USB Air Pump
Runs off a power bank, so a power cut isn't a crisis.
It runs from anything with a USB port, which means a power bank keeps the tank oxygenated when the electricity goes off. That is the reason to own one even if it is not your main pump.
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- 3–9 V over USB, no mains adapter to match
- Runs from a power bank in an outage
- 1 m airline and air stone included
- 2 W, quiet enough for a bedroom
- Clip and lanyard for hanging
Colour: Green
Why you'll love it
Made for happy, healthy pets
A power cut is when fish actually die
Filtration stopping is survivable for hours; oxygen running out is not, especially in a warm, heavily stocked tank. A pump that runs off the power bank in your drawer is genuine insurance.
No voltage or plug to get wrong
USB is 5 V everywhere on earth. There is no EU-versus-UK plug question, no 110 V trap, and no adapter hanging off the back of the cabinet.
It travels
Moving fish, a club show, or a bucket during a tank move. Anywhere you need air for a few hours without a socket, this is the pump that does it.
Good fit if
- Backup during a power cut, which is the main case
- Transporting fish, where a bagged fish needs air
- Quarantine and hospital tanks set up temporarily
- Nano tanks and bedrooms, at 2 W and low noise
Look elsewhere if
- You need to drive a large sponge filter in a big tank
- You want something with several outlets
- You have no spare USB adapter or power bank
Why a power cut matters
When the power goes, the filter stops. The immediate problem is oxygen, since surface agitation stops with it, and in a heavily stocked or warm tank the dissolved oxygen falls faster than most people expect. Fish gasping at the surface is the visible stage, and it comes sooner than the filter bacteria dying.
An air pump running from a power bank solves that for the cost of very little power. A modest bank will run a two-watt pump for many hours, which covers most domestic outages comfortably, and it needs no intervention beyond plugging it in.
Keeping the filter alive
The second problem is the filter itself. The bacteria in a canister or hang-on filter need oxygenated water flowing over them, and in a stopped filter that water goes anoxic within a few hours. Restarting a filter that has sat still for a day can push a slug of that water into the tank.
The standard advice for an outage over a few hours is to keep the tank aerated and, if the power has been off much longer, to rinse the filter media in tank water before restarting rather than simply switching it back on. An air stone dropped into the tank covers the first half of that.
Everyday and travel use
It is not only an emergency item. Two watts is enough for an air stone or a small sponge filter in a nano tank, and being able to run it from a phone charger means placement is not dictated by where the mains sockets are. The clip and lanyard are there so it can hang rather than sit in a puddle.
For transporting fish it is the obvious tool. A bagged or boxed fish on a long journey benefits from aeration, and a USB pump running from a power bank in a car is far simpler than any mains arrangement. Keep the airflow gentle, since a bag full of turbulence is its own kind of stress.
In the box
Everything you need
- USB air pump
- 1 m airline
- Air stone
- Clip
How it works
Simple, from basket to doorstep
- 1
Browse
Shop by pet or category to find exactly what your cat or dog needs, no wading through thousands of listings.
- 2
Order
Check out securely with card, PayPal or one-tap Apple Pay & Google Pay. Free delivery over £45.
- 3
Delivered
Fast, tracked dispatch straight to your door, and a happier pet before you know it.
The details
Specifications
- Power
- 2 W
- Voltage
- 3–9 V via USB
- Cable
- 1 m USB
- Airline
- 1 m
- Body
- 8.2 × 3.9 cm
- Colours
- Black, green, pink or white
Good questions
Before you buy
No, just the USB cable. Any phone charger or power bank runs it, which is rather the point, because there is no plug standard to get wrong.
At 2 W it suits nano and small tanks, or as emergency aeration in a bigger one. For a large tank running sponge filters full time, the mains air pump is the right size.
It draws very little, so a typical phone power bank will keep it going for many hours. Worth testing yours once before you need it in earnest.
The cable is, the wall adapter generally is not. Any standard phone charger or power bank at 3–9 V works, and there is no benefit to a fast charger since the draw is tiny.
At 2 W it suits an air stone or a small sponge filter in a nano or small tank, and it is fine as emergency aeration in a larger one. It is not a main pump for a big heavily stocked setup.
Many hours from a modest bank, since the draw is very low. Keep one charged alongside it, which is the whole point of having a USB pump rather than a mains one.
Last reviewed 30 August 2026