Red_Rose

This has been a very interesting read.

I've considered adding a small bubble wand in my 10g tank that is a natural planted tank. I was told different things when it comes to doing this. Some say that it will drive off all of the CO2(I don't inject it) yet others, like some of the people in this thread, said that it will add some CO2 back to the water. What do I believe?

I do have an Aquaclear 20 in that tank but the flow has greatly been reduced since my betta does not like strong currents. The filter is only used for mechanical filtration as well as some circulation. Would it be a bad thing to add a small bubble wand to the tank along with keeping the filter in there too? I would definitely use a flow regulator to control the amount of air that goes into the wand.

The filter is on the opposite side of the tank and the heater is on the other. I wanted to put the wand near the heater to help distribute the heat around better. The reduced flow from the filter doesn't spread the heat around as good as it would if I didn't have sponge on the inside and end of the intake tube.

LetDiceFly

Having the flow restricted on your filter will lower the O2 levels in your water because the surface isn't being disturbed. It doesn't make much difference to the betta (they breathe mostly from the surface) if the O2 in the water is a little low, I do not know anything about snails, so I can't say if they are effected by low O2. This would be the primary technical argument for adding a bubble wand. It is the process of disturbing the surface of the water that allows O2 to enter the water (and some waste gases to escape).

As far as heat distribution goes I would not worry about it in a 10 gallon tank it is too small of a body of water to have significant differences from one side to the other. although I would recommend upgrading your heater if you have a cheap one. I followed the advise in this forum and bought Stealth heaters for both my tanks and they keep my tanks within a constant 1.5 degree range. Basically they are set and forget.

Don't worry about the CO2 factor, any effect on a non CO2-injected tank is insignificant.

Bubbles can be pretty, and bettas sometime like to play with them. Although I had a betta who was intimidated by the bubbles, even going slow, and I had to remove them. Then again air pumps and another piece more equipment to your tank with air lines to hide. I think in my humble opinion that these last aesthetic reasons should be your determining factor.

Red_Rose

Thank you for this information.

Adding a little O2 for my betta wasn't really a concern but it is my snails that I wanted to add the wand in there for. They do much better with some added O2 in the water, especially nerites.

As for hiding tubing, it doesn't really matter to me since both of my tanks are in my bedroom and it's mainly me that sees them on a daily basis.

I use the Hagen Mini submersible heater(50 watts) in my 10g and I have never had any problems with it. I would like to get either the Stealth or Theo Hydor heaters for both of my tanks and use the Hagen ones as back ups in case I ever need them.

steveangela1

If you are concerned about the saturation of the o2 in your tank take the water and check it for the disovled o2 in the water, then you know exactly what you are dealing with.
Its obvious that having o2 in a tank at high levels can't be a huge problem. Look at the species they have found in Antartica in the high o2 level waters, they have giant crabs, giant species never seen before.... Then there were a lot of studies out there about the Pacific ocean from the warming trends where the disolved o2 was down and that was killing out the fish species, reefs, etc. That in itself says you need o2.....

Being a resp therapist... O2 is good! low o2 is bad... goes w/ people and all types of living beings....

Not only that the only concern w/ high levels of disovled Oa2.. I would only worry about alage growth...

BTW in my 10g planted tank I use a very small pump and very small air stone, my plants grow wonderfully and my fish are healthy.... (I will post picks of that tank I really need to, I am so proud of my plants its the only thing I have a green thumb w/ aquatic plants lol)

Red_Rose

I thought that too much CO2 is one of the causes of an algae outbreak, not oxygen.

It's good to know that your tank is doing well with an airstone in it. Is your pump a submersible pump to circulate the water around or are you referring to an air pump? I'd certainly love to see some pics of it!

steveangela1

This is according to my husbands knowledge of water... (he has a bachlors in enviromental science) it does make sense w/ the alge being a living thing the o2 would aid its growth... along w/ light. My pump is just a reg cheap air pump from walmart not submersible.. then I have my reg filter. I will post a pic tomm.

LetDiceFly

O2 should not cause more algae. And no, you can't have too much aeration. The bubbles breaking the surface of the water are generally a good thing. The only ones who worry about it are those injecting CO2.