Is an airstone really needed?

Hello all,

So I finally got my new 90 gallon tank all set up. I'm running 2 Eheim 2217 Canister Filters, one on each end. I have the intakes running straight down near the corners of the tank, and the spray bars lined accross the sides. I drew a pic in Paint to show what I'm talking about:




I think it is safe to say my water surface looks kinda like this:



(Credit to Shutterstock.com)

So to make this post as short as I can make it: I don't think I need an airstone. Do you guys and gals agree?

 

I have fish that like to play in the bubbles, so I would have an airstone for that purpose alone. I think it depends on what your stocking is going to be. If you're looking at it simply from a water agitation perspective, than probably not.

 

Aesthetically, I don’t like air stones, and I hate the noise they make. My cichlids have never paid the bubbles much attention in the past.

I’ve read people say they don’t use air stones, but it makes me nervous given the cost of all of my fish. I’d say 80% of the water surface looks like the picture above. There are even little tornados in the middle of the tank where the water streams crash.

I’m a little worried about feeding, haha, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

 

Mine are for simply decoration. My canister filters outakes are pointed at the surface. My sponge filter uses an aerator. I think a really fine bubble wand looks really good but its up to you. Also my clown loaches like to play in the bubbles

 

Hi, I read this and one thing popped into my head: If you were able to angle the spraybars down toward the opposite, bottom corner it might decrease the surface agitation a little (easier to feed) and, at the same time, increase the circulation in the whole tank.
You mentioned cichlids so I'm assuming rocks only aquascape.

 

Hi, I read this and one thing popped into my head: If you were able to angle the spraybars down toward the opposite, bottom corner it might decrease the surface agitation a little (easier to feed) and, at the same time, increase the circulation in the whole tank.
You mentioned cichlids so I'm assuming rocks only aquascape.

Correct, rock only. Peacock / Hap tank though so not an over-the-top amount of rocks.

I had thought about doing that, but they will spend most of their time in the mid levels of the at the front, so I didn't want that to be the strongest part of the current. Each filter is "rated" for a 159 gallon tank, so the current is still actually pretty strong all over. I only have a few fish in the tank right now, but I can see that pretty much wherever they are, the filter current is moving things.

 

On my 75 gallon I had a cool setup. I have a light switch mounted on the inside of the stand. Than I have an extension cord that has about four plugs (receptacles). The extension cord has my sedative and filters on it and it runs through the switch into the wall. So when it's feeding time I hit the switch and everything but my lights and heaters turn off until it hit the switch again. An easier solution would to be to have a separate surge switch that you hit for feeding.