do you need an air stone or air intake for powerheads?

i see some people have air out of the powerheads, some none. is it essential? i seem to have enough air coming out of my skimmer output pipe and it collides with the powerheads flow. when i tried the air attachment on the powerhead, even on the lowest setting the tank was literally filled with bubbles.

Amphiprion said:

The addition of air into powerheads isn't necessary. Good surface movement and a protein skimmer should provide adequate gas exchange.

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ok, my concern was my canopy then. i have one of those standard canopys for a 20 gallon, and at the back i put that little plastic strip (the one you cut to go around your heater etc). my tank isn't air-tight by any means, but there are a few gaps throughout the back. i added these little piece to help control salt spray from the skimmer output bubles, altho minor, i figured it would help with evaporation and it definitely has. so what i'm asking is, should i remove the one little cover above the air bubbles from the skimmer? i was wondering if my using this cover could lower the ph of the water...by not allowing free flow gas exchange.

Blueiz said:

Im pretty sure powerheads are used for water flow in the tank, so I dont think that an air stone would work.

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(i meant an air stone in the tank water)

excuzzzeme said:

Some powerheads have the ability to add air to your system. If you need the additional help in off-gassing the water then yes, you can add an air line. No airstone is required as the water mixes with the return stream of water. Adding air will also decrease the output. You will need to check the spec sheet for your powerhead.

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i was originally going to use it, but the powerhead throws an insane amont of air out (oh and i know an air stone is a separate thing, it was my sloppy thread title, sorry)

Amphiprion said:

I would remove the cover altogether--evaporation isn't really a bad thing, just try to stay on top of it. Those covers dramatically affect tank gas exchange, CO2 concentrations and subsequently pH.

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ty, that is what i was after. the whole 2 months i let the tank cycle, my ph was always around 8.3-8.4. a couple days after i introduced livestock and about a week of having those covers on, the ph was low one day (7.8). i did a partial water change, and since then it's about 8.1 - 8.2. so whether it was the fact that 2 weeks went by without a water change or the covers, i'm glad i asked this question. ty

btw, 2 quick ones:

1) if SG falls, does ph? (generally speaking)
2) do i need separate food for my turbo snail, hermits and cleaner shrimp? if so what? i just hand fed the shrimp a flake which i can't believe how tame he is already.

Amphiprion said:

1) No. pH is always independent of salinity. However, as salinity falls, the solubility and concentration of the carbonate/bicarbonate buffer system decreases, making pH more prone to otherwise minor fluctuations. While salinity doesn't directly affect pH, the other stuff in the salt (or lack thereof) certainly will.
2)The snails will need algal based foods. They will often eat dried seaweed that is normally fed to herbivorous fishes. This is assuming you have little to no film algae for them to graze upon, however. The shrimp is by and large carnivorous. Any meat, flake food, etc. is fine. The hermits appreciate just about anything, including some algae and meaty leftovers.

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ty for the info

i'm just wondering about the food since the tank is only 2 months old, if perhaps i should buy some. i notice there are spots of purple algae starting on the glass, some green hair kind in a couple spots, green bubble algae and brown carpet covering in places on the sand. not sure if thats algae or detritus.

all in all, tho the tank and occupants seem to be doing fine, fish are colorful, swimming about, the shrimp is less and less shy hermits and snail are grazing on something.

final question for the night, can those small feather duster tube worm things be propagated? a bunch came on the live rock, but some were damaged by me and some i see on the sand from the hermits snail or shrimp maybe, something else?

i appreciate the sound advice