Opinions on Air Stones

[JoeynDana]

I've always used airstones in my tanks way back before I even knew there was a benefit to using them, they were always a decoration I enjoyed having. Now that I'm trying to move towards more natural looking tanks I'm starting to dislike the looks of the bubbles.

I currently have a 75 gallon FW with an Emperor 400 and Marinedand C360 canister. I may have overdone the airstones, a round 4" and 5" running at the same time. The flow from the filtration is pretty good so it breaks the bubbles up into millions of tiny bubbles. While I could reduce the airstones to one, I'd rather not run any at all.

The HOB filter certainly agitates the surface, I could point the canister outlet more towards the surface as well. Will that be enough to eliminate the airstones or could I just run the airstones at night? BTW, at this time I have no live plants.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[librarygirl]

As long as you have some surface agitation from the filters, there's no need for an air stone. Most people use them for aesthetic reasons or to help add additional agitation to water that is running at higher temps (e.g. when treating for Ich). But if you don't like them, no need to use it.

 

[JoeynDana]

Removed the air stones not long after the post, pointed the canister outlet up for more agitation, everything working great and the fish seem happier without the extra turbulence.