The gallon range on the box is a starting point. What your pump really has to do depends on how deep the outlet sits, how many stones and sponge filters share its air, and where the pump stands.
Pawfly USA
Pawfly makes air pumps, air stones, sponge filters and tank fittings, plus gear for ponds, bait buckets, reptiles and birds.
Shop Pawfly by shelf
Sixteen shelves, from air pumps and filter pads to pond aerators, bait coolers, turtle docks and bird waterers. Pick the one that matches the job in front of you.
Size Pawfly gear to your tank
Tell the planner how many gallons you keep, and it lays out the pumps, sponge filters and lights in the Pawfly catalog rated for that volume.
Pawfly aquarium supplies
Everything between the outlet and the water: pumps rated from 1 to 300 gallons, sponge filters, lights, test kits, nets and the clips that hold your airline in place.
Pawfly pond and bait aeration
Pond pumps with options up to 10,000 gallons, and rechargeable aerators that hang on a minnow bucket from dawn until the last cast.
Pawfly reptile, bird and small-pet gear
Heat pads, a terrarium light, basking docks and bathing pools for reptiles, then waterers, feeders and winter bath heaters for birds, and a sand bath for your hamster.
Before you order
Set up Pawfly air and filtration in six checks
- 01
Match gallons first, then GPH
Read the gallon range on the pump before its GPH. The Compact Air Pump runs a 3 to 20 gallon tank in its basic option, while the Adjustable 80 GPH pump covers up to 70 gallons at 3 W and 160 at 5 W.
- 02
Allow for depth and pressure
The deeper your stone sits, the more pressure the pump needs to push air out of it. Pressure is printed on each pump: 0.01 MPa on the Mini, 0.025 MPa on the 254 GPH model, 0.032 MPa on the 500 GPH pond pump.
- 03
Run 3/16 in airline tubing
Pawfly pumps, valves and connectors take standard 3/16 in inner-diameter tubing, 4 mm inside and 6 mm outside. Plan around one exception: the Multi-Way Air Manifold takes a 3/8 in line at its inlet.
- 04
Add a check valve
If your pump sits lower than the water line, a power cut can let water siphon back down the line into it. Fit a check valve on every line, the right way round, and that backflow stops at the valve.
- 05
Size the sponge to the tank
Sponge filters are rated by tank volume. At 1.5 in across, the Nano Bio Sponge Filter suits 1 to 3 gallons, and the 2 in Mini Sponge Filter suits 5 to 10. Larger options of both run up to 60 gallons.
- 06
Measure the tank for a light
Lights go by tank length in inches, not by gallons. Measure the rim side to side: the 24/7 Full-Spectrum light runs from an 8-inch bar for 8 to 15 in tanks to a 28-inch bar for tanks up to 51 in.
Pawfly gear by what you are setting up
Nine short collections cut across the shelves: every Pawfly air pump together, the quiet ones, the battery ones, and the kits for nano, betta, pond, cleaning and breeding.
Pawfly air pumps for every tank size
Not sure which pump you need? The Pawfly air pump collection sets all thirteen side by side, from a desk-sized nano pump drawing 1.3 W to the 500 GPH pond pump, with the battery and bait models in between. Read the gallon range on each first, then the GPH.
Pawfly quiet air pumps for bedrooms and desks
If your tank sits in a bedroom, read the dB figure before the GPH. Every pump in the Pawfly quiet collection is rated at 35 dB or less, and three of them, the Nano set, the Dual-Outlet 70 GPH and the Minnow Bucket Aerator, at 30 dB.
Pawfly battery air pumps for buckets and power cuts
Power cuts and fishing trips call for the same thing: air with no outlet. Pawfly battery pumps cover both, from a D-cell pump that clips to a tank rim to a 4400 mAh aerator rated for 60 hours of steady running.
Pawfly nano tank supplies for small aquariums
Small tank, small parts. The Pawfly nano collection gathers the pumps, sponge filters, stones and lights made for tanks of a few gallons, starting with a 1.3 W pump 2 in square and a sponge filter only 1.5 in across.
