Air pumps - anyone use em?

T

TryinFishOut

AC Members
Jul 16, 2004
44
0
0
Visit site
First off, I'm talkin about air pumps used for puttin extra oxygen into the tank not powerheads which give currents (i dont know why, but I always get the 2 confused)

So it seems that noone uses em, instead people often only use a filter to oxyginate the water; however in my 10 gallon the water is really warm (82-84) and its gonna be a teeny bit overstocked, and thus im worried about oxygen levels; should I invest in a air pump?
 
Do you have lots of surface aggitation? If you are using an appropriate sized HOB filter for your tank that will provide enough agitation for you. I only use an air punp to power the sponge filter in my Fry tank. 82 degrees isnt that bad but is there any way you could make it go down? And also what fish do you have in there right now?

-Dan
 
the best way to get more oxygen in the water is to turn it over or circulate it. there were times when the power filter was not the norm and the primary way to circulate water was with the uplift from a stream of bubbles from the air pump. now that there are many choices in size and quality of pumps/filters to push water around the tank the reasons, besides esthetics, air pumps are used are largely nullified.
 
I had a cloudyness problem with my display tank whenever i filled it all the way. Remembering something someone here told me about aeration clearing up clouds i poped an air hose and stone into my hob (so i didnt have to see the bubbles). it cleared up the cloudyness in half a day. I put the pump on a timer with my lights so its only on during the day (not when im trying to sleep).

A lot of people think bubbles are tacky (i admit they just dont fit in a natural looking tank). But i am fond of a bubble wall in the back of some more "creative" tanks.

Not sure if thats what you were lookin for but hope it helps!

ryan
 
I have the Rena Air 400 pump. It makes some noise, but it's not a real bothersome noise.

I keep it running 24 hours a day. I think it serves atleast 3 purposes.

1st, My Kuhli Loaches, which some are nocturnal, love to play in the air bubble bath it gives them. What makes them happy, makes me happy.

2nd, Surface agitation. if I didn't have the air bubble's running I would get a scum build-up on the surface of the water.

3rd, during feeding time the air bubbles help distribute the food.
 
Last edited:
I use them for the bubbles that come from a disk under my rocks in the cichlid tank. It also makes my treasure chest lid go up and down, no its not natural looking, but its fun. I also love the wall of fine bubbles and will add that to my 20 long after its cycled.
 
I have probably 6-7 air pumps, and 3-4 battery pumps. I use them in garbage cans with airstones when I age water, use them on sponge filters, in buckets with critters getting prolonged acclimation, and for use if/when a hurricane hits. I figure they'll draw less power from the generator than my bigger power filters in case I need to watch TV or eat when the power is out :D

I dunno why I have so many- I guess I am still old school in thinking I need at least one for each tank I have.
 
I don't use many air pumps now (too noisy, not necessary, fail too quickly...), but of the various types I've purchased, the quietest are the Rena pumps. The noise dampening works as well as any pump I've owned, and they actually sell replacement diaphragms when the originals wear out. I've got a large Rena (a 400?) and a couple of smaller ones (100? 200?) and they're pretty good, as air pumps go.

Unless you're running a sponge or air-driven filter, though, air pumps aren't essential.

HTH,
Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom