Air Pump Help Needed

[PaulineMi]

I set up my EcoPlus 8 air pump last night.  I am VERY disappointed in what seems to be an insufficient air flow going to my tanks.  I'm only using three of the eight outlets and even tried blocking off the unused five to no avail. 

I had been using a Whisper 100 on the 55's HMF and the 20 long's regular sponge filter. The water flow on the 55 was sent across the top of the tank and circulated to the bottom, back to the filter. Now the EcoPlus 8 is running two 55s and the 20 long and water flow is just falling out of the jet lifter. Not only is this situation bad, the HMF filter for the 90 will have three jet lifters and I'll need a strong water flow for the filtration.

I was getting this type of air/water flow on the 55 with the Whisper airpump :

Here are the specs on the EcoPlus 8 pump.  Did I make the mistake I'm afraid I did make....not realizing that I had to take the overall power needed for the size of the tank and filter instead of thinking because it had eight outlets it would run eight filters?

http://www.kensfish.com/moreinfo/ecoplus-8-air-pump.html

[Mugwump]

Yes, it looks like you're under powered......whoops...Ken, should take it back, if you exchange for a larger one....give him a call..

[PaulineMi]

Called Ken about the potential exchange. Left a message and also sent an email explaining I needed his help with what I should be using. 

When I had nothing but 5, 10 and 29 gallon tanks life was so easy. 40, 55s, 75 and 90s....bigger water changes, more electricity (even got a courtesy call from the electric company!!!!) and more muscle power (from guys I know) to move them. I know stuff will settle down once I get the rearranging done but am on the edge of being a little overwhelmed. 

So.....when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.  I just ordered two more discus!  They'll be here Tuesday.  Hubby's in Florida so I have to get everything done before he returns.  Then I can say "Surprise!  See what I did while you were gone." Smooth sailing.   

[LizStreithorst]

What are you getting?

[PaulineMi]

A rafflesia and a white angel from Mike.  We worked together on this now that I know a little more about what I like in a facial profile.  Here are pix of the rafflesia and the white angel I asked for. They're from his new shipment pictures. He said he was pretty sure he found the ones in the pictures for me. My discus collection will now consist of red, white and blue.   

[LizStreithorst]

very nice.  The White Angel looks like a BD or Cobalt to me, but I think I see some PB influence.  What do you know about the strain?

Mike's hands look like they spend a lot of time in fish tanks.

[PaulineMi]

I asked Mike if the White Angel stays pure white with a blue halo. He gave me an emphatic yes. My concern was the Pb influence also.

I think you are right about Mike's hands. This shipment consisted of 50 strains. That's a lot of fish to handle and arrange for photos. That doesn't sound like an appealing job to take on once a month. Then there's the downloading of pictures, inquiries, packing and shipping in addition to his "regular" job. Ugh.....but I'm glad he does it.

[Mugwump]

Here's a white, and some blue diamonds, etc for comparison