Extra Oxygen.

[mark7616]

I was told in my lfs that fish tanks should always have some sort of oxygen as in an air stone or some sort i was shown how to take the rubber cap off my power head on my juwel filter and add some pipe i did this and it was pumping out a hell of a load of bubbles so i used a clamp to turn it down and it did but it is still quiet noisy and i have a lot of little bubble in my tank is this really needed to i need all this extra air in my tank or should i take the pipe back off? Doing this also seems to of really upped the current in the tank my plants seem to be moving with it should i take it all of???

 

[mark7616]

I was told in my lfs that fish tanks should always have some sort of oxygen as in an air stone or some sort i was shown how to take the rubber cap off my power head on my juwel filter and add some pipe i did this and it was pumping out a hell of a load of bubbles so i used a clamp to turn it down and it did but it is still quiet noisy and i have a lot of little bubble in my tank is this really needed to i need all this extra air in my tank or should i take the pipe back off? Doing this also seems to of really upped the current in the tank my plants seem to be moving with it should i take it all of???

 

[allaboutthefish]

I was told in my lfs that fish tanks should always have some sort of oxygen as in an air stone or some sort i was shown how to take the rubber cap off my power head on my juwel filter and add some pipe i did this and it was pumping out a hell of a load of bubbles so i used a clamp to turn it down and it did but it is still quiet noisy and i have a lot of little bubble in my tank is this really needed to i need all this extra air in my tank or should i take the pipe back off? Doing this also seems to of really upped the current in the tank my plants seem to be moving with it should i take it all of???

No you don't have to have an air stone in your tank. just as long as the surface is being disturbed (rippling)
That's how the air gets in. If you notice when your air is flowing in your tank the air bubbles just rise to the top of the water and then pop, that is how the air gets into your tank. Does that make sence?

 

[andywg]

It's a good idea to have some surface agitation to aid in gas exchange. This can be achieved by pointing the outlet of a powerhead towards the surface.

Actual bubbles in the water do very little for oxygen levels as they are not present for long enough for gas exchange to take place at the surface of the bubble. They caus some surface agitation as they reach the surface and "pop" but they are not as effective as creating ripples and undulations through careful placing of powerheads and filter outlets.

 

[mark7616]

ok i get ya so i do not need the bubbles just point the power heads so it ripples on the surface but the power the water comes out seems to of been upped since taking the cap off and adding the pipe should i put the cap on or is the extra power a good thing?

 

[steelhealr]

I agree with Andywg. "Oxygen" is sort of a wrong term since it is "air" we are bubbling. Airstones create an upward movement of water, bringing water with lower levels of oxygen at the bottom of the tank to the top where gas exchange occurs.

Most tanks with good filtration don't need one. Tanks that would probably benefit from one are tanks that are deep (bowfronts sometimes tend to be deep) and a hospital tank where you want to maximize all conditions for a sick fish. SH

 

[mark7616]

ok got ya so i dont really need it but what about the fact that my current is really strong coming out of my power head should i cut it back down or leave it strong?

 

[steelhealr]

Depends on what you are trying to create in the tank...are you stocking fish that normally swim in current/streams? SH

 

[mark7616]

one tank is cycling and will hold malawi cichlids the other is a community tank with clown loach blue ram dwarf gourami an angel mollies tiger barbs and some bleeding heart tetra oh and some corys so what should i do

 

[blitztidus]

You don't want too much air or too little so, I think you should leave it as is.

 

[mark7616]

so i should put it back to how it was

 

[blitztidus]

It should be fine if you do that

 

[SamUK]

aslong as theres plenty of surface movement like in blitztidus's signature then youll be ok.


the air from airstones hits the surface before it has the chance to breakdown into the water.

there only good because they help with surface movement.

 

[blitztidus]

Hey don't you love that pic

 

[steelhealr]

Two oxygen posts were merged. SH