Bubble wall?

[e burna]

I want to put a bubble wall in my freshwater 29 gallon tank. Besides looking nice, I wonder if there would be any benefits to the fish' health? Just wondering. Anyone else do this?

 

[Jchillin]

The bubble's create another source of oxygen exchange. This is always a good thing.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I have a bubble wall in the 10 gal, but the others have sand so I can't in those. I think they look cool when you line the back of the tank or even all sides of the tank.

 

[Guest]

i have a bulbble gallon in my 55 gallon, i really like the effect, i think it even makes teh water look clearer.

 

[Guest]

i have a bubble wall in my 29 gal, i buried mine under the gravel so that way it comes out of the gravel

IMO they are very beautiful and make your tank look 'exotic'

 

[NewFishGuy]

I had a bubble wall in my 10 gal...After a week I turned the pump off. It was just too powerful and my water always looked cloudy from all the tiny air bubbles in it. The "wand" is still in my tank close to the bottom and has become a favorite place for all my cory cats to hide under. My biggest one, the spotted, just lays on top of it all the time.

 

[e burna]

I bought a couple bubble walls this evening. Hooked them up (still have fine tuning to do) and I'm not sure if I like it or not. Right now I have 2 pieces that run along the back of my 29 gallon to cover the entire back. I'm thinking of breaking it down to 1 piece just near the middle of the back of the tank, instead of spanning the entire length. I noticed that my filter makes a bit of a funny noise when the bubbles were blowing up under it. Would this be because the filter was getting a little air along with all the water? If so, would this possible damage the filter? Thanks for reading.

 

[Quake2player]

Ok, maybe this is more of a question for the planted forum but I figure I'll ask here since this about bubble walls etc ...

I'm not using any CO2 for my 29 gal newly converted to planted tank... I think its doing fairly well with a 65W coralife and some Seachem ferts... will airstones and bubble-walls hurt my planted tank? I keep reading how "less" surface agitation is better for planted tanks so CO2 is not lost and airstones are a "no no" too.

But, I do miss the bubble walls I used to have in the tank.

 

[skydvr]

... but the others have sand so I can't in those.

Please forgive the n00b question, but, how come?

 

[Guest]

I noticed that my filter makes a bit of a funny noise when the bubbles were blowing up under it. Would this be because the filter was getting a little air along with all the water? If so, would this possible damage the filter? Thanks for reading.

That is exactly what is making the noise, I had the same issue when I hooked up a surface skimmer to my filter and it sucked in air also. I asked the same question, but everyone seemed to agree that it would be okay on the filter.

I have a few problems with bubble walls. One is that, while they look cool, they also fill your tank with little air bubbles everywhere that I think make the water less clear. Its also looks pretty unnatural, and I like my tank to look like nature, not some decoration you buy at the Sharper Image. Still though, my biggest problem is the fact that you have to get an air pump, which can be loud (at least compared to my canister filter) and require fairly frequent maintenence.

 

[shantyt]

Ok, maybe this is more of a question for the planted forum but I figure I'll ask here since this about bubble walls etc ...

I'm not using any CO2 for my 29 gal newly converted to planted tank... I think its doing fairly well with a 65W coralife and some Seachem ferts... will airstones and bubble-walls hurt my planted tank? I keep reading how "less" surface agitation is better for planted tanks so CO2 is not lost and airstones are a "no no" too.

But, I do miss the bubble walls I used to have in the tank.

The only time bubbles are bad for CO2 levels is when you artificially increasing the concentration of CO2 in the water with CO2 supplementation. If you cause a lot of surface agitation/bubbling, you allow the artificially high CO2 levels in the water to equilibriate with lower CO2 levels in the air more rapidly, which reduces the amount of CO2 in teh water. If you aren't supplementing CO2, you don't need to worry about bubbles robbing your water of CO2. On the contrary, bubbles/surface agitation would keep your CO2 levels more closely equilibriated with atmospheric CO2, which is a good thing if your plants are rapidly removing it from the water.

 

[Jchillin]

I have a small bubble wall in my lightly planted 75 gallon. Haven't had or experienced any problems. When I began researching planted tanks, I saw thing same thing (no supplemental air). Then I realized that by researching further, the information that shantyt mentions came to the surface (no pun intended).

Since I use a canister with the outflow submerged, the oxygen exchange is on par with the levels I could have created if the outflow was at the surface. Good deal all around.