Leaving the tank air pump 24/7

[pacu mom]

It is possible to have a tank system without air pumps. I have never run an air pump on my tank, except for battery powered air pumps during power outages years ago. A whole house generator took care of the need to keep BPAPs around. Even without air pumps, my tank is well aerated with a closed loop mechanical filtration system powered by a Reeflo Hammerhead pump and with a venturi return nozzle that spits out air. There is swift, turbulent flow in the tank.

However, if I had a quiet, calm tank with not much flow action, I would definitely have an aerator of some kind and I would run it 24/7.

 

[jjohnwm]

One of my friends said keeping the air pump full time or during whole daytime isn’t good for most species of fish as they get used to the constant supply of O2 and when a sudden power outage comes in (a full day one) the fish would lack the O2 they depend on daily and die, so to keep the pump on for one hr or so.

This is very reminiscent of the tale written by Mark Twain, in which he details his experiments in adapting a horse to survive without food. He gradually reduced the horses's food ration day by day. He claimed excellent success and expected to be able to discontinue food altogether, but when he got down to one handful of oats per day, the horse "unexpectedly" died, ending the experiment.

 

[esoxlucius]

Another one of Mark Twains quotes was, "Everyman has a secret ambition: to outsmart horses, fish and women."

No chance outsmarting a woman, not interested in outsmarting a horse, but outsmarting fish, that's the nugget we all strive for, lol.

 

[litigator666]

the last time i did set the timer - on and