do I need an airstone or not?
- Thread starter sailon1984
- Start date
Hello,......airstones, at least one strong one hidden so you cant see the airstone itself are not an eye sore but an unknown source of many bubbles. These bubbles make the surface move a lot which airates the water. I would definetely recommend one per tank or with large tanks every 3 to 4 feet have one. The biggest reason I can think of as an advantage to having an airstone is for overcrowded tanks they are a must. A battery operated airpump should also be used in case of power outages for over crowded tanks.
I haven't used airstones/airpumps on most of my tanks. When I was a young man still living with the parents, I had 5 tanks in my room from 5gal to 180gal, and having airpumps would have driven me mad. I used powerheads (without the airline attached), hobs and cannisters and never had problems with too little aeration. Even when my 55 sprang a leak and I had to stuff all the fish from it into an already stocked 20 gallon, there were no problems. No airstones, no airpumps, no problems. Do you need them? No. Do they work? Yes. The real question you have to ask is: Do you want them? Only you can answer that.
Tinfoil barbs are one of the most oxygen dependent fish out there. If you have a power outage, your tinfoils wil be the first to croak. A HOB filter IMO provides a heap more surface agitation and O2 than an air stone/line/bar ever could.
