ChrisRamo

I have a pump which has two leads, one is attached to a cave pump i have which is ornamental plus it emitts several large bubbles, then i have a pump strip stuck to the back of my tank where several little bubbles come from it, The problem is the pump strip is very loud an im not sure my fish like it too much, what im asking is would it be ok if i never had this one at the bank an will the ornamental pump do?


Thanks

sully

most tanks do not need any kind of aeration at all.

Gas exchange in the aquarium occurs at the surface of the tank. in tanks with an hob filter where the water is moving quickly and exposed to air a uge amount of gas exchange occurs.

Water temp, altitude and surface agitation are the three things that will most significantly influence the dissolved oxygen level in your tank.

When usig air stones the primary benefit is typically aesthetic. The side benefit is that they do increase surface agitation assisting in gas exchange. vey little of the air that bubbles through the tank from an air pump actually makes it into the water column as useable dissolved oxygen. But, the smaller bubble the better for increasing the amount the tank actually gets.

chickadee

I am going to have to respectfully disagree with you about that.* Aeration actually does serve two very good purposes.*

First of all, there are times when the temperature of the tank needs to be raised due to illness or some fish require a higher temperature than others.* The higher the water temperature the less free oxygen it is able to hold.* I have noticed just by watching the fish in my 3 (or sometimes 4 or 5) tanks that the fish are much more active and perky when there is aeration present.* It is also pretty for sure, but this is not one of the main reasons that I use it in all the tanks.*

Secondly, if you are heating a tank, which if you are keeping any type of tropical fish you should be, then if prevents "hot spots" or areas of water that are warmer than others simply by the fact that the water closer to the heater gets warmer than that which is farther away.* If the tank is any size at all, which is anything that is really big enough to hold fish one or even two heaters are going to cause "hot spots" as the surface movement is just not going to go deep enough to circulate the heat caused by the heater as most of the heat is dispersed at the bottom of the heater and it cannot be that close to the top of the tank or you have the problem of cold tank floors.* So you need a circulation of water from the top to the bottom as well as from side to side which is what the surface movement generally accomplishes.* Even power filters usually only move the water to a depth of an inch or so and the bottom water needs to move to the surface.* This is most effectively done with an airstone and airpump.

Overall, I have had much healthier and happier fish since I started using aeration in my tanks.* I did not at first and was upset due to the sluggishness of my fish.* Now they are active and playful and I feel much more aware of the surroundings around them because the conditions in the tank are better for them.* The cost of a nice quiet airpump is not that much and airstones or even airwands and airline tubing is not great and the rewards are much worth the outlay.* It sounds like you have fallen into the clutches of a loud airpump model.* Let me recommend the Rena airpumps.* They are EXCEPTIONALLY quiet.* I have 2 of them running right now about 5 feet from me and I cannot hear them at all!* They cost $10.00 apiece for the small model and the reason I have one for each tank is that I run sponge filters and wanted to use a different one for each.* Otherwise a slightly bigger one would have done for both tanks with a T connector.* They can be purchased almost anywhere but if you have trouble finding them, I got mine online at http://www.drsfostersmith.com but they can also be found at http://www.thatpetplace.com if you want to comparison shop.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113800

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products...Itemdy00.aspx* *(I didn't know the size of your tank so I got the small size listed here.* They have the other sizes in stock as well)

I am not trying to shoot anyone down here, but I feel that it is important to give the information I have.

Rose

Butterfly

Chris what do you have in this particular tank? Is it the bubbler its self making the noise or the air pump providing the bubbles? If its the pump sometimes wrapping it in a towel will quieten it down. If its the bubbler you could add turn down the force of the bubbler. Although the decorative bubbler is probably enough inless your have fish that need more current or a higher oxygen saturation. I keep bubblers in my bristlenose and BN fry tanks, the Queen Arabesque (L2600 and the Hillstream tank. They all need more than just the HOB filter for water movement.
If you ever use Meds or the tank temp requirement is in the 80's then I would recommend the extra aereation, as warmer water holds less oxygen.
Carol

ChrisRamo

Thanks People, I went out before and bought a brand new air strip its soundless and rather stylish haha


Bought a few more fish too

Heres some photos of my gorgeous female balloon molly, the male is jet black with what could only be described as a elvis style haircut fin Think thats what ill call him



anyway heres the female

chickadee

She is beautiful. Thank you for sharing her beautiful self with us. Congratulations on both of them.

Rose

Butterfly

Great! Glad you were able to solve your problem Balloon Mollys? Beautiful girl.
Carol