What's the point in air stones? Do I need them? What may be the pros and cons of having them? Is there anything better than air stones for increased oxygen? I have a 240 gallon aquarium with a LargemouthBass, Florida Gar and Flathead Catfish if that makes a difference.
Air Stones needed?
- Thread starter Apburninup
- Start date
75% decoration. 25% circulation. 100% annoying noise.
No.
Pros: Can look nice.
Adds a little circulation and airation.
Cons:
Noisy.
Buzzy.
Noisy.
Irritating
POS air pumps.
Having your filter disturbing the surface. Power head or wavemaker pointed towards the surface.
You need air stones to help move water. Water moves with the bubbles upward. This brings water in contact with air/oxygen to help saturate it.
Can be achieved with good filtration/pump.
No need for air stones as long as you have good churning water from ur other equipment.
Can be achieved with good filtration/pump.
No need for air stones as long as you have good churning water from ur other equipment.
I think I have fairly good flow but was probably going to add a wave maker at some point in time soon. Any suggestions on size for a 240 gallon and any brands better than another?
I always suggest Jebao wavemakers, something like an RW8 or pair of them on a 240 gallon tank should give a good very wide flow. They're also adjustable, so you can turn the current down if it's a bit much. And they're pretty inexpensive.
hello; Can you run a tank without some sort of bubbler? Yes, I have done so. However I only tried running tanks without some sort of a bubbler for a decade or so. The other four decades or so I have used them including the last two.
The absolute best thing I can say for air pumps and bubblers is they have saved my tanks many times. In the late 1950's and 1960's air operated equipment was all I had. Had air operated HOB filters as well as simple bubblers.
Somewhere along the line, say the 70's, power filters started being available. They were not reliable. Several times a week they would lose siphon and all that was operating would be the air pump.
Eventually the power filter designs got better to the point they can be relied on for the most part. I still do find a malfunction from time to time but they are more rare. I now run power filters on most tanks and some sort of bubblers together.
I get that many do not care for the history of things and may tend to dismiss the above as old school. Let me point out that what worked in the past will work now. With an air pump and a few sponge filters I can keep tanks going when the other stuff fails. You can even get battery operated air pumps for when the power is out.
I keep some sponge bases in my power filters to keep them loaded with bb and can set up a new tank quickly with them.
