Fluval A101 Air Pump - up to 50 US Gal / 190 L

The Fluval A101 Air Pump - up to 50 US Gal / 190 L is an aquarium air pump rated for tanks up to 50 US Gal / 190 L — the smallest in the range, drawing as little as 2 W.

Key Features

• Rated for aquariums up to 50 US Gal / 190 L
• Adjustable flow dials, with each outlet controlled independently — useful when one line runs a sponge filter and another an air stone
• Engineered noise-damping baffle chamber. Air pump noise is the commonest complaint in the hobby, and the baffle is what this range is built around
• Oversized rubber feet to damp vibration, which is where most of the audible noise actually comes from
• Rubber hang tag so the pump can be mounted on the side of a cabinet instead of buzzing against a shelf
• Measures 11.5 x 8 x 6 cm
• Works with one or several air stones
• Made by Fluval, the aquatics brand of Rolf C. Hagen, which has been building aquarium filters since 1975

Using It

• Set the pump above the water line, or fit a non-return valve in the airline. Without one, a power cut siphons tank water back into the pump
• Vibration is what you hear, not the motor. A pump sitting on a foam pad or hung on the rubber tag is dramatically quieter than one on a hard shelf
• Air stones clog over time and make the pump work harder. Replace them rather than pushing the pump
• Turn the outlets down rather than leaving them wide open — there is no benefit to more air than the tank needs

What An Air Pump Actually Does

• Bubbles do not oxygenate water on their own. Oxygen enters at the surface, and an air pump helps by disturbing the surface as the bubbles break
• Useful for driving sponge filters, running an undergravel plate, powering a breeding box, and keeping a quarantine tank going
• In hot weather, when water holds less oxygen, extra surface movement genuinely matters
• Unplug anything electrical before putting your hands in the tank

Good To Know

• Air pumps are consumables in the long run. The diaphragm perishes over a few years and the pump gets louder before it stops
• A non-return valve costs almost nothing and prevents a genuinely ruinous back-siphon. Fit one
• Not needed on every tank. A well-circulated tank with good surface movement from the filter may not need air at all
• Fluval publishes 2 W as the draw of the smallest model in the range. The larger models use more