oxygen and pumps

[Airli]

cam amyone give me some information about oxygen in the tank and air pumps and air stones. what they all do and what is needed.....

 

[Ferris]

It always helps to have plenty of oxygen in a tank. If you're thinking of buying a pump and airstone, make sure that the pump is powerful enough to run the size of airstone you want. Most LFS will advise you on this and make sure you buy enough airline to connect it all. It's worth getting a decent quality pump as they can be very noisy. There is a big choice when it come to airstones, there are lots of different shapes and sizes, just pick one that suits your tank size and will also create the effect you want because as well as oxygenating the water, they don't half look good, which is a bonus.

 

[keane]

You need an electric air pump, an air stone (come in varying sizes) and a connecting tube.

Connect one end of the tube to the pump and one end to the air stone.

Place the air stone in your tank (wherever you woudl like it), switch the pump on and away you go.

You can buy the whole lot in a package from your LFS. I think the cheapest I have seen was only about £10 - £12.

The sole benefit of them, as far as I know, is that they simply provide more oxygen to the tank, therefore providing a better environmnent for your fish.

They also look nice!!

hth

steve B)

EDIT: Ferris beat me to it!

 

[Airli]

do you need an airstone?
will just having the pump run with the pipe in the tank do anything?

 

[keane]

not particularly i wouldn't have thought. might just create a small current.

the air needs to be pumped into the airstone, which in turn distributes the air preoperly and creates lots of oxygen bubbles.

the air stone is the cheap bit out of the set up...only cost about 50p - £1

steve B)

 

[Erised]

Personally I use pond air pumps, work a lot better and are a lot cheaper The ones I got arent noisy either, though I imagine with som brands of pond filters, you might be less lucky. When buying 1 it cant hurt to ask if they'd mind plugging it in for you so you can see if its noisy or not. (Btw, the pond air pumps I buy are 3 euros it comes with everything too)

 

[Dubby]

Oxygen is introduced into the water through the surface of water coming into contact with air. So larger the surface area exposed to air, the larger the absorbtion of O2. So by disturbing the water surface you effectively create a larger surface area.

The pumps do NOT introduce O2 into the water as a result of the bubbles (maybe a little bit). The surface disturbance caused by the bubbles aids the absorbtion of more O2.

So as long as you have sufficient movement on the surface of the water (perhaps as a result of the filter) the airpump & airstone are optional equipment.

 

[freddyk]

It doesn't matter what you use on the other end of the hose, as long as bubbles come out they will disturb the surface and help promote dissolving of oxygen into the tank. Tanks with power filters that break the surface of the aquarium (any HOB) don't necessarily need them, as they introduce lots of oxygen into the water. Canister filters with the ouptut aimed to disturb the surface also accomplish the same thing. I prefer to use this route because it keeps the tank silent.