Pawfly betta and shrimp tank gear
Bettas, cherry shrimp and newborn fry all live in small, slow water. The Pawfly betta and shrimp collection puts air-driven sponge filters, soft nylon nets, a floating breeding box and a 50 W heater for 5 to 10 gallons in one row.
About Pawfly
Pawfly first came to market in 2016 with simple aquarium supplies. The catalog grew from there into pumps, sponge filters, lights and cleaning tools, and later out of the tank altogether, to garden ponds, bait buckets, terrariums and bird cages. Today it runs to 100 products on sixteen shelves.
Much of it is small and specific. You will find parts that cost a few dollars and settle one problem: a valve that stops water running back into a pump, a clip that holds a line flat against the glass. Every product is held to the Pawfly standard: one job, with the tank size it fits printed on it. Read the whole Pawfly story.
Pawfly guides
Setup and care for your tank, step by step, from the Pawfly team, with the part that does each job.
A sponge filter is the simplest filter you can put in a tank: foam, a lift tube and a line of air. Set it up right and keep the tap away from it, and the foam does two jobs at once.
Minnows in a bucket use up their oxygen faster than still water can replace it. A small battery pump, cool water and a little planning about the end of the day cover most of what a bait bucket needs.
Questions about Pawfly
Sizing, setup and where to buy: what people ask before their first Pawfly order.
Where can you buy Pawfly products?
Every product on this site has a buy button that leads to our retail partner's checkout. That is where you pay, choose delivery and arrange any return. Prices here come from our last catalog update, and the checkout always shows the current one.
What can you set up with Pawfly gear besides an aquarium?
A garden or koi pond, with pumps rated up to 10,000 gallons. Bait buckets and livewells, with rechargeable aerators from 1800 to 4400 mAh. For a terrarium or turtle tank, there are heat pads, a light and a basking dock. Bird and hamster cages get waterers, feeders and a sand bath.
How do you pick the right Pawfly air pump for your tank size?
Start with gallons, not GPH. Each pump states the volume it is built for: 1 to 15 gallons for the 1.3 W Nano set, 3 to 20 for the Mini with Wall Bracket, up to 70 or 160 for the two Adjustable 80 GPH options, up to 300 for the 254 GPH pump. Size up if you plan a second stone or a sponge filter on the same pump.
How does a Pawfly sponge filter clean your tank water?
Air from your pump rises up the filter's lift tube and draws water in through the foam. Debris stays in the sponge, and once the tank has cycled, bacteria living on the foam break down ammonia. On the air-driven models, the only part in the water is foam on a plastic tube.
Do you need a check valve on your Pawfly air pump?
You do if the pump sits below the water line. When the power cuts out, water can siphon back down the airline into the pump, and a check valve lets air out while stopping that water. The Compact, Mini, Dual-Outlet, Nano and Adjustable pumps include one, and spares come 6 or 10 to a pack.
Does your Pawfly air pump come with tubing?
Most do. The Mini with Wall Bracket and the Dual-Outlet 70 GPH come with 6.5 ft of 3/16 in tubing, the Compact with 5 ft and the Adjustable 80 GPH with 4.9 ft, and the D-Battery pump keeps 2 ft inside its case. On the 254 GPH pump, choose the Basic with Kit option if you want accessories in the box.
Which Pawfly pump keeps your tank aerated in a power outage?
The Rechargeable Live Bait Aerator runs from the wall like any other pump, and when the power drops, its built-in 2200 mAh battery takes over by itself. For a simpler backup, store the D-Battery 40 GPH pump with two D cells. It runs a tank of 5 to 30 gallons.
How long should you soak a new Pawfly air stone?
An hour for most of them, fully under water, before the first use. The two big ones take longer: soak the Bread Air Stone and the Long Air Stone Cylinder for more than 3 hours before you connect them to the pump.