Need Oxygen!... If That Makes Sense.

[Clear_waterPro]

Hi guys, at the moment i am having a couple of oxygen problems.

Recently, i have noiticed that my 3 zebra danios and 6 white cloud mountain minnows often gasp at the surface of the tank. It usually occurs in the evening after the tank has been in... unfortunatley direct sunlight for about an hour or 2. It normally just takes a temporary air pump running for about an hour before the fish go back to swimming in their normal routine, so i am pretty sure it's the oxygen levels. Especially because my ammonia and nitrite levels are basically 0. I recently did a water change you see.

Anyway, my tank is pretty tall but not very wide, so the tanks water surface area is small this limits the amount of gas exchange that can occur obviously. I have a 1:1 ratio of fish to plants (9 plants) in a 20 gallon tank, i dont have an airspace/stone becasue i have no space, and the tank is in the kitchen so would be too noisy- if airpump suggestions do come, i do want them to be silent, not just "pretty quiet" or hums a bit... i'm sorry, but i am very fussy. One more thing, i have got the filter outlet (internal RENA superclean 40 filter) pointing up, so that does create a bit of surface agitation.

Any other ways to get a high oxygen level in my tank?

Thanks.

 

[Jakey02578]

You can buy pellet things, never used them but they are quite cheap, you could give them a go?

 

[Clear_waterPro]

You can buy pellet things, never used them but they are quite cheap, you could give them a go?

Yeah, i've seen them in the shops, don't know how long they last for... i think they just dissolve away... thanks for the idea though, i'll give em a try.
I'll see how they go.

 

[richpowell1989]

surface agitation from my filter outlet is enough thats all i have in my rainbowfish tank and they are ment to have a high oxygen tank, i have never had a problem

 

[Clear_waterPro]

surface agitation from my filter outlet is enough thats all i have in my rainbowfish tank and they are ment to have a high oxygen tank, i have never had a problem

Thanks, i'll see if i can increase the current flowing out

 

[DrRob]

Higher temps tend to lend themselves to lower O2 levels in the water, so it may simply be heat. The better the flow the higher the levels.

Oh, and I have to bite, it's just too tempting ....what do you mean by basically 0?

 

[Clear_waterPro]

Higher temps tend to lend themselves to lower O2 levels in the water, so it may simply be heat. The better the flow the higher the levels.

Oh, and I have to bite, it's just too tempting ....what do you mean by basically 0?

By basically 0 i mean 0, sorry for the confusion i guess i was just trying to be modest . My tank is pretty mature being around 3

years old, i've always done a 30% water change and feed my danios and wcmm only what they need. Do you know how i could keep the temp

moderatly low at around 73/74 degrees prehaps. My kitchen (where my tank is located) has a lot of glass windows... etc and i fear that

with summer just around the corner my tank will become a little on the warm side.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I wonder if something simple like a bottle of frozen water in the tank would work?

 

[Clear_waterPro]

I wonder if something simple like a bottle of frozen water in the tank would work?

I don't know, i reckon i could try out a small ice cube of frozen tank water and see how the fish react to it? I don't know if the

fish would really like it though, they might get a little chilly . Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

lol well you better distinguish which ice cubes are tank water while in the freezer!

 

[Curiosity101]

You could always line the sides that are letting in light with foil or something else reflective. Also you can switch to an open top tank and let evaporation help keep the water temperature down. You'd probably still want something over the top to stop the fish jumping out but it's pretty easy to make a lid out of plastic mesh, netting or egg crate (the type used in marine tanks).

 

[Clear_waterPro]

You could always line the sides that are letting in light with foil or something else reflective. Also you can switch to an open top tank and let evaporation help keep the water temperature down. You'd probably still want something over the top to stop the fish jumping out but it's pretty easy to make a lid out of plastic mesh, netting or egg crate (the type used in marine tanks).

Good idea, i didn't think of that.

 

[Teephphah]

Recently did a water change, eh?

Well, I certainly hope you siphoned your gravel properly.

 

[Clear_waterPro]

Recently did a water change, eh?

Well, I certainly hope you siphoned your gravel properly.

Haha, good one!

 

[Clear_waterPro]

ignore the last post i made- i have no idea how to insert a picture