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What to do if your aquarium air supply fails | advice
What do I do if my aquarium air supply fails?
Healthy aquarium water should be well oxygenated, and the easiest way to achieve this is by adding an aerator to your fish tank, usually in the form of an airpump and air stone or by venturi pipe on your internal or external filter outlet pipework.
If your air supply has failed, this will usually mean that either the airline or venturi pipe has become blocked or disconnected at some point, or that the diaphragm in the air pump has split. If possible, its always a good idea to keep a spare diaphragm handy to replace a worn one.
If you are handy with a screwdriver, disassemble and familiarise yourself with the internal workings of your air pump and perform an inspection or dust clean every now and then, to ensure your equipment remains in tip top condition and any actionable wear is picked up early. Sometimes clearing a bit of dust or making obvious adjustments or repairs may be all that's needed to resolve the fault. Always disconnect the power supply prior to inspecting any equipment.
Always Keep Spares
It's always a good idea to keep a spare diaphragm handy to replace a worn one, assuming spares are available for the brand of pump. Many air pumps nowadays are cheap and disposable, so keeping a spare air pump or even a battery-driven device is an extremely good idea and will buy you valuable time to resolve the issue.
Filtration
If the air pump has failed beyond repair and you do not have a spare, you must do what you can to purchase a replacement swiftly. If the filtration is driven by an air pump, for example using a sponge or fry filter, this must be tackled urgently - head to your local fish store and purchase a replacement same day.
If you are running an internal or external filter it may be possible to increase aeration by adapting their positioning to ensure that the outlet is above the water line and breaking the water surface. Some internal and external filters are fitted with spray bars, which can be moved easily - a spray bar can also be botched together using some perforated tubing or flexible hose to create something like the image below.
What to do in an Emergency
In an absolute emergency, when there are no spares or immediate solutions to hand or if your fish are showing signs of hypoxia, there are certain things you can do with household items that will help to aerate your aquarium water in an emergency.
If you have a foot pump, or airbed pump to hand, you can use it to pump air through the system manually. Introducing aeration for 5-10 minutes in every hour should be enough to temporarily stabilise the situation. Similarly, if you have an old bicycle tyre inner tube, you can fill this with air and prick a few holes in it to introduce air bubbles gradually, in much the same way as an air curtain might.
In summary, the best advice is to always keep a spare - and if you're running a system with a large demand or sensitive species, invest in an emergency power generator or battery operated spare equipment to help you in the event of a prolonged power cut.
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To browse our range of aquarium internal filters please click here.
Photo credit(s): Canva Pro Licence
