to much air?
- Thread starter reds_21
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It's really a simple science concept.
Where does dissolved oxygen come from?
There are two main sources of dissolved oxygen: air and photosynthesis. Consider photosynthesis first. You probably know that photosynthesis is the fundamental biological process that uses light energy to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis. Both algae (phytoplankton, seaweeds) and plants can be found in natural bodies of water. These organisms are net producers of oxygen in the daytime, but at night become net consumers of oxygen.
Now consider oxygen from the air. At the surface of the water, oxygen from the air equilibrates with oxygen dissolved in the water. This is a dynamic equilibrium: the oxygen molecules are in constant motion. At any given moment, some are leaving the water for the air, and some are leaving the air to dissolve in water. At equilibrium, there is a balance. On average, an equal number of oxygen molecules are leaving and entering the water. If the water temperature increases, the water can't hold as much oxygen as before—the water is oversaturated with oxygen. For a time, there will be more oxygen molecules leaving the water than entering it from the air. Then a new equilibrium will be reached, with less oxygen in the water than before.
Moving water has a rougher surface than still water. With more surface area in contact with air, moving water will equilibrate with air more quickly. (You'll make use of this in your experiment.) In natural situations, water can also become stratified into different layers (see the Science Buddies project Can Water Float on Water?). For example, cold water is denser than warm water, and salt water is denser than fresh water. Can you think of ways that different layers of water might form in a lake or ocean? What do you think happens to the oxygen in a colder layer of water trapped under a warmer layer of water? (Remember that the warmer layer cannot hold as much dissolved oxygen as the colder layer. See the Variations section for a project idea on this topic.)
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/EnvSci_p014.shtml
Where does dissolved oxygen come from?
There are two main sources of dissolved oxygen: air and photosynthesis. Consider photosynthesis first. You probably know that photosynthesis is the fundamental biological process that uses light energy to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis. Both algae (phytoplankton, seaweeds) and plants can be found in natural bodies of water. These organisms are net producers of oxygen in the daytime, but at night become net consumers of oxygen.
Now consider oxygen from the air. At the surface of the water, oxygen from the air equilibrates with oxygen dissolved in the water. This is a dynamic equilibrium: the oxygen molecules are in constant motion. At any given moment, some are leaving the water for the air, and some are leaving the air to dissolve in water. At equilibrium, there is a balance. On average, an equal number of oxygen molecules are leaving and entering the water. If the water temperature increases, the water can't hold as much oxygen as before—the water is oversaturated with oxygen. For a time, there will be more oxygen molecules leaving the water than entering it from the air. Then a new equilibrium will be reached, with less oxygen in the water than before.
Moving water has a rougher surface than still water. With more surface area in contact with air, moving water will equilibrate with air more quickly. (You'll make use of this in your experiment.) In natural situations, water can also become stratified into different layers (see the Science Buddies project Can Water Float on Water?). For example, cold water is denser than warm water, and salt water is denser than fresh water. Can you think of ways that different layers of water might form in a lake or ocean? What do you think happens to the oxygen in a colder layer of water trapped under a warmer layer of water? (Remember that the warmer layer cannot hold as much dissolved oxygen as the colder layer. See the Variations section for a project idea on this topic.)
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/EnvSci_p014.shtml
I'm not sure what the point is here.
at some point the water will become saturated..using air(which is not comprised entirely of O2)
if you off gas the CO2 would you also not off gas the O2?
I believe the question was ..can you put too much air in the water.
under most situations..I don't believe so..you would have to have so much 'air' pumped in that you couldn't see the fish..in this situation I suppose you may be able to agitate the water enough to disipate the O2 or would you put too much in? I would surmise that the exchange would off set and you may be able to reach maximum 'air' saturation.
but it is interesting.
at some point the water will become saturated..using air(which is not comprised entirely of O2)
if you off gas the CO2 would you also not off gas the O2?
I believe the question was ..can you put too much air in the water.
under most situations..I don't believe so..you would have to have so much 'air' pumped in that you couldn't see the fish..in this situation I suppose you may be able to agitate the water enough to disipate the O2 or would you put too much in? I would surmise that the exchange would off set and you may be able to reach maximum 'air' saturation.
but it is interesting.
unless of course, your fish hops out of the tank...
good point. i got a fish once, and by mistake, instead of putting the open plasic bag in the tank, I put it on the living room floor. ( i can be a little forgetful) when i came back later, there was the fish, dead. lying on the floor surrounded by a little water and a Whole Lot of air.
I searched the web for days and finally came to understand the cause of death: Too Much Air!
so,I figure, as long as you have more air than water, you are probably ok.
The article cited by didy was discussing a planted tank. a tank designed primarily to grow plants
I think that the writer of the article therefor assumes that the CO2 content of his water will be higher than that of the air. in which case his statement could be seen as making some sense.only when it is taken out of context is it fully poppycock and nonsense.
Anyway, Not even didy's cited article suggests that "too much air" will hurt fish.
OP having a fish tank, not a 'planted tank' and not even having any live plants, the whole reference was rather :OT: .
so, IMO as long as you are not talking about an environment equivilant to my livingroom floor. (or the conditions RiVerfishgirl described) you don't need to worry a bit about "too much" air.
this isnt a planted tank so what they are talking about doesnt apply here. sorry reds_21 for the mess. i would section off a area of where the fish can have a peaceful area. if you see them staying in this area you might want to thing about cutting out some of the other air bubbles. if they look fine dont bother with it.
