Bubbles From The Filter

[OneOnion]

Are the bubbles coming down from the filter 'waterfall' what oxygenates the water? Because if I put my water level in my tank all the way up, there are no more bubbles. I thought they needed the bubbles, so I put the water level down 1 inch so that the bubbles would start again. Do they need the bubb;es from the filter? Having the water level 1 inch down looks more ugly than having it all the way up.

 

[fishfreak24]

No you dont need to drop the water level. all you need is for the filter to make little riples on the surface of the water.

 

[aly_starh]

Yes, the bubbles thats come out of the filter means that it has a built in oxygenator.

 

[OldMan47]

The actual surface disturbance that is needed is none. If you think of your water as being a stack of slices of water that are each 1/2 inch thick, as long as the layers end up mixing because of the flow patterns you have enough mixing to keep the oxygen levels near maximum. If you don't get that much mixing action, the top layer is all that gets good oxygen levels and the fish end up spending all their time in that layer.

 

[OneOnion]

Okay. Then I'll just raise the water level up again, then. Thanks. They're making ripples, so from what you guys said they'll be ok.

 

[JustKia]

You don't need bubbles.
Ripples increase the surface area of the water and thus increase the area on which gas exchange (ie oxygen/carbon dioxide) can take place. Also ripples on the surface can help prevent a "scum" from forming on top of your tank.
That happens in my betta tank - if the filter slips (suction pads don't seem to like the acrylic) so that the surface doesn't have any ripples a sort of oilyness or scum forms on the surface. However, if the filter stays high enough to cause just slight ripples the water stays clear.

Air bubbles that are big eoung to see don't have time to dissolve in the water so they aren't really "oxygenating" it at all. These bubbles rise to the surface before they dissolve and so all they really do is help increase the surface area, briefly, when they pop.