MPB Air Pumps

[TrichromeFan]

So I know that Doubleds recommends the hiblow 80 pump in his shopping list for a 10 unit system, but I checked my local shop, and they don't carry hiblow. :swear
They have the Ecoplus commercial series. Have any of you mpb'ers used those before?
I know that bossman, lost, and easypleasie seem to use the hiblow stuff, and I would believe that to be a strong indicator to go that way.
The only bad side is that I will have to go online instead of local. Hiblow doesn't have a dealer locator on their site either. Bummer.:doh

 

[mcattak]

So I know that Doubleds recommends the hiblow 80 pump in his shopping list for a 10 unit system, but I checked my local shop, and they don't carry hiblow. :swear
They have the Ecoplus commercial series. Have any of you mpb'ers used those before?
I know that bossman, lost, and easypleasie seem to use the hiblow stuff, and I would believe that to be a strong indicator to go that way.
The only bad side is that I will have to go online instead of local. Hiblow doesn't have a dealer locator on their site either. Bummer.:doh

-I use the ecoplus comm 7...Unfortunately this is my first time in a DWC and I haven't used any other brand...
-I do know the comm 7 is rated at 200 lpm and is about the 1/3 of the cost of the hi-blow with the same rating...
-Maybe the ecoplus runs hotter or doesn't actually produce 200 lpm...
-If I had to do it over again I would probably buy the hi-blow..I have had problems with eco plus products...

MC

 

[TrichromeFan]

mcattak,
I hear you on ecoplus not being too top notch, I have had some of their water pumps, and they were a little on the weak side. Any experience with their chillers?

I gotta say, your plant pics and root shots tell me that the ecoplus is getting the job done well for you at least. They look awesome!:flower

I would think at the least, that the hiblow might have a longer life expectancy.

What air stones are you running? The disc type?

 

[easypleasie]

I use Alita pumps for both my veg and flower setups (AL-40 for veg, AL-80P for flower). My reason for getting them was they were suppose to be really quiet...and they are very quiet compared to some of the other pumps i've used. I have no idea how any of the other pumps do (danner pondmaster, eco plus, etc. ). I know that some run hotter than others and that could increase nute temps. I'm also starting to think that too much air can cause some problems. I personally have noticed that it can affect how roots come out of the netpot if you have too much air directly under the netpot.

 

[zoeronerer]

they work but will break eventually ...... i used both the chiller and pumps in an aquarium fish room they wer pow after a year ....

 

[TrichromeFan]

Easypleasie,
sorry to misquote your gear. :doh
It looked like yours was a hiblow from one of your pics. I would take it that the Alita is a similar industrial grade like the hiblow then?
Does yours have any flow control on the unit itself?

I know you were saying that your veg netpot roots shot out the sides mainly due to severe aeriation below. That is so crazy! By the size of them, it didn't look like it impacted their growth any. :rofl

Maybe you should just use the 40 for flowering? Doubleds has an 80 listed on his sheet for 10 units.:wondering

zoeronerer,
you have any experience with other brands of chillers? Any much better?
Thanks!

 

[easypleasie]

No worries TF, the commercial ones often look alike. There isn't any kind of valve on the pump itself. Gotta use a manifold to bleed off extra back pressure. I think that's important as it will help your pumps last longer...and helps them run cooler. Only necessary if you don't have enough air stones and/or your lines are too small. You'll know when you need to bleed a little as the pump will run really hot. I use large air lines and air stones so the pump is barely warm.

I've changed my thinking with air pump overkill lol. I think you just need enough to mix things up in the mini res. Use a good diffuser and you may be able to get away with smaller pumps. Still debating on what i'm gonna do with my setups.

Girls in veg were definitely healthier than any i've ever had. No problems at all but I would have rather seen more roots coming out the bottom. I'm thinking that would be better for the move to the mpbs.

 

[canaguy27]

I just picked up a hiblow 40. That thing is damn near silent. It is like a whisper. There will probably be other things louder in the room.

 

[Lost]

FYI an alita 80 would be a hiblo 80. The alita 40 would be a highblo 40.. I have a Hailea 80, its a highblo80... :) It has to do the the liters per minute the pump delivers. If the eco 200l is like the smaller ones, it pumps out hot air..

