I have a 75 gallon tank and a 11 inch Kamfa Flowerhorn. It has a DIY filter (with a 300 gph powerhead), 2 air stones, and a 100 gph powerhead for water circulation. I have been running this setup for about 2 and a half years. At times I get tired of the noise from the air pump. I have seen that many people feel that a wavemaker is better than bubbles for introducing oxygen. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Air Stones or Wavemaker
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Airstones can add more oxygen via the bubbles and through surface agitation. I read this in a scientific study looking at oxygen levels of both, and there was a difference between the 2, with the airstone allowing more oxygen into the water.
Since your problem is noise, why not get a power head with a venturi valve? (like the maxijets). You get both surface agitation and bubbles versus just surface agitation with a wave maker.
Since your problem is noise, why not get a power head with a venturi valve? (like the maxijets). You get both surface agitation and bubbles versus just surface agitation with a wave maker.
I haven't run an air pump in like 15 years. Works just as well having a decent wavemaker disturbing the surface even if you don't have a powerhead with a venturi. But it's WAY quieter and gives much more flexibility for adjusting flow.
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I don't remember seeing it. It just had words and graphs/tables. The study just verified something that I had experienced with previous tanks. One example was ]about a decade ago, I ran a 110g with 2 HOBs and had a blood parrot with other fish. The power went out so I stuck a DD battery operated air pump with a spherical airstone the same diameter as a quarter. It didn't produce ripples as large as the 2 HOBs. I took my chance with it since I didn't have anything else. Well, the fish survived 10 hours that way. Later on, one of the HOBs died and within an hour the BP was gasping air at the top (none of the other fish were doing this). I put in the airstone battery pump again, and about close to an hour the BP stopped gasping.
I mean at the end of the day, as long as the fish aren't gasping it works. Just responding to the portion of the OP's statement about which was better at introducing oxygen.
Here is a tank I had using a venturi tube on the effluent of a pump.
The tank is a 6 footer and the venturi send bubbles across about 3 ft length.
At the moment I'm using these and find the lust as useful.
The tank is a 6 footer and the venturi send bubbles across about 3 ft length.
At the moment I'm using these and find the lust as useful.
Something to be aware of is that pumped air (bubbles) per se DO NOT ADD Oxygen to the tank's water !
Pumped air is AIR, not oxygen, but of course contains a lot of Oxygen (as well as CO2, and other things). The concentration of oxygen in air (in well ventilated areas) is much higher than the concentration of oxygen in water.
Thus, agitation of the surface water and the movement of deeper water towards the water surface (via bubbles from air stones), or via a venturi from a powerhead (or other means) is what increases dramatically the gas exchange (at the surface). The exchange is between surface water and air, thus resulting in an increase of oxygen concentration in the water.
There is a sweet spot of the size of bubbles that promote most gas exchange at the surface, and generally smaller bubbles do a better job, down to a minimal size beyond which exchange decreases.
So again, air stones (or venturis) do not add oxygen per se. Instead, they promote (increase) gas exchange at the surface.
Pumped air is AIR, not oxygen, but of course contains a lot of Oxygen (as well as CO2, and other things). The concentration of oxygen in air (in well ventilated areas) is much higher than the concentration of oxygen in water.
Thus, agitation of the surface water and the movement of deeper water towards the water surface (via bubbles from air stones), or via a venturi from a powerhead (or other means) is what increases dramatically the gas exchange (at the surface). The exchange is between surface water and air, thus resulting in an increase of oxygen concentration in the water.
There is a sweet spot of the size of bubbles that promote most gas exchange at the surface, and generally smaller bubbles do a better job, down to a minimal size beyond which exchange decreases.
So again, air stones (or venturis) do not add oxygen per se. Instead, they promote (increase) gas exchange at the surface.