Air stone good or bad?

[PaulieFish]

Right now I have air coming from just the corner of my tank from a strip, as seen here

google failed to answer my question, so I was wondering. Is this good or bad. I seen it in someone elses planted tank, but I do not know the benefits / the detriments. I was thinking the benefits because of the addition air dissolved in the water, but detriment being the surface agitation.

Should I keep it in or take it out?

 

[Viper]

It depends on how much surface agitation there is. Are you dosing with CO2 as well? Too much agitation will allow the CO2 to escape too easily. Even if you aren't dosing, too much agitation will allow the natural CO2 to escape easily.

If there isn't a huge amount of surface agitation, you can leave it in there. Plants breathe CO2 during the day and "excrete" O2. They reverse that process and take in O2 at night and "excrete" some CO2. So your airstone will only be effective for the plants half of the time.

Are you planting heavily? If so, you can leave the airstone off during the day as your plants will provide plenty of oxygen for your tank. You can then turn it back on when the lights go out. You may not even need an airstone at all if you have a lot of plants.

 

[PaulieFish]

It depends on how much surface agitation there is. Are you dosing with CO2 as well? Too much agitation will allow the CO2 to escape too easily. Even if you aren't dosing, too much agitation will allow the natural CO2 to escape easily.

If there isn't a huge amount of surface agitation, you can leave it in there. Plants breathe CO2 during the day and "excrete" O2. They reverse that process and take in O2 at night and "excrete" some CO2. So your airstone will only be effective for the plants half of the time.

Are you planting heavily? If so, you can leave the airstone off during the day as your plants will provide plenty of oxygen for your tank. You can then turn it back on when the lights go out. You may not even need an airstone at all if you have a lot of plants.

Does the amount of plants I currently consider heavy? That is the most updated picture of my tank.

 

[Viper]

Does the amount of plants I currently consider heavy? That is the most updated picture of my tank.

I would say that is "medium" planted. You can try turning off the airstone and see if there are any ill effects on your fish (i.e. labored breathing, sitting at the top "gasping" for air, etc..)

 

[PaulieFish]

I would say that is "medium" planted. You can try turning off the airstone and see if there are any ill effects on your fish (i.e. labored breathing, sitting at the top "gasping" for air, etc..)

Yeah I dont see that now, I guess I can turn off the stone fora day and see if two things happen. The plants start growing better and the fish are still not gasping.

Lets try it! turned off!

 

[Viper]

lol you're not going to notice any growth difference in one day

 

[PaulieFish]

lol you're not going to notice any growth difference in one day

Was more going for a couple weeks , and the fish gasping was more a day or two.

 

[Viper]

Ah, good luck!

 

[Purrbox]

It depends on how much surface agitation there is. Are you dosing with CO2 as well? Too much agitation will allow the CO2 to escape too easily. Even if you aren't dosing, too much agitation will allow the natural CO2 to escape easily.

What surface agitation actually does, is to help maintain atmospheric levels of CO2 (~3ppm) in the water. This is a bad thing if you are injecting CO2 as it will cause the extra CO2 that your putting in the water to gas off more quickly and make it harder to maintain higher CO2 levels. It's actually a good thing when you aren't injecting CO2 as it helps to refresh the CO2 that is being used by the plants getting the levels back up to atmospheric levels. It's especially helpful in heavily planted aquariums where there are enough plants to cause a significant drop in the CO2 levels.

 

[PaulieFish]

Well right now I am using liquid CO2, It prolly is not as efficient as actually CO2, but i got a big bottle of it for 5 bucks at an auction and figured why not try it. What I was planning on doing was keeping off during the day, and turning it on at night.

 

[Purrbox]

If it's liquid, it's not CO2. Flourish Excel and other similar products provide carbon, which is the same thing that CO2 provides just in a different form. As such it won't be the least bit affected by whether or not you have an airstone running or not.

 

[PaulieFish]

If it's liquid, it's not CO2. Flourish Excel and other similar products provide carbon, which is the same thing that CO2 provides just in a different form. As such it won't be the least bit affected by whether or not you have an airstone running or not.

Yeah, that's basically what it is. I believe it says a CO2 alternative on the bottle. Well also I would like to keep the natural CO2 in the water. I am just dosing it now to see the reaction of the plants.

 

[mgamer20o0]

the natural co2 is in the air. if you have enough flow from filters you wont need a air pump. i personally dont like them they look too fake.

 

[WhiteDevil]

actually you can see growth in one day, you can see growth in an hour. I am watching it now.

I run them all the time with no co2 injection on planted tanks, Ive even got red combomba growing very well and very red.

the air pump will bring Co2 into the tank, an air pump does nothing but pump air into the tank with pressure, it does not make its own pure oxygen. that bubble in the tank is the same stuff you are breathing that is loaded with Co2.

 

[PaulieFish]

actually you can see growth in one day, you can see growth in an hour. I am watching it now.

I run them all the time with no co2 injection on planted tanks, Ive even got red combomba growing very well and very red.

the air pump will bring Co2 into the tank, an air pump does nothing but pump air into the tank with pressure, it does not make its own pure oxygen. that bubble in the tank is the same stuff you are breathing that is loaded with Co2.

So would you say air stone would be a good thing then?

 

[WhiteDevil]

I use them, and the plants that were basically right on top of this air stone I was trimming 2-3 times per week. otehr side of the tank with less, there was less trimming maybe once a week once every 10 days.
Airstones are good, Im not sure where along the lines people think they produce their own pure oxygen but a pump is a transfer unit, it transfers the air you inhale AND exhale into the tank, we all know what gets exhaled out of our lungs, Co2.

An air stone helped my wisteria take an entire side of the tank, both as a tall plant and then bushed out as well. other side of tank, same plant barely 2-3 inches of growth a month.

 

[PaulieFish]

I use them, and the plants that were basically right on top of this air stone I was trimming 2-3 times per week. otehr side of the tank with less, there was less trimming maybe once a week once every 10 days.
Airstones are good, Im not sure where along the lines people think they produce their own pure oxygen but a pump is a transfer unit, it transfers the air you inhale AND exhale into the tank, we all know what gets exhaled out of our lungs, Co2.

An air stone helped my wisteria take an entire side of the tank, both as a tall plant and then bushed out as well. other side of tank, same plant barely 2-3 inches of growth a month.

I knew they didnt produce there own oxygen. But I completely forgot about the CO2 we breath out also goes through there. My air strip is going back in tonight! lol. I want to get a divider so i can get two going one at each end. Or maybe I will just lay my air strip in the back.. even tho it doesnt look natural

I also been missing my little buzzing sound i the background.

 

[Lowryder]

I also been missing my little buzzing sound i the background.

I hate that buzzing sound. I hate it so much that I insulated the tank stand that houses the pumps.

 

[WhiteDevil]

My pump is 100% silent, I cant hear it run with my ear pressed up to it. then again I use marine metal products air pumps not ones meant or advertised for pet use.
Variable port control, 2 ports nearly 25 psi this puts out, its made for fishing boats for live bait aeration.

 

[PaulieFish]

Lol, mine barely makes any noise, as long as its on a certain surface lol.