Would An Air Stone Help My Tank?

[Peter C]

Air stone connected to a pump

Would it help my tank ie fish and plants?

Cheers

 

[RossC]

It would help the fish by water surface movement allowing oxygen in. Not much use to plants though.

 

[Peter C]

What are these co2 systems then?

What do they do?

 

[Proxo]

When your tank lights are on they use up CO2 and release oxygen, when they're off they use up oxygen and release CO2.
Most plants do well without CO2 but if you're interested try DIY CO2 with sugar and yeast mix.

 

[RossC]

What are these co2 systems then?

What do they do?

In heavily planted tanks the plants lack a big enough source of carbon dioxide. So people either use liquid carbon or a CO2 injection system. Both of which put a controlled amount of carbon or CO2 into the water which encourages the plants to grow and remain healthy. Now adding CO2 into water reduces the oxygen levels which can be deadly to most fish which is why its important they are strictly managed. Although, by adding CO2 plants use this up and turn into oxygen so it does balance out in the end. Its a very risky thing to do in the wrong hands but it can be super beneficial.
Did you watch the video in my signature by the way?

 

[CezzaXV]

It would help the fish by water surface movement allowing oxygen in. Not much use to plants though.

I agree with this, although your filter should be creating water surface movement anyway (and if it's not, you should move it).

Air pumps are mainly for aesthetics. They don't achieve much apart from looking nice.

 

[[email protected]]

i have my filter setup going in a counterclockwise motion as i live north of the equator so i have realy good motion in the tank... even the plants down at the bottom are swaying due to this, i also have two air stones in the tank... IMO it is best to have an airstone even if its only a small 1 but when u buy the airpump make sure to see how loud it is in the shop cause some of them are realy loud (just cause it says silent on the box dont mean it is lol)... i have fallen into this trap an it can be quite annoying....

It would help the fish by water surface movement allowing oxygen in. Not much use to plants though.

I agree with this, although your filter should be creating water surface movement anyway (and if it's not, you should move it).

Air pumps are mainly for aesthetics. They don't achieve much apart from looking nice.

thats not what it says in the algee section??? and on lots of other forums and guides... they say if you dont have enough co2 it promotes the growth of algee???

 

[RossC]

thats not what it says in the algee section??? and on lots of other forums and guides... they say if you dont have enough co2 it promotes the growth of algee???

Huh? I'm confused with where this threads going now. Nathan this is right lack of CO2 can cause algea but this was orignially about oxygen from an airstone.

 

[[email protected]]

thats not what it says in the algee section??? and on lots of other forums and guides... they say if you dont have enough co2 it promotes the growth of algee???

Huh? I'm confused with where this threads going now. Nathan this is right lack of CO2 can cause algea but this was orignially about oxygen from an airstone.

only mentioned algee caues someone said air is just decorative... which im sure isnt...

 

[RossC]

thats not what it says in the algee section??? and on lots of other forums and guides... they say if you dont have enough co2 it promotes the growth of algee???

Huh? I'm confused with where this threads going now. Nathan this is right lack of CO2 can cause algea but this was orignially about oxygen from an airstone.

only mentioned algee caues someone said air is just decorative... which im sure isnt...

From an airstone it pretty much is. In order to get CO2 in there you need a CO2 system or liquid carbon, completely different to a standard airstone and pump

 

[Peter C]

I'm tired from work do bare with me

But co2 stops algae?

 

[RossC]

I'm tired from work do bare with me

But co2 stops algae?

Yep either CO2 or liquid carbon such as easy carbo or flourish excel will help fight against algae

 

[Peter C]

I'm tired from work do bare with me

But co2 stops algae?

Yep either CO2 or liquid carbon such as easy carbo or flourish excel will help fight against algae

Are there any completely automatic systems? Like a pump where you switch it on and leave it? Or is it all like yours ie bottles / containers that need refilled every so often?

 

[RossC]

I'm tired from work do bare with me

But co2 stops algae?

Yep either CO2 or liquid carbon such as easy carbo or flourish excel will help fight against algae

Are there any completely automatic systems? Like a pump where you switch it on and leave it? Or is it all like yours ie bottles / containers that need refilled every so often?

All CO2 systems run from a bottle or canister of come kind as it is pure CO2, they are quite cheap to refill and should last months. You can get automatic systems that use a solenoid to turn the CO2 on and off. This is so you are not injecting CO2 at night when the plants aren't using it. So that's pretty much automatic as the only thing you would need to do is get the bottle refilled every 6-9 months depending on its capacity and the rate your using it. Mine is a 2kg fire extinguisher and should last around 8-9 months each refill

 

[Steve H.]

I'm tired from work do bare with me

But co2 stops algae?

I just want to interject a point on this here.

A lot of algae problems in a planted tank are due to fluctuating co2 levels during the photo period.
The idea of injecting co2 or dosing liquid carbon are attempts to keep the co2 levels a consistent 30ppm during the photo period. And, thus prevent algae.

You can inject or dose co2 and still get algae.

So, to your question about airstone's. I run DIY co2 that is non-pressurized, and I can't turn it off.
I have an airstone on a timer that turns on when the lights turn off, and turns off 2 hours before the lights go on.
The airstone helps "bubble off" excess co2 during the night. It also breaks up any protien film on the water surface.

Yes, dependant on the application an airstone will help your tank.