Airstone importance?

[That Fish kid]

Do I really need an air-stone in my aquarium? It looks so unnatural. I think this was on another thread but I'm still unsure. I use flourish and flourish excel, and my tank is heavily planted.

 

[sblosser]

Do I really need an air-stone in my aquarium? It looks so unnatural. I think this was on another thread but I'm still unsure. I use flourish and flourish excel, and my tank is heavily planted.

i run a air bubbler on my planted 10, but i have my lights and the bubbler on timers. the lights run for 9 hours from 11am - 8pm the bubbler runs from midnight - 6am. the bubble bar is on the back glass and hidden by my plants. but helps put oxygen in water for my tetras and angels. hope this helps.

 

[aqua_chem]

I've never used one. They're useful for some situations, like certain illnesses or CO2 OD, but I probably would never have one in one of my tanks long term. They are, in my opinion, horrifically ugly. If you find yourself in a situation where a tank has trouble supporting fish without one, then you probably have significant problems with stocking/filtration.

 

[That Fish kid]

I have a filter rated for a 30g on my 20g long.


I think I will remove the air-stone but I'm curious about why Sblosser has it on a timer. Is it important to have it on at night?

 

[Sillyfishies]

I have a filter rated for a 30g on my 20g long.

I think I will remove the air-stone but I'm curious about why Sblosser has it on a timer. Is it important to have it on at night?

I think so it's running when no ones looking at the tank

 

[bud29]

Usually the surface agitation created by filters allows for adequate gas exchange, thus an airstone would purely be for aesthetic purposes. The only times I've used an air pump at all is with a sponge filter, and oxygenating the water during ich treatment. (since O2 does not dissolve as easily in water at higher temperatures)

 

[That Fish kid]

My filter has very strong flow so I think I'm going to take out the airstone.

 

[sblosser]

I think so it's running when no ones looking at the tank

i typically dont like bubbles in my water so yes the timer is so it helps add oxygen to the tank but it does it overnight so i dont have to see it.

in my 75g i had to add a bubbler to it after watching the fish consistently going up to the surface which is a sign of not enough oxygen in the water. so i added a bubble bar with blue leds to the backside of my driftwood. i do like the light effect it has. i need to cut the air off to see how they do now that it has been running for awhile.

 

[Sambo7475]

The bubblers, in general, are a matter of preference. Like Aqua_chem said, if you have trouble supporting your fish without one, you probably have filtration/stocking issues.
I personally don't care one way or the other, but my kids love them, so I have one in each of my tanks. I figure if it doesn't hurt the fish, no harm. I do notice my harlequins playing in the bubbles pretty frequently, wish pleases my youngest son.

 

[Iodizedfate]

It's a actually a matter of life and death for me. If I remove mine then my wife will kill me! lol she loves them. Right now I have a volcano that bubbles but I think I'm going to get a bubble bar in the future because she keeps commenting on how she wishes we had one. Personally I don't particularly care for them.

On another thought. I've heard of people running them in planted tanks to have the CO2 match the atmosphere so the plants have access to it. I dunno if it works but that was the reasoning behind it.

 

[That Fish kid]

lol! okay.