Air Stone

[B Letz]

Hello,

I was at a friends house. He had a airstone in his tank. Do I need one also? What do they do to help the tank? I have a 10 gallon hexagon tank with a Penguin Mini with Bio-Wheel Power Filter. I have 3 guppies and 1 african dwarf frog. I have about a half inch of space at the top of my tank. Do I need one or not?

Thanks

Bruce

 

[Devilishturtles]

Bruce, airstones are not needed in a tank. They do provide extra oxygenation in the water and that will ensure that your fish stay nice and lively. Air stones look nice and are good for your fish, but are not a commodity unless you are running no filtration at all, which you are, so you don't need to worry about it. I personally think they are really cool, but I'm not really down with the air pump that is required to run them, since my tanks are in my bedroom. So, totally up to you if you want one or not, but you don't need one.

On another note, bubble curtains are neat if you like those, it's like an airstone but alot bigger. And welcome to AA by the way! HTH

 

[QTOFFER]

Welcome to AA!!

The inhabitants of any aquarium, including the bacteria in the biofilter, require dissolved oxygen in the water. The amount of O2 in the water depends on water temp, water/air surface area, and surface agitation. The primary benefit of an airstone is to agitate the surface of the water. This increases the rate at which oxygen dissolves into the water. A side benefit is that they produce a curtain of fine bubbles that some fish and most people find pleasing.

From experience, I can tell you that the Penguin Mini will produce enough surface agitation to keep a standard 10 gal well aerated. Hex tanks like yours, however, often have less surface area than standard tanks because they are much taller than they are wide. In addition, a very small headspace like yours means that the water coming from the filter falls a shorter distance, also reducing surface agitation.

An airstone will certainly cause no harm and in your case, may actually be a good idea. Just remember to get a good, high quality airpump. The really cheap ones are very noisy.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Like my cheap noisy Hagen Elite 802..lol?
I had to put two pieces of carpet pad under mine to make it shut up.

Go with the Rena's I have heard good things about them.

 

[Allivymar]

*nods and agrees and adds some clarifications*

If you have a HOB filter, the water pouring out of the filter into the tank will generally provide enough surface agitation for good oxygen exchange. But if you have an intank filter (like one of those small Fluvals) you would need an airstone and pump.

The other thing to make clear, is the bubbles are really pretty, but don't add any oxygen directly to the tank.

 

[stoneydee]

The thing I would add is when you're talking about fancy goldfish (and I guess any other fish which are waste producers extraordinaire), an airstone or two is a good idea. Sometimes with fancies, you have to adjust your outflow on a good filter to keep from banging them into the glass. . .