aerator

[Sconad]

i'm sure i'll get jumped for asking what some will see as a dumb
question, but how many of you use an aerator? how absolutely necessary
is it?

[ExPat]

On Apr 20, 6:02*pm, Sconad > wrote:
> i'm sure i'll get jumped for asking what some will see as a dumb
> question, but how many of you use an aerator? *how absolutely necessary
> is it?

Hard to say, but I sure have not used any aerators in years and years
in a tropical fish setup. I use mainly hob type filters and as long as
they stir up or agitate the top surface of the water its always been
just fine, plus the fact I do not overload my systems. Overloaded
systems will benefit with additional aeration, but it just does not
seem to be a vital factor like it used to be years back. If I want
additional water movement, I add a power head for current flow or to
agitate or mix up water, and fish seem to enjoy it better than a
typical air powered device. Then again to each his own, as there is a
lot of foks that still like seeing a wall of bubbles or a treasure
chest or deep sea diver blowing out bubbles.

[Larry Blanchard]

On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:02:40 -0500, Sconad wrote:

>
> i'm sure i'll get jumped for asking what some will see as a dumb
> question, but how many of you use an aerator? how absolutely necessary
> is it?

In a heavily planted tank, running an aerator at night can compensate some
for the plants oxygen consumption. There's not a lot of oxygen absorbed
from the bubbles themselves. Most additional oxygen comes from the
surface turbulence created by the rising bubbles. At least that's what
most of the books say.

That said, I don't use one. In my only tank with a lot of plants and a
normal fish load, I have a canister filter with a spray bar. The
turbulence from the spray bar seems to be sufficient.