air pump or canister.. in sump?

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rkc772

rkc772

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jan 2, 2006
1,851
1
68
Southern California 91744
i have a 180 gal being filtered by a CPR CR3000 wet/dry (400gal capacity)...

the temp in so. cal. is just too much... my tank is going from 80-84F in one day... i want to have more O2 in the water for my fish.. since warm water reduces the O2.

would you consider putting an xp3 in the sump and the spray bar on the top to make a rain fall type or buy a rena 400 air pump and put airstones in the sump?

$$$ is not an issue... i would rather spend more than loose my fishes.:D honest opinion please!:)
 
i would just get the air stones and add them to the tank itself
 
Honestly... Both... And split the air between the sump and the tank. Use an aerator that gives the smallest bubbles you can find. There are several ceramic elements and a wood block that output extremely fine bubbles but do create some backpressure that can harm air pumps.

The spray bar on the return helps to break-up surface tension and let the surface exchange gases better. It also breaks up any scum (eck) on the surface so it goes to the filter.

Where's your tank located for these mood swings? inhouse? got any pics?
 
If your gonna add an airstone and an xp3, you might as well do it outside the sump. Most of the NH3 is probably already broken down after the trickle. And the water in the sump probably is already highly oxygenated. I think adding an airstone and an xp3 directly to the tank with the spraybar creating agitation, would be more helpful than in the sump.
 
can't you angle your water outlet from your sump so that it agitates the surface? if you can't then i would go with the pump and airstone. then you can buy a sponge filter and keep it in your sump for emergency/hospital tank purposes.
 
vanimate said:
If your gonna add an airstone and an xp3, you might as well do it outside the sump. Most of the NH3 is probably already broken down after the trickle. And the water in the sump probably is already highly oxygenated. I think adding an airstone and an xp3 directly to the tank with the spraybar creating agitation, would be more helpful than in the sump.
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the reason why i want it in the sump is because i don't want anything in the tank except the fish, driftwood, & gravel. so if i do put it in the sump its useless? ;)
 
do what I did .. I took the piece from a old power head that has the liitle screw type valve that regulates the air flow thats pulled from venturi of the water flow & I extended the tubeing to where it lays a couple inches into opening where my return pump is and enough to hang over the outside of the sump. Then you can controll the amount of air flow from the screw valve.. MAKE SURE to secure the line well or else it will get sucked up into your pump & definatly cause some problems. You can create very fine bubbles or larger ones .... See now you don't need anyof those..
 
rkc772 said:
the reason why i want it in the sump is because i don't want anything in the tank except the fish, driftwood, & gravel. so if i do put it in the sump its useless? ;)
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Not useless, just not ideal... I didn't know you didn't want anything in the tank. If that includes an airstone, then do it all in the sump.

Surface transfer of gases is marginal at best, like a car, forced induction is better. That's why they use it in water treatment facilities.

I was putting the airstone under the bio-mass to aerate it and keep the pump from cavitating.

You could inject it right after the return pump.

Try the airstone in the sump first, it's the least amount of work and see how it goes for a month or two. If your fish seem to be smiling more, you did good. Just try to get the finest bubbles possible with what you have.
 
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