Rena Air 200 Air Pump

When they were good, they were very, very good and when they were bad, they were horrible.I'm apparently slowly working my way through Amazon's stock of Rena Air Pumps.First I ordered a 400. It was LOUD (bumped a quiet room from 40 to 46db at 1m (kind of making me seriously question Rena's 30db at 1m claims). Once plugged in, it turns out it generated no power on one side. The 400 is supposed to be two 300s in the same enclosure. I'd bought one 300 and one noise maker that didn't push any air. Fortunately, Amazon are awesome about returns.Given the 400 was only 50% successful, I replaced it with two 300s. That way, if one was faulty, I could keep using the other one while I sent the faulty one back. It's $10 more than a 400 but keeps the tank aerated in case of issues. I'm very glad I did. Sure enough, one works well while one makes a lot of noise and can't drive air through the airlines, let alone produce the air a borrowed 200 is producing.The lessons I'm learning here are:1) Rena's quality is *very* variable. You can get very good ones. And you can get very bad ones. I'm running at about a 50% success rate (counting the 400 as two pumps as it is exactly that - two x 300s inside one enclosure).2) If it's running very loud or barely putting out air, even after you adjust the flow control, you likely got a bad one.3) Decibels are an incredibly subjective measure. What does 30db at 1m recorded in a silent room really mean in your home? With a TV on, with background noise, it shouldn't be too noticeable. In a quiet room while you're home alone, expect to easily hear it through an aquarium stand and for it to be approaching the noise of a running fridge. If it's louder than the fridge and the airflow is poor, you've likely got a bad one.4) Order in pairs so you've got something to compare to and can return one if it's noticeably louder or produces noticeably less air. Having one on its own, with nothing to compare to, just leads you to questioning your judgment.5) Get used to the idea you'll possibly have to return a couple until you get a good one. Fortunately, Amazon's great about this.6) If returns annoy you, don't get the 400. If there's a 50:50 chance of getting a faulty 300, you now have a 75:25 chance of at least one side of the 400 being faulty. Plus, if one 300 fails later, you've still got one pump. If one of the two 300 pumps inside the 400 fails, you've now got a loud unit to either deal with or entirely replace.

Replacing my original review now I've replaced the 400 with two 300s and have much more of an insight:When they were good, they were very, very good and when they were bad, they were horrible.I'm apparently slowly working my way through Amazon's stock of Rena Air Pumps.First I ordered a 400. It was LOUD (bumped a quiet room from 40 to 46db at 1m (kind of making me seriously question Rena's 30db at 1m claims). Once plugged in, it turns out it generated no power on one side. The 400 is supposed to be two 300s in the same enclosure. I'd bought one 300 and one noise maker that didn't push any air. Fortunately, Amazon are awesome about returns.Given the 400 was only 50% successful, I replaced it with two 300s. That way, if one was faulty, I could keep using the other one while I sent the faulty one back. It's $10 more than a 400 but keeps the tank aerated in case of issues. I'm very glad I did. Sure enough, one works well while one makes a lot of noise and can't drive air through the airlines, let alone produce the air a borrowed 200 is producing.The lessons I'm learning here are:1) Rena's quality is *very* variable. You can get very good ones. And you can get very bad ones. I'm running at about a 50% success rate (counting the 400 as two pumps as it is exactly that - two x 300s inside one enclosure).2) If it's running very loud or barely putting out air, even after you adjust the flow control, you likely got a bad one.3) Decibels are an incredibly subjective measure. What does 30db at 1m recorded in a silent room really mean in your home? With a TV on, with background noise, it shouldn't be too noticeable. In a quiet room while you're home alone, expect to easily hear it through an aquarium stand and for it to be approaching the noise of a running fridge. If it's louder than the fridge and the airflow is poor, you've likely got a bad one.4) Order in pairs so you've got something to compare to and can return one if it's noticeably louder or produces noticeably less air. Having one on its own, with nothing to compare to, just leads you to questioning your judgment.5) Get used to the idea you'll possibly have to return a couple until you get a good one. Fortunately, Amazon's great about this.6) If returns annoy you, don't get the 400. If there's a 50:50 chance of getting a faulty 300, you now have a 75:25 chance of at least one side of the 400 being faulty. Plus, if one 300 fails later, you've still got one pump. If one of the two 300 pumps inside the 400 fails, you've now got a loud unit to either deal with or entirely replace.

Over the past thirty years I've tried about every air pump there is and in my opinion the Rena trumps them all.These air pumps are quiet, efficient and with minimal care should last for many years. Like all air pumps replacing the intake filter with new ones is imperative for keeping vibration and noise at a minimum.The 400 is perfect for tanks ranging in size from 55 - 160 gallons.They're easily adjustable dual output ports let you configure just how much air you need to drive your aeration, bubble wands, walls, air stones, sponge filters, power heads and so on.The 400 hundred is the largest in the line and like all Rena pumps their curved design and expansion chambers keep vibration and noise to a minimum.Replacing the diaphragm is easy to do on these pumps - just remember to buy two replacement kits - one for each intake port.Quick Specs:1) Powerful2) Dual out put3) Dual control Valves4) 3 Year warranteeLike any quality air pump keeping a drip loop and using check valves in your air line tubing is essential.Add the mix changing the air filter from time to time and the Rena will reward you with years of efficient trouble free service.

Product price vs product qualité = 5 stars!

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