Help: Aerating with an Aquarium Pump

As I rebuild my home brewing kit for a brew this coming weekend, I have decided to get an aquarium air pump with some hose and air stones for use in aerating my wort. I'm not going to spend the money to go the O2 canister route, and I don't particularly like the idea of having O2 tanks around the house.

What's the best setup for this aquarium pump technique, and how long do you normally aerate 5 gallons of wort using a setup like this?

I aereate for 30 minutes with my aquaium pump. I have redone my brew rig so it aereates the wort when running through my plate cooler and boil kettle. I am scraping the aquarium pump in the next brew.

Is your pump one of the higher volume models or is it one for a smaller aquarium? I'm trying to decide what size pump I need or how much money I should or need to spend on this accessory...

sakalmon said:

I aereate for 30 minutes with my aquaium pump. I have redone my brew rig so it aereates the wort when running through my plate cooler and boil kettle. I am scraping the aquarium pump in the next brew.

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It was a wallmart special. I wouldnt spend the exstra cash on a pump. There are quite a few on this forum that feel a pump is a waste. If I had to do it again I would look into other ways of aereating the wort running into your carboy from the BK. I guess it would depend alot on if you use a pump or if you cool in a ice bath, ect. One more suggestion is dont waste your money on airstones, at least that is my humble opinion.

i'm using an old aquarium pump that i've had for years. don't even know the cfm but i used it in my 45 gallon aquarium. think it's made by whisper and has 2 outlets which i tied into 1. i've used it twice and have had great results both times. it produces a big, thick foaming head! i used one half of those bubble wall separator stones you can get to keep fish split up. its about 14 inches long so while it's running, i'll stir it occasionally. might also wanna check on getting a one way valve for the airline to keep the wort from damaging your pump although it's highly unlikely. oh yea, be sure to sanitize the stone and airline thoroughly!

I read an article which claims that shaking your wort up is more effective than an air stone, and even better than an O2 system. How? I don't know. I'd like to dig that up again.

Ah yes the great debate.

It doesn't matter. I O2 it just because it's easy on me and I don't have to shake it. Really, I probably get enough O2 into solution by running it through my strainer into a funnel and dribbling down into the carboy, but that's neither here nor there.

Fact is, it works.

Thanks to those of you who have posted to my question.

In my photography hobby, we sometimes discuss a concept called "Measurebating". Measurebators are those who spend more time testing and critiquing equipment and techniques than they actually spend using the equipment for its intended purpose.

My personal philosophy is do whatever works for you and have a good time with it

PS- I'm new to this forum and I'm very appreciative that it's here. The knowledge and ideas that flow here are amazing

LMAO...Measurebating. That's a great description.