Do I NEED an air stone?

[FroFro]

thanks! I have an air pump that attatchs to it with something similar. It has a control nob but even when turned to the lowest setting it still pushes the plants

I have one with 4 knobs but I only use 2, in theory you might be able to use one to disperse excess air from the air line on one side so that the air going into the tank is weaker?

Or a smaller pump

 

[Colin_T]

Don't mix different types of floating plants because they end up mixing up and making a mess on the surface. Either make plastic loops to keep the different plants apart or only have one type of floating plant per tank.

If the tank is heavily planted, you should have an airstone bubbling away at night to stop the fish suffocating due to lack of oxygen. When it is dark, the plants use oxygen too and the combination of lots of plants, filter bacteria and fish can cause oxygen levels to drop overnight. This can cause the pH to drop and the fish can suffer.

 

[corylover5]

Don't mix different types of floating plants because they end up mixing up and making a mess on the surface. Either make plastic loops to keep the different plants apart or only have one type of floating plant per tank.

If the tank is heavily planted, you should have an airstone bubbling away at night to stop the fish suffocating due to lack of oxygen. When it is dark, the plants use oxygen too and the combination of lots of plants, filter bacteria and fish can cause oxygen levels to drop overnight. This can cause the pH to drop and the fish can suffer.

thanks! I will keep the airstone on just at a lower level. I have duckweed and Red root floaters but I have them separated in floating areas