How Long To Leave Air Pump On For?

[chris from hull]

If your tank is heavily planted I would leave it on on a night plants take in oxygen at night and produce it during day so if your tank has lots of plants they could take in the majority of the oxygen at night and not leave enough for the fish

 

[StevenF]

The primary reason I believe many people turn them off at night is to reduce noise making it easier for them to sleep. I don't believe it will have a big impact on the life of the pump. Most aquarium are large enough that the oxygen level in the water will not change much overnight. So it shouldn't harm your fish.

 

[nortonmad213]

mines been running constant in my tank for about 4 years now. never broke down, i wrap a little bit of foam around the feet and hold on with an elastic band to stop the noise worrying me.

 

[Jordan_Deus]

Just want to add that if the air stone is your only way of adding oxygen to your tank do NOT turn it off at night. Plants do not perform photosynthesis at night because of a lack of sunlight. Instead they performed cellular respiration, this means they release carbon dioxide. So at night you'll have more carbon dioxide in your water than during the day, assuming your tank is planted.

Edit: They don't perform cellular respiration instead of photosynthesis, rather at night they only perform cellular respiration because they can't also perform photosynthesis.