Powerhead or Airstones

[ANIM4L]

I have been reading in on planted tanks, always looking for ways to make mine better, and i know at night, the plants take OXYGEN and turn it into CO2, so then the plants getting a good amount of oxygen in the water makes them healthier at night. I was looking into either getting a Marineland Powerhead, Marineland Sponge Filter, OR an Air Pump that would turn on when then lights turn off, would this be good for my plants? and which would you prefer? Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated, im just looking for some help please

The items are these:

Marineland Powerheads

Marineland Bubble Wands

PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION! Thanks!

 

[simonbrown403]

Air pumps and power heads dont go to well in planted tanks.

plants do better in slow flowing water, the flow can damage delecete plants, i think it affects how much nutriens can be absorb but dont quote me on that

Adding an air stone would be counter productive for plants as it would drive the co2 needed for growth, plants take in co2 by the day exscreting oxygen and at night they take in oxygen.
Also the amount of o2 in the water affects the uptake of nutrients again.
some one will be able to tell you more, something to do with cleated nutreants.

 

[ANIM4L]

so i am guessing, it is good to have o2 running through the tank for the plants AT NIGHT, but it will deplete thier nutrients, i know it will deplete the co2, but at night i dont need it, i need O2, so anyone else have nayting to say, i need help!

thanks for the reply!

 

[Lateral Line]

Unless you have specific reasons so to do, it is not necessary to supplement O2 at night. O2 is much more soluable in water then CO2, and will not be a limiting factor. CO2 is a bigger problem as it doesn't dissolve well, and comes out of solution very easily.

Serious planted tanks have very low water movement, and low livestock levels.

 

[ANIM4L]

well my livestock level is low, and if you say so i wont do any supplement of O2, but the water movement thing is why i spent 200 dollars of cannister filters, and why i was thinking of an airstone (only bubbles, so pure oxygen, no real water movement). So no to the powerheads then definitely? If so, what about airstones?

 

[superjalami30]

Air stones do very little in the way of 02 for your tank.
Putting air bubbles into the water doesnt really add 02 to the water at all.
By the time the bubble reaches the surface its gotten there so fast very little of it has dissolved into the water, then it bursts at the suface.
Air bubbles from an air stone also do very little in the way of disturbing the surface of the water.
Disturbing the surface allows for C02 to escape from the water and 02 to enter the water.
Little tiny bubbles from an air stone dont have enough "umph" behind them to move the surface all that much.
Honestly, if you plan on adding C02 to your tank, you dont really want to add 02 as well, kinda pointless.
Just make sure you stay around 30ppm of C02 and you'll be fine,
Watch your fish, if they stick around the surface gasping for air you may want to stir up the surface a bit, test your C02 levels and make sure they're right.

 

[ANIM4L]

ive got always between 28-35 ppm of co2 in my tank, i just didnt know if i should add the whole o2 thing for my plants.

 

[ANIM4L]

bump

 

[George Farmer]

As the others suggest you don't need extra O2 at night.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The issue at night with tanks that get supplimental co2 is a build up of co2 which can cause a pH crash. If this is a potential danger, then you need to do something to prevent this. However, the first step is to determine if you actually need to do something. To do this you need to compare pH levels in the tank during the lights on periods and then during the lights off period. Test your tank for pH levels several hours after lights out and then shortly before lights on. If you see a big drop, then you have a potential problem.

If you determine the pH level is dropping too much during lights out, you can do one of two things to deal with this. One is to shut off the co2 at lights out and have it come back on about 30 minutes before the lights turn on. This can be done manually or by using a solenoid on a timer (this is not cheap). You could also use a pH meter connected to the solenoid to regulate co2/pH levels 24/7.

The poor mans solution to dealing with too much co2 building up during lights out is to use and airstone on a timer. Yes an airstone will create enough surface aggitation to allow the co2 to outgas. Set it to turn on at lights out and to go off about 30 minutes before the ligths turn on

 

[ANIM4L]

ok tonight i will check the ph of my tank thanks!