Brian_Nano12g
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi AA people,
My knowledge of everything aquarium is novice at best, so I'm sorry if this quesiton comes off a little stupid. Anyway, I've heard in a lot of cases that air pumps, air stones, etc. aren't necessary due to gas exchange in water agitation? I have a Nano Cube 12 gallon that shoots water out from the back compartment through a power nozzle that sort of makes the water ripple on the surface. I also have this modular surface skimmer device that came with the tank that I placed over the water intake grill on the back wall of the aquarium (that says on the package that its suppose to help with gas exchange). I'm guessing there is some sort of water agitation going on there, is that enough? Moreover, when I purchased everything for my tank (that I just setup about a month ago), I also, for the heck of it, got an air pump and air stone to make sure there's enough oxygen in the tank (it's what I knew as a kid... pre-research). I don't have live plants in the tank so I'm guessing an airstone is ideal for providing oxygen to the fish & bacteria? While I'm waiting for my tank to cycle, I've been stopping in numerious LFS just to browse. One store in particular had a pretty cool looking C02 diffuser in it that would shoot out little micro-bubbles.. I know that the C02 systems are for live-planted tanks but I'm wondering if there's something like the diffuser that I can use for a standard air pump or is an air stone my only option? I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I like how the tiny air bubbles look over the large ones that shoot out of my air stone. What are my options?
Here's what I saw at a LFS:
My knowledge of everything aquarium is novice at best, so I'm sorry if this quesiton comes off a little stupid. Anyway, I've heard in a lot of cases that air pumps, air stones, etc. aren't necessary due to gas exchange in water agitation? I have a Nano Cube 12 gallon that shoots water out from the back compartment through a power nozzle that sort of makes the water ripple on the surface. I also have this modular surface skimmer device that came with the tank that I placed over the water intake grill on the back wall of the aquarium (that says on the package that its suppose to help with gas exchange). I'm guessing there is some sort of water agitation going on there, is that enough? Moreover, when I purchased everything for my tank (that I just setup about a month ago), I also, for the heck of it, got an air pump and air stone to make sure there's enough oxygen in the tank (it's what I knew as a kid... pre-research). I don't have live plants in the tank so I'm guessing an airstone is ideal for providing oxygen to the fish & bacteria? While I'm waiting for my tank to cycle, I've been stopping in numerious LFS just to browse. One store in particular had a pretty cool looking C02 diffuser in it that would shoot out little micro-bubbles.. I know that the C02 systems are for live-planted tanks but I'm wondering if there's something like the diffuser that I can use for a standard air pump or is an air stone my only option? I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I like how the tiny air bubbles look over the large ones that shoot out of my air stone. What are my options?
Here's what I saw at a LFS: