ruthiesmom

Ok so I see people talking about bubble wands. What are they used for? Just x-tra air in the tank. And what are the beneficail points to having one?
I just keep reading and trying to learn and am just so overwhelmed with so much to learn.
Tina

Shawnie

some beneficial points imo are the fun some of the fish have in them..some of my bettas love them!! and I like how they look....the best is that they keep the water moving constantly and dont let things get stagnent on the top surface

fishlover78

Bubble wands and airstones are basically the same thing. they are very beneficial to the aquarium, the keep the water oxygenated and are very good to have in a planted aquarium. I recommend getting an air pump, some tubing and a check valve and your choice of a bubble wand or a airstone. an airstone sits on or under the gravel. and a bubble wand usually comes with suction cups and sticks to the backk wall of the aquarium. here are examples of both:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...&pcatid=19781\

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...79&pcatid=3679

hope this helps!

ruthiesmom

Does the x-tra air in the tank help the cycle along at all? I don't think It will but it is worth asking.

fishlover78

yes, I believe it does because the bacteria in the gravel is sustained on air. Shawnie will better help you here.

Shawnie

imo it does not help the cycle along faster...im sure it wont hurt anything but it wont speed things up per say

fishlover78

okay, so I wasn't right but I wasn't wrong! (hmm that's a weird statement!)

ruthiesmom

Shawnie,
After my daughter helped the fish with hand lotion, and I started bthe tank from scratch we are cycleing as we speak. It is just frustrating. I just keeplosing fish. And now I know why. And it sucks. I am just going through the motions and just kep asking more and more questions.
Tina

fishlover78

ask as many ?'s as you want! we are happy to help, I know its suckish that you keep losing fish maybe these will help with keeping those contaminated hands out of the tank:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...71&pcatid=3871
they are a very good investment.

ruthiesmom

Fishlover,
You misse dwhat brought me to the forum to begin with, My 3 1/2 yr old actually took and pumped hand lotion straight into the tank.

Shawnie

you were so close tina and I wish I could say I know how you feel, but of course I cant...I do know the frustration of not having a cycled tank as I didnt know about a cycle until I joined here..and just kept loosing fish...about the only thing you can do is try to find some patience ...its rare but you will find them somehow..you actually have as you are still going on, but it doesnt feel that way...can you get your hands on some tetra safestart by any chance? or even go to your LFS and see if they will cut off some filter media for you to throw into yours? im proud you continued on after all you have been through and once its done, you will so feel better about not giving up....

ruthiesmom

Thanks Shawnie, the words of encourgment are always well taken
Tina

fishlover78

Wow ! I didn't know that's what brought you to the forum! those minds of young children and the curiosity they contain!

Shawnie

no thanks needed and most of us have so been there..we know the feelings and we feel the frustration but we also know that to make things right, will be worth it....we are here to vent if you need too! never forget that

fishlover78

I must have killed 20 fish before I came to fishlore. not on purpose but because I had an un cycled tank I didn't know any better. I was buying new fish like 3 times a week and they all kept dying, then I cam to fishlore and everything started making more sense. when I came here I still had that "can you keep a common pleco in a 10 gal?" attitude, I have come a long way. a ton of other fishlorians have the same testimony as me.

ruthiesmom

That was the other problem I killed 2 plecos in my uncycled 10 gal tank. The hand lotion was just another notch in our belt.

fishlover78

that's okay, you didn't know any better at the time.

stiggy614

I don"t like bubble wands cuz they clog really easily. I use 2 12" are stones in my tank. I put them in the gravel. they won't clog or slow down. and it looks cool. bubble just come up fron the gravel. that works best for me.

agabr123

hmm i have to disagree, my air stone got so incredibly clogged that nothing was coming out anymore after about two weeks. i only use bubble wands now and i love them! however, i have a sand substrate, not gravel, so that could have made a huge difference. the air stone i had just kicked up the sand all over

reefplayground

I would have to say no. Additional air stones and bubble wands are bad for a live plant system. It will great too much gas exchange at the surface, thus removing the much needed CO2 from the system water. Bubble wands/air stones should be avoided in planted aquarium systems