Air line organizing…

So I have a large commercial type air pump, to run the main group of my aquariums ( 3-55 gallon, 2- 45 gallon, 2- 30 gallon, and 4- 10 gallon tanks, all built into the same nook ) I’ve been slowly starting them up, one at a time, and this is the 3rd air pump as my air usage goes up nearly every aquarium that gets set up… this pump uses 3/8 inch hose, feeding a 14 valve gang valve with a 3/8 inch inlet pipe… my tanks all run e
One or two 10 inch air bars, or air powered sponge filters in the smaller tanks… of coarse starting one tank at a time, the air lines were a birds nest of haphazard tubing… so today, I rerouted all the air lines in a neat fashion, and put them on logical valves, by location… taking a break right now, but they will all get labeled at the valve end, so I clearly know which valve is running which line… I still have enough pump, and valves left, to start up the last 3 tanks, when it’s their turn… I think a good job done… then water change time… that goes pretty quickly

The pump is between the rafters above, in a cool space next to an outside wall… these piston pumps run warm… and is boxed in of sorts, with 1/2 inch closed cell foam, so I can barely hear it in my work area, and bubbles is all I hear from the viewing side of the tanks

By building a loop out of 3/4 pvc pipe, I have extended the life of my pumps. One of the 2 linear pistons I have running into the pipes (drilled with valves screwed in) has to be close to 20 years old, and has run 24/7.

Magnum Man said:

So I have a large commercial type air pump, to run the main group of my aquariums ( 3-55 gallon, 2- 45 gallon, 2- 30 gallon, and 4- 10 gallon tanks, all built into the same nook ) I’ve been slowly starting them up, one at a time, and this is the 3rd air pump as my air usage goes up nearly every aquarium that gets set up… this pump uses 3/8 inch hose, feeding a 14 valve gang valve with a 3/8 inch inlet pipe… my tanks all run either a couple 10 inch air bars, or air powered sponge filters in the smaller tanks… of coarse starting one tank at a time, the air lines were a birds nest of haphazard tubing… so today, I rerouted all the air lines in a neat fashion, and put them on logical valves, by location… taking a break right now, but they will all get labeled at the valve end, so I clearly know which valve is running which line… still have enough pump, and valves left, to start up the last 3 tanks, when it’s their turn… I think a good job done… then water change time… that goes pretty quickly

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Can we see a photo of the nook with all your tanks, and your airline handiwork?

Can’t really take good pictures, can’t go back far enough on the left is a 45 that has 3 sides viewing, 2-55’s in the middle, and a 45, next to fill on the right … they wrap around our bed.. lights are on timers, so I don’t need alarm clocks

Tried doing a pano while laying in bed…. BTW, the 30 gallons are under the 45 gallons, and there are 4 - 10 gallons, and a 55 only visible from the work area behind the tanks, under the 2 55’s

Magnum Man said:

So I have a large commercial type air pump, to run the main group of my aquariums ( 3-55 gallon, 2- 45 gallon, 2- 30 gallon, and 4- 10 gallon tanks, all built into the same nook ) I’ve been slowly starting them up, one at a time, and this is the 3rd air pump as my air usage goes up nearly every aquarium that gets set up… this pump uses 3/8 inch hose, feeding a 14 valve gang valve with a 3/8 inch inlet pipe… my tanks all run either a couple 10 inch air bars, or air powered sponge filters in the smaller tanks… of coarse starting one tank at a time, the air lines were a birds nest of haphazard tubing… so today, I rerouted all the air lines in a neat fashion, and put them on logical valves, by location… taking a break right now, but they will all get labeled at the valve end, so I clearly know which valve is running which line… still have enough pump, and valves left, to start up the last 3 tanks, when it’s their turn… I think a good job done… then water change time… that goes pretty quickly

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In my line of work, makes me think of this:

I'm with Gary. I had a pump in one corner of the room and ran 1 inch poly pipe (black irrigation tubing) up the wall and around the room so it formed a loop. I had holes in the wall with wall plugs and used screw in hooks to hold the poly pipe. I tapped into the pipe and put airline taps in and dropped the airline down to each tank.

You don't need 12 inch airstones in tanks to aerate the water. A 1 or 2 inch airstone will provide plenty of surface turbulence and put less back pressure on the pump.

Just an FYI… the air bars do add air, but that’s not their primary function… I like the looks ( looks like a waterfall, only in reverse… they move lots of water, when used in conjunction with a large hang on tank filter, makes a circular current flowing one way, to the opposite side, on the top water of the tank…. Having a long inlet tube on the large sized filter near the bottom of the tank, causes the top water to run into the opposite end, and a reverse current flowing back to the filter inlet… so there is a lot of water movement, my way to simulate a river current… seems to be working well, on the 3 tanks I’ve set up that way…

In other tanks, I use the air bars to move lots of water around the roots of terrestrial plants growing hydroponically in my tanks, to get the most benefits from growing them in the aquariums

Magnum Man said:

Just an FYI… the air bars do add air, but that’s not their primary function… I like the looks ( looks like a waterfall, only in reverse… they move lots of water, when used in conjunction with a large hang on tank filter, makes a circular current flowing one way, to the opposite side, on the top water of the tank…. Having a long inlet tube on the large sized filter near the bottom of the tank, causes the top water to run into the opposite end, and a reverse current flowing back to the filter inlet… so there is a lot of water movement, my way to simulate a river current… seems to be working well, on the 3 tanks I’ve set up that way…

In other tanks, I use the air bars to move lots of water around the roots of terrestrial plants growing hydroponically in my tanks, to get the most benefits from growing them in the aquariums

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I like bubbles in the tank too. I'm not doing it now, but I think it adds something to the look.