Airstones+saltwater= Good? Bad?

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

Oxygenation is important! Would you put airstones in your saltwater tank? Why or why not?

 

[Pheonix]

i personally dont, if you have good water movement in the tank ie 20x plus of the overall gallonage of the tank with good surface agitation i dont think its really necessary

the people i know who have them in their marine tanks only have them in there for decoration rather than any aireation purposes

Andy

 

[AMS]

Airstones + saltwater= major pain in the ass. Salt-spray is the biggest pain to clean up, it just won't come off and keeps coming back. When I had to use a sponge filter for my 2 gallon bowl dwarf seahorse quaranitne I had salt creep all over nearby objects.

PS- Airstones do nothing for oxygen exchange. A powerhead direct at the surface will produce a million times for 02 exchange than an airstone.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

I use one every morning to get rid of the surface scum, i'm getting a hydor flo to take care of that job though

 

[SkiFletch]

Not a fan cause of the extensive salt creep mess it makes. Better to position a powerhead blowing across the water surface to churn things up there and do your gas exchange that way. Much less hassle

 

[Mr Miagi]

Generally, with good water movement you wont need an airstone, but it isnt to say they dont come in handy. As Sf05 said, they are useful for removing any surface scum on the water's surface from food. I also used one in a fishes shipping bag when it was struggling after being shipped a long period. Good for emergencies id say. If you can afford one, id say buy the pump, airline and stone for safety, but I wouldnt include the airstone in my actual setup 24/7