Airstone Advice

[t57spikes]

I have never had an air stone in my 35 Gallon tank. It is a little over a month old and I have10 Zebra Danios that I cycled with. I have noticed that their gills are bright red and they open and close their mouths, is this normal? I have just cleared up a Diatom bloom that could have depleted the oxygen in the tank but my filter disrupts the surface and from what ive read that is enough for gas exchange. The airston to me is very loud, would it be okay to run it during the day and turn it off at night? This may sound like a dumb question but can adding a airstone alter the water chemistry in any way, such as a PH swing or anything?

 

[dalto]

You can run it whenever you want or not at all.

Are you sure your tank is cycled completely?

 

[t57spikes]

You can run it whenever you want or not at all.

Are you sure your tank is cycled completely?

Yes, been showing 0 Ammonia and 0 nitrite for over 2 weeks and i've been keeping Nitrate around 15

 

[Mudfrog]

An airstone won't alter your water parameters. It's used for decoration and like you stated for surface disruption to allow more air exchange.

In my 125g water changes take a while with my python (around an hour to drain 60 gallons or so), the closest sink is around 35-40 feet away and the suction isn't very strong. I added airstones to disrupt the surface during waterchanges, but I leave them on all the time.

 

[aqua_holic]

You don't need to add an air stone during water changes. The fish are not going to run out of oxygen in the time it takes to change the water.

For a big tank like that you should look into pumping the water out instead of waiting an hour for it to slowly drain with a siphon.

 

[Mudfrog]

Obviously they aren't going to run out of air, it's more for peace of mind.

 

[aqua_holic]

That sentence seems a bit contradictory, but I'm glad it's obvious, and I'm glad that the air stone gives you the extra peace of mind.

You really should check out using a pump to drain though - what takes an hour now will take less than 10 minutes. Azoo powerhead 1800 model costs like $20 and the nozzle is small enough to stick a siphon hose on the end.

 

[Mudfrog]

That sentence seems a bit contradictory, but I'm glad it's obvious, and I'm glad that the air stone gives you the extra peace of mind.

You really should check out using a pump to drain though - what takes an hour now will take less than 10 minutes. Azoo powerhead 1800 model costs like $20 and the nozzle is small enough to stick a siphon hose on the end.

I've debated on doing that. I can only use my bathroom sink though, and it's not the best drain. As you say, for $20 it's probably worth a shot.

 

[aqua_holic]

I use the bathroom sink as well, and I overfilled the sink a couple times before I pulled the stopper out. Now it goes right down.

 

[PNWaquarist]

They're can be helpful if you're cycling a tank. BB like lots of oxygen.

 

[mrvincent]

Airstone help for surface agitation... This don't change the chemistry of the water, but remove CO2 and add a little O2 to the water column...

This can be a great addition to a QT tank, and a good decoration for a show tank. But is really optionnal.

I prefer no airstone, as I'm injecting CO2 for the plants.