 

[ALLegal420]

Great info on the air pumps, I've been looking around a little for information.

I posted a little in Easy's thread about putting air pressure gauges right before the inlet into each of the tubs, if the pressure varies then it would give you an indication that an airstone broke, got clogged or something. You could also run a pressure regulator (paint gun regulators are cheap, put inbetween pressure gauge and airpump) before each bucket to maintain consistent pressure bucket to bucket and also allow for quick pressure change's if you run into an over aeration problem.
Easy brought up running a main gauge outside the room with red/green lights to notify you of a change in pressure. Great idea as you'd know before you even went into the room. If you combined all of these then you could quickly find the problem bucket(s) without having to lift all the lids and check.

Let me know what you guys think. Hopefully I'll be doing some experimenting here soon.

 

[easypleasie]

Go for it, bro! I'd love to see it work out as I would totally add this feature to my setups :)

 

[ALLegal420]

Go for it, bro! I'd love to see it work out as I would totally add this feature to my setups :)

I'm about a month out on being able to test this but I think I can do this pretty inexpensively... I'll definitely post a DIY if it works good.

 

[TrichromeFan]

If the eco 200l is like the smaller ones, it pumps out hot air..

Damn, hot air can't be good for those roots! Good lookin out!

You could also run a pressure regulator (paint gun regulators are cheap, put inbetween pressure gauge and airpump) before each bucket to maintain consistent pressure bucket to bucket and also allow for quick pressure change's if you run into an over aeration problem.

How bout this one? Regulator with guage. Harbor Freight - $14.99

 

[ALLegal420]

How bout this one? Regulator with guage. Harbor Freight - $14.99

Digital even, very nice!! Does it give a pressure range that it can read up to? If line size is correct and can read the PSI range of the pump (or at least the range you wanna run so you don't over aerate) then that'd be perfect!!

Great find!

 

[socalsinner]

I run a Hiblow 80 or is it a Hiblo 80? Hmm .. Im sure its a Highblo80 :) Regardless its quite and pumps a shitload of cool air. I bought a refurb online.

 

[TrichromeFan]

That one goes to 11. No, just kidding it reads to 160 psi. I have no idea what an air pump can put out, but I would imagine that would cover it.

 

[ALLegal420]

That one goes to 11. No, just kidding it reads to 160 psi. I have no idea what an air pump can put out, but I would imagine that would cover it.

lol, yea that should cover it. Thanks for finding that, I'll be giving it a shot in a little while.

 

[OregonMeds]

A meter that reads to 160psi may have an error range greater than the full pressure our pumps put out. You'd want up to 10psi meter or even less, 5 would probably do.

Low range.

Flow is more what you want to monitor though isn't it? Pressure would be there even if the stones are totally clogged and that's what you want to be watching out for is that equal air is actually getting through.

 

[mcattak]

FYI an alita 80 would be a hiblo 80. The alita 40 would be a highblo 40.. I have a Hailea 80, its a highblo80... :) It has to do the the liters per minute the pump delivers. If the eco 200l is like the smaller ones, it pumps out hot air..

Your probably right about the heat....Do those small ones have a snorkel on them...The commercial ones do ..Meaning I hook up a 3/4" hose that leads outside sucking in the outside air....

The ecoplus is very loud and probably generates more heat than the others...

Do the others have the snorkel...I guess the snorkel is nice because my unit can be in the room with the c02...

I probably wont be buying anymore ecoplus products so as far as the chillers I wouldn't...You normally pay for what you get..If something is cheap there is normally a reason...

I picked up a great used 1/2 hp chiller on craigslist...

mc

 

[Bi0hazard]

Watch out for the SunLeaves eco pumps. They do pump out a lot of air, but they are very loud and vibrate everything. I had to hang them from the ceiling to get rid of the vibrations all over the room - and still there are some vibrations.

I used a Sonic P45 Pump @

The specs say it will handle 30 buckets, but aren't powerful enough to go past that.

Does anyone know if the Altia pumps are that much stronger?