Wow, really? This is not opinion, it is FACT. First off, notice the brand name -- Aqueon. The very name is based on Aqua, which means water. Then in your very first post, then, in your very first post, you note that it pumps 500 GPH. Then you have a zookeeper assuring you it cannot be done. This is a WATER pump and running it dry can start a fire.
I have other similar stream pumps and they just don't pump air any good. But hey, go ahead and try if it's cheap and you don't need a lot of air flow. It won't be very quiet though.
Yeah, powerheads run out of water are pretty loud. The magnets inside the pump will get hot and the pump will seize up in a short amount of time. Oh, and they smell really bad when they burn out, like an electrical fire.
I once ran a powerhead out of water and it didn't burn with flames but with a cloud of white smoke that smelled horrible. The plastic case around the magnet cracked wide open.
All machines run on smoke. I'm no mechanical engineer but I know for a fact that once you let the smoke out of a machine you can never get it back in and the darn things just won't run again.
Here is a link to the product website. I suggest before running this pump out of water for any period of time you email their tech support and see if they suggest that. Unfortunately aqueon doesn't have a PDF available for that product.
Yeah, from someone that has tried a lot of magnetic drive pumps and powerheads it won't work. Even if it didn't burn out, the noise would make it unusable. They clank and clatter a lot while the impellers bounce around if they are run dry.
You're still paying for the RnD that went into producing that product. Personally I loved their product, but when I was doing reef tanks, I didn't have to pay for any of it. I really love what they have done with lighting and the Radion. That thing is a beast of an LED fixture. Of course at almost $800, it better be!
Oh yeah. I am happy I bought them and would do it again. I would really like the LEDs but they are a little pricey for me right now. It is really cool how you can simulate a thunderstorm and the white LEDs flash like lightning.
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