air stone

[susiejames101]

Hi
I bought a pump and an air stone today to improve my water circulation and it vibrates like mad!!! the fish initially hid away but seem to be used to it now, but its driving me mad!! have i done something obviously wrong ? its an aqua air AP2 filter which is supposed to be for a 20 gallon tank and mine is 30 gallons, the air stone is about 5 or 6 '' long . I have turned it off for the night as I think it would keep me awake let alone the fish!!! is it ok to turn it on and off to suit and how can i reduce the noise and vibration??

 

[qtaquaman]

Airstone

If its the air stone thats vibrating try holding it down with rocks.

 

[Kasakato]

What kind of air pump are you using?

 

[amosf]

You don't need the airstome for oxygen if you have a power filter, so it's just for circulation - so you can switch it off and on... Tho it really shouldn't vibrate that much. If it's the actual pump vibrating then put a bit of foam between the pump and the surface it's laying or hanging on. I've never seen a stone vibrate much?

 

[susiejames101]

I do have a filter and pump in the tank.The air stone is just to make the water move around a bit more , the pump itself makes a noise but it seems to be the airstone that is making the tank vibrate!! i was wondering if the pump is too powerful for the stone, my tank has sand so it is difficult to make it stay on the bottom of the tank , i was worried about the vibration upsetting the fish but after an initial hide away the puffer was out swimming around and begging for food as per usual !!anyway I have turned it off to let the fish and myself sleep!!!!

 

[Silverfire]

I've noticed this too - the airpump barely makes any noise but the noise coming from the tank is huge! And no, I have no bloody clue why it does that. It doesn't seem to bother my fish...

 

[redbucket]

You don't need the airstome for oxygen if you have a power filter

various experts, is this true?

 

[Kasakato]

If the water out put is hitting and bubling the water than yes it is true. Any other air stone will just look nice. If the filter out put is not droping into the tank than you may need an air stone.

 

[amosf]

various experts, is this true?

This appears to be the case and hopefully we will get some other opinions As long as you have circulation in the tank such that you get surface turnover then you will get sufficient oxygenation.

I use an airstone myself as it is a good way to get plenty of gentle circulation, which aids filtration etc. But you don't need the actual bubbles and don't really get any substansial oxygenation from the bubbles thenselves.

 

[redbucket]

you don't need the actual bubbles and don't really get any substansial oxygenation from the bubbles thenselves.

that's wonderful -- i'm currently upgrading from a 10g to a 55g (wahoo), and had planned on buying a new, larger air pump. but, i'll have two aqua clear power filters on the new tank, so i will just use my small air pump for decoritive bubbles / circulation. i can put the money i saved toward more decor!