Air Stone in quarantine/hospital tank?
- Thread starter leofish1
- Start date
I will be running a small aquarium co-op sponge filter in my 10 gallon hospital tank. Also I will have an air stone in it but will dispose of it after use.
Air stones and bubble walls are basically for looks. They don't do much in terms of oxygenating the water.
Unless the airstones are part of a filtration system, then I agree with Freshy...not needed.
If you want to reuse your bubble wand, bleach it & soak, then soak in clean water with heavy dechlorinator a couple times ,& rinse like crazy too.
If you want to reuse your bubble wand, bleach it & soak, then soak in clean water with heavy dechlorinator a couple times ,& rinse like crazy too.
Actually, this is not quite the case. It is true that the bubbles rising up through the water do not contribute to dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water. The bubbles are neither fine enough nor in contact with the water long enough for this to happen. However, most of the DO in the water comes in at the water's surface. Without any surface agitation, the natural surface tension impedes the exchange of gasses between the water and the air. Breaking that surface tension allows for and promotes gas exchange. The airstone is helping to promote better DO levels by roiling the surface.
Next, the bubbles rising up create current which helps to move the water around the aquarium. This in turn helps to circulate the water which helps to insure that more of the tank gets water with adequate DO levels in it as well as other things needed by the bacteria, plants and inhabitants of the tank. If you are like me you place your heater near the bottom of the tank. The heat will rise up from there. This will also create water movement. If the only filter in a tank is an air driven sponge or sponges, that is also how the heat will be spread around the tank.
The only difference between what a sponge filter does and what an airstone does is that one also provides a place where the bacteria can live.
The above does not preclude an airstone and/or a bubble wand from creating a visual effect as well.
i thought they were the second best item, the first being power heads i believe?
Most of the oxygen in a tank comes from the air. All one needs to do it to roil the surface to break the natural surface tension. In most tanks this is dome by the water coming out of the filter return. For a powerhead to provide oxygenation one must either have the venturi tube hooked up or else the output face so that it breaks the surface, or both. I actually have a setup like this to which I have attached a small air pump to the venturi to increase the bubbles exiting the powerhead return.
Powerheads are great for creating circulation/flow in a tank or to act as a pump for some applications. I used one to create the flow though a UV unit. I also used one to power a reverse flow undergravel filter.
Powerheads are great for creating circulation/flow in a tank or to act as a pump for some applications. I used one to create the flow though a UV unit. I also used one to power a reverse flow undergravel filter.
I usually use HOB filters instead of sponges. They roil the surface better than airstones. In small tanks powerheads can create too much flow, more like a tsunami!! & they don't usually have any filtration, although I have used a sponge over the intake. I never tried a reverse flow undergravel filter, I bet I'd have liked it! But undergravels have their own maintenance issues...