically unnecessary.
If you solve your air distribution well, you can, without any problem, power four foam air-powered filters with a single compressor that has two outlets.