PumpsAlso called: fish tank air pump, aquarium aerator, fish tank bubbler
Two numbers decide whether a power station runs an aquarium air pump, and readers arrive using them interchangeably. Watts are the ceiling on what the inverter can hold at any instant — this load needs 2.8 W of them while it runs. Watt-hours are how much energy the battery holds. A machine can have plenty of one and not enough of the other.
Nothing runs it outright — not one of the 26 station records we publish, counting each model’s US and EU version separately. That is the answer, and the list below shows how close each one gets and which constraint stops it — every verdict is a calculation against that machine’s continuous output, its surge ceiling and its inverter waveform, not a lookup table.
The three numbers a power station is judged against
Running power2.8 W1.5–3.8 W Official spec · verified 2026-08-09 · high confidence
Start-up surgeNot found in the sources we checked no figure to date
Duty cycle100% Official spec · verified 2026-08-09 · low confidence
The band is the spread across real models in this class, not a tolerance. Size against the top of it unless you know which unit you own.
Start-up figure: No start-up figure found
We read 4 documents for this class on 2026-08-09 and found no published start-up figure in them. This library does not invent one: where a start-up check is required, the engine caps the verdict below green rather than assuming the machine starts cleanly.
Official spec · verified 2026-08-09 · appliance record
This page answers an electrical question, not a fishkeeping one.
Where this page puts hours on a pairing, that number is how long a power station’s battery lasts running this pump’s wattage — an electricity number, not a judgment about whether the animals in the tank are safe. A low watt figure only describes how easy the load is to power; it is not a read on how long a tank is fine without it.
Every verdict below reads a tight fit — the amber triangle — and that’s a real finding, not a near-miss: we hold no data on how this pump’s motor starts, so nothing here clears with confidence, regardless of how small the wattage is. Read that state as don’t rely on this pairing.
What to do when the power goes out is a fishkeeping question, and it’s outside what this site answers — a tank’s own care sheet, a local fish store, or an aquarium-keeping community can say what a given species and setup actually need. If keeping air moving through an outage matters enough to plan for, the usual paths are a battery-backed air pump made for that purpose, a generator, or a written outage plan; this page can help with the electricity math for whichever you choose.
What actually decides it
The load type is not recorded
Our record does not classify how this machine draws its power, so the engine judges it on the running figure alone and refuses to assume an inrush behaviour it cannot support. Every verdict below is capped accordingly.
Which power stations run it
Every row is a live calculation against that machine's continuous output, surge ceiling and
inverter waveform. Of the 26 station
records we publish — US and EU versions counted separately — 0 run it, 26 are a tight fit and 0 are out of reach. The percentage is
this load as a share of that machine's continuous output; anything past 82% drops out of the green. Rows are ordered by verdict, then by
price — cheapest first inside each band.
limited by surge ceiling 21 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 9.0 W idle draw in the denominatorWe have found no published surge rating for the US 120 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. $239 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow RIVER 3 PlusEcoFlow · US 120 V600 W continuous · 1,200 W surge ceilingTight fit0.5%
limited by surge ceiling 2.8 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: 4 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $279 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 16 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 12 W idle draw in the denominatorNo start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $299.99 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
BLUETTI Elite 100 V2BLUETTI · US 120 V1,800 W continuous · 3,600 W surge ceilingTight fit0.2%
limited by surge ceiling 65 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 10 W idle draw in the denominatorNo start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $499 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2Jackery · US 120 V1,500 W continuous · 3,000 W surge ceilingTight fit0.2%
limited by surge ceiling 41 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 18 W idle draw in the denominatorNo start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $549 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow DELTA 3 PlusEcoFlow · US 120 V1,800 W continuous · 3,600 W surge ceilingTight fit0.2%
limited by surge ceiling 2.8 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: 3 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $719 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 124 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 10 W idle draw in the denominatorWe have found no published surge rating for the US 120 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. $899 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 59 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 25 W idle draw in the denominatorNo start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $899 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 41 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 22 W idle draw in the denominatorNo start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $999 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow DELTA 2 MaxEcoFlow · US 120 V2,400 W continuous · 4,800 W surge ceilingTight fit0.1%
limited by surge ceiling 2.8 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: 5 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $1,049 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 2.8 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: 3 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.We have found no published surge rating for the US 120 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. $1,279 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3EcoFlow · US 120 V4,000 W continuous · 8,000 W surge ceilingTight fit0.1%
