Air pump - turned off at night?

[TempestBlayze]

What is the best/most quiet air pump?

 

[EddieW]

DrOizo,

Bacteria needs water (Still there) oxygen (the oxygen level is not going to plummet to un acceptable levels in one night) and a flow of water over the bacteria (this is not there, but I don't see how bacteria can die in 12hours when they've still got water food and oxygen??

I think that the problem is that with an UGF the bacteria are not just at the surface but are throughout the gravel bed. When you switch off the air pump the circulation through the bed stops. As the bacteria continue to process the fish waste they will use up the oxygen in the water around them which can result in localised dead spots as there is no new water moving into the area.

I would imagine that the bacteria required to support the fish load in a non-filtered tank would be mostly at the surface of the gravel as there is nothing to pull the water, and therefore the waste, deeper into the substrate. In an UGF the bacteria would be spread throughout the substrate so a die off would reduce the population which could result in a (very) minor spike.

I have had a quick look around on Google and there doesn't seem to be anything concrete out there about the level of damage (if any) to an UGF that is switched off for 12 hours.

I think it is one of these situations where if it works, it works

I would still go with the bio wheel idea as in the longer term this is going to be much easier to maintain than an UGF.

Cheers, Eddie

 

[DrOizo]

Thanks alot for the info Eddie. It makes more sense now you've explained it Any pointers on which bio wheel to get for a 4 gal? Cheers

 

[DrOizo]

Eddie I'm also going to add a fine substrate on top of this one

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?sh...showtopic=23518

Do you thinks thats a good Idea? This tank isn't cycled yet

 

[EddieW]

DrOizo,

If you are going to be taking out the UGF then you can change the substrate completely. Corys are happier with a sand substrate, you could section off an area and have sand in one part and the existing substrate in the rest.

As for the bio-wheel, for some reason I had it in my head that you were in the US. You will have real difficulties finding a bio-wheel over here.

One option is the Eheim Liberty H.O.B. filter - can't find them in the UK either, but here is a link to a site in Germany which will ship to the UK. The filter is 15.08 Euros with shipping up to 3kg of 7.10 Euros this comes to 22.18 Euros which is only 15.15 in real money! In fact if you wanty other stuff from them you can ship up to 12kg for 10.69 Euros (£7.30). You might be able to find better prices if you have a look around.

As a matter of interest here is a very useful post from Great Lakes about bio-wheels, etc.

Cheers, Eddie

 

[phishphood]

I turn mine off at night, and it's always been fine, except from when I used an anti-finrot med and the fish began gasping for air when it was turned off, so if you do use any meds make sure you keep it on for that extra bit of aeration that is needed B)