Yes, the bottle shown is just an example. I moved up to a larger one also. The airstone is also pretty important as it really mists up the air. A larger exhaust hose like Smulkin said is also important. Too narrow and you wind up with pockets of water gurgling throughout the length. My pump is designed for a 60 gallon while the bp's enclosure is a 29 tall. This seems to work pretty well for me. Some pumps are indeed louder than others, I bought one that was suppposed to be uber-quiet and emmits just a faint hum. The principal of the humidifier is pretty simple, you can do a little tweaking here and there to customize it to your own needs. I have ditched the silicone and gone with a glue gun, tho......the glue sets in minutes and is easier to work with.