Air pumps require little maintenance but from time to time you do need to do some. Nigel explains...

All mechanical devices require maintenance...

Nigel Caddock NI

Maintenance is Vital

Like all mechanical devices, in order to get the best out of your air pumps you need to maintain both them and the systems they work within. Specifically replacing diaphragms (for units that have them and some dont) and air stones which are especially critical vecause if/as they block they increase the back pressure on the pump which in turn can compromise performance and life expectancy. Dont just throw in air stones and forget them, they will block and need regular cleaning and periodic replacement. Failure in this area and to exceed operating parameters specified by manufacturers will invalidate product warranties.

The point of all this is to illustrate that when it comes to selecting air pumps for your Koi system you need not just consider the capital cost of the unit but a whole range of other factors that together represent the Total Cost of Ownership, this principle applies to many elements of Koi keeping.

The TCO is the real overall cost associated with owning and using an air pump. This includes purchase price, running cost, maintenance cost and the hidden costs of any failure!

Consider a unit thats less expensive to buy but that fails or loses power at a critical time, how much is that worth? Consider a badly designed first generation air pump thats relatively inexpensive to buy but uses three times as much energy to deliver the same output? How long before the extra capital cost of a more efficient unit eats up the extra original capital cost differential and then actually starts paying for itself because of power savings!

When it comes to air pumps, reliability and performance have to be major considerations. Most manufacturers offer a one year warranty, so if someone offers two years then that must say something about their confidence in their products?

By the same token if a unit consistently demonstrates its total lack of reliability, the market soon marginalises it. Talk is cheap, best advice is to check them all out and then use your common sense and experience to make the right smart choice for you!