limited by surge ceiling 2.8 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: 4 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. $2,799 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 20 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 9.0 W idle draw in the denominatorWe have found no published surge rating for the EU 230 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €219 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
Anker SOLIX C300Anker SOLIX · EU 230 V300 W continuous · 600 W surge ceilingTight fit1.2%
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €269.99 · checked 2026-08-01 · 17 days ago Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €279 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow RIVER 3 PlusEcoFlow · EU 230 V600 W continuous · 1,200 W surge ceilingTight fit0.6%
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €299 · checked 2026-08-01 · 17 days ago Show the working →
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2Jackery · EU 230 V1,500 W continuous · 3,000 W surge ceilingTight fit0.2%
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €519 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 61 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 10 W idle draw in the denominatorWe have found no published surge rating for the EU 230 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €579 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.We have found no published surge rating for the EU build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €599 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow DELTA 3 PlusEcoFlow · EU 230 V1,800 W continuous · 3,600 W surge ceilingTight fit0.2%
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €849 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow DELTA 2 MaxEcoFlow · EU 230 V2,400 W continuous · 4,800 W surge ceilingTight fit0.1%
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €949 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.We have found no published surge rating for the EU build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €999 · checked 2026-08-01 · 17 days ago Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €999 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 107 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 13 W idle draw in the denominatorWe have found no published surge rating for the EU 230 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €1,149 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €1,799 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3EcoFlow · EU 230 V4,000 W continuous · 8,000 W surge ceilingTight fit0.1%
limited by surge ceiling 3.5 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycleNo runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide.No start-up figure is published for this load, so the verdict is capped below green even though the running watts are comfortable. €3,299 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working →
Nothing we hold runs an aquarium air pump with room to spare. This is the cheapest that gets there at all, and the surge ceiling is what keeps it out of the green.
$239 · price checked 2026-08-17
This pick only clears a tight fit for an aquarium air pump, and the life-support notice above says a tight fit here means don't rely on the pairing — so the bar at the bottom of the screen does not sell it. It links to the full ranking instead.
What changes the numbers
Mains standards on recordUS 120 V · EU 230 VThe figures above are recorded per mains standard, because the same appliance class is built differently on 120 V and 230 V. Where only one standard is on record, the ranking still lists machines from both regions — each row states its own.
Everything else we hold on this load
Each figure carries the tier it came from and the date it was checked. Sizing guidance is
kept apart from measured draw on purpose: one says what the machine pulls, the other says
what a manufacturer or a standard thinks you should buy for it.
Sizing guidance — not a draw figure
Minimum continuous output4 W Derived from official coefficients · verified 2026-08-09 · medium confidence
A sizing figure, not a draw: it is what this class needs a machine to be RATED at, headroom included.
2.8 W while it is running, and 1.5–3.8 W across the models in this class. Those are different questions and most pages answer only the first. The running figure decides whether a machine can hold it; the start-up figure decides whether it can get it going at all, and it is usually the one that fails. We read 4 documents for this class on 2026-08-09 and found no published start-up figure in them.
What size power station do I need for an aquarium air pump?
Bigger than anything in our library, on today's data. All 26 machines we hold were run against an aquarium air pump at 2.8 W running, and none of them clears it: 26 are capped below green rather than shown to run it — we hold no start-up figure for this load, so nothing was ever checked against those machines’ surge ceilings, and a check that could not be run is not a check that passed. The list above names the constraint that stops each one, which is the useful part — if it is the surge ceiling, a bigger battery on the same inverter rating will not help you.
How long will a power station run an aquarium air pump?
It depends entirely on the machine, which is the part most pages skip. Against an aquarium air pump at 2.8 W of running draw, our figures put the BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 at about 21 h, and the Jackery Explorer 300 Plus at about 16 h. Those hours come from usable-capacity figures derived from each manufacturer’s own published usable-capacity coefficients — depth of discharge and inverter efficiency where a brand states them separately, with each machine’s idle draw in the denominator — not from dividing a nameplate watt-hour number by a label wattage. Most machines in the list carry no hours at all: we hold nothing for those builds that makes a usable-capacity figure defensible, so those rows give an energy rate instead of a number we would have had to invent.
Which power stations run an aquarium air pump?
None of the 26 in our library, which is the answer however unwelcome. 26 are capped below green rather than shown to run it — we hold no start-up figure for this load, so nothing was ever checked against those machines’ surge ceilings, and a check that could not be run is not a check that passed. The list above states the binding constraint for each. Read the capped rows as a withheld verdict rather than a narrow pass — which is a more useful answer than a shortlist that quietly assumes the start-up load away.
0 of 26 machines run itBLUETTI Elite 30 V2 · from $239