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Abstract

A water pump assembly for an aquarium aeration system includes a housing surrounding an electric pump. Within the housing, a water conduit passes an impeller of the pump for the generation of a stream of moving water. An air-breather conduit conducts air from a location above the housing to an air-induction port in a sidewall of the water conduit wherein the moving water produces a venturi action for drawing in air and entraining the air as a series of bubbles in the stream of water. The process of mixing air with the water produces sound. A muffler disposed on top of the housing is connected serial with the air-breather conduit for attenuating the sound to permit a viewing of the aquarium without the distraction of the sound. A valve may be located on an air inlet port above the muffler for adjusting a rate of flow of the air. The muffler incorporates a serpentine corridor for conduction of the air, the corridor comprising a set of baffles or a set of arcuate passages of sufficiently small cross-sectional dimensions for attenuating the sound. The muffler is constructed in different embodiments, each of which may be opened manually for cleaning.

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