How to Quiet Aquarium Air Pumps

Keeping an aquarium is a wonderful hobby. Aquariums are interesting, beautiful to look at, educational for the whole family and make a great decorative centerpiece for a room. In order to sustain living creatures in an aquarium, it is necessary to get an air pump. The air pump functions to circulate the air by creating fast vibrations that move the air. This process can be fairly noisy. Below are some tips and techniques to help quiet an air pump, keeping the focus on the beauty of the creatures in the tank, rather than on the noise the pump is producing.

Things You'll Need

• Sponge or towel
• Solid surface

Instructions

1. Check the air stones to be sure they are all clean and in good repair. Dirty air stones can cause extra pressure on air pumps, making the pump work harder, which causes more noise. In order to check the condition of the stones, remove them from the water and disconnect them from any air tubing.

2. Blow through the air stone with your mouth, blowing air in from the side that attaches to the air tube. If you cannot blow air all the way through the stone, then it is blocked up.

3. Dispose of any clogged stones and replace them. It is a good idea to replace air stones once a year to keep them working properly. Air stones have a tendency to get clogged easily with algae, waste and other tank debris. If your tank does not feature an air filter, then change the stones even more frequently, as they will clog more quickly.

4. Locate your air pump so that it is above the water surface level. Placing your pump at this level reduces pressure on the pump and in turn minimizes the pump's noise output.

5. Place the pump on a solid surface. Hollow containers, thin metals, glass and other flexible materials are likely to vibrate along with the pump, magnifying the noise.

6. Place a towel or sponge beneath the pump to help absorb vibrations and act as a sound muffler.