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Not really sure if I even need it?? it came with the kit I got with my tank... im thinking about returning for decorations or something, what is the real purpose? needed?
also airstones?
thanks! im new, just want to make sure everything is good before I throw anyfish in there

Last edited by jgillece at 30-Dec-2005 13:15

Hello there,

Me thinks theyre added for extra surface aggitation to get more oxygen into the water. This can be benaficial if you have an under ground filter or filters that dont break the surface alot. that what i recon any way.

oh ye by the way im guessing your new to the hobby so have you heard about the nitrifying proccess. this is where new tanks set ups need to build up a sufficient amount of good bacteria to turn ammonia to nitrite and then other bacteria turns the nitrite into nitrate. This will happen anywhere between 2-8 weeks, usually around 4 weeks. The reason this proccess is important is because ammonia and nitrite are deadly to fish in surprisingly small amounts. the nitrate (last bit) is much less damaging and will be removed when you do your water changes. Plants also help to eat up (so to speak) certain amounts of the nitrate but not very much.



Last edited by pos51 at 30-Dec-2005 13:44

The purpose of an air pump is to provide eytra oxygen and current to a fish tank. Many species such as hillstream loaches like a little current in their tank. Also, since you're putting oxygen into the water, there is more for your fish to breath. This is especially good if your tank is taller than wide or if it is very hot. Personally I don't like airstones. I just put the plastic tube into the tank. The tube is easier to hide and it seems like more air is coming out anyway.

Airstones help facilitate gas exchange and increase oxygenation levels in a tank, in most cases they are not neccesary and in planted tanks with CO2 injection they are undesirable.
They will not harm your tank unless you have fish that like extremely low current.
In most cases they simply serve as decoration.
One problem that can occur is inverts using airstone tubing as an escape route so cover your tank well if you have any.
Good luck!!!

"A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man" Simpsons

IMO i'd take em back, some fish like the current some fish don't, also im assuming you have a HOB filter (one that hangs on the back of the tank) if you have one of those you can lower the water level and the current from that should add enough air into the water....

it all really depends on how big the tank is, what kind of fish you stock it with, and whatnot.

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

Thanks for the feedback all!! yes I am new to the hobby, there are no fish in there as of now, I just set up 2 days ago and conditioned the water... and to the Q about the nitrite cycle, yes I am aware, but my friend is giving me his carbon pouch and sponge from his filter, which is about 3 weeks old, and about 5 gallons of his water, i'm going to put in it, to jump the bacteria.. how much do you think this will speed up the cycle process, maybe 2 weeks?? estimated? i also plan on throwing in maybe four hardy fish this weekend.. (my tank is 47 gal)

Last edited by jgillece at 30-Dec-2005 14:07

Last edited by jgillece at 30-Dec-2005 14:08

Hi
Ading the filter pads/carbon from another tank will help to decrease the cycle time BUT it may still take some time. When you say

my friend is giving me his carbon pouch and sponge from his filter, which is about 3 weeks old

I hope you mean the carbon & sponge is 3 weeks old (and from an established tank) and not that the tank is 3 weeks old as this filter medium will not have enough bacteria yet and your friends tank will not be cycled yet either.
Also putting the filter medium into your filter will not work unless you have a bio-load (fish or adding ammonia etc) to feed the bacteria or else they will die.
Have a look here for more information on the cycle.

http://www.fishprofiles.net/faq/begin-cycling.asp

As for you original question about the air pump & stone I guess it is a personal choice but IMO they play an imortant part in the gas exchange putting more oxygen in the water and I wouldn't have a tank without one (depending on the fish type of course)

oh and by the way... Welcome to fish profiles .

DASHMAN :88)

Its better to be hated for who you are...
Than loved for who you are not

thanks, sounds good.. yea, his tank has been running pretty smooth for over a year, he just changed his carbon pouch three weeks ago. any ideas of a good fish I can put in with his bacteria to keep it going, but isnt agressive and I wouldnt mind keeping in my community tank one its cycled?

OK, first, your original question.

Once upon a time, there were two options for oxygenating an aquarium. I'm going back a few years here (as in around 30!) so don't let this history lesson alarm you too much as things have improved massively over the years! Those options were, namely, an air pump, or a big power filter driven by a suitably beefy motor. The trouble here of course is that there is a vast gulf between these two options in price even now.

Now, however, we have more options. Undergravel filters can be driven by relatively inexpensive powerheads that increase the throughput enormously compared to an air pump and airstone fitment in the riser tube. We also have relatively inexpensive internal canister filters (Fluval here in the UK have cornered the market in these units - I suspect the situation is more complex in other countries), plus the HOB filters (short for Hang On Back, which describes how they're fitted neatly) which seem to be all the rage in the States. Then, we also have external filters that are now graded according to capacity, ranging from modest sized units through to the big near-industrial capacity Eheim units that are oh so desirable but oh so pricey ...

These various technologies all create water movement. Moving water exchanges gases at the surface far more efficiently than stagnant water, which is why some means of moving the water is desirable in any aquarium, even if one only aims to provide a modest current for fishes that live naturally in slow moving waters. of course, quite a few of these technologies also provide filtration of one kind or another - the undergravel filter provides biological filtration on a large scale for relatively little cost (though needs regular gravel vacs to maintain its efficiency) and canister filters/HOBs/external filters provide, depending upon fitment, mechanical, chemical AND biological filtration. Your options become even more complex should you ever move into saltwater, but let's leave the 'dark side' alone for a while!

Basically, the bigger the volume of water that passes through your filter in unit time, and is processed by the filter, the better. Of course, there are other factors to consider, such as limiting the throughout so that you don't turn your aquarium into a jacuzzi, which will NOT please your fishes! Even so, just about ANY aquarium fish will benefit greatly from having SOME water movement, particularly if that movement is through some kind of filter.

You can use air pumps for the job, but nowadays, air pumps tend to be used either to drive purely decorative features, or for powering filtration systems in fry tanks where too strong a current will harm the fry. They're also useful as a backup system for 24 to 48 hours after a powerhead malfunction to keep your filter ticking over while you obtain spares or a replacement. Though if you keep spares for your motorised filters handy and ready for action, this usage again should be cut to a bare minimum. Most 'workhorse' filter systems in modern aquaria are driven by electric motors of one kind or another, and in the case of the big Eheim units, deliver quite a kick if you mistakenly point the output tube toward your face!

As for cycling a new aquarium, the preferred method among most of the Board members here is the fishless method. Which is actually not too difficult to master. It delivers the same end result (a cycled aquarium ready to receive its first few fishes) but does so without placing stress on an existing fish.

Here's my recipe - one which worked when I fired up the breeding aquarium for the Panda Corys back in January last year. Set up your aquarium as you intend it to be ready to recieve fish (complete with live plants if you intend your aquarium to be a planted one), and then, for the next four to six weeks, add a small (I emphasise small here!) amount of food to the aquarium, just as if you were feeding an existing fish population.

How does this work? Simple. Your food input to the aquarium decays as bacteria act upon it. Eventually, that decay generates ammonia. This starts your population of ammonia feeding bacteria, and leads to them generating nitrites. This in turn starts up your nitrite feeding bacteria, which generate nitrates, and which in turn provide a source of nutrients for your plants.

Some people in the past made the mistake of dumping a large quantity of food in at once into a new aquarium, and letting it all rot. This will work in time, but is a LOT less elegant, a LOT more smelly, and a LOT harder to control. Let me put it this way. If someone dumps a whole dead buffalo in your living room, your living room becomes a pretty nasty place to be for some time afterwards. On the other hand, if someone keeps putting half a dozen bacon rashers in your freezer overnight, you wake up the next morning to the chance of a nice bacon breakfast. it's the same with the filter bacteria. Feed them as if you were feeding an existing fish population - i.e., a small amount of food every day - and you're giving the bacteria the equivalent of the bacon rashers in the freezer, which they'll accustom themselves to more readily, and in a more controlled fashion, than would happen if you went down the 'dead buffalo' route of dumping half a can of food in there. Also, enough food to cover a dime each day costs a LOT less as a filter maturation tactic!

Hope this lengthy post helps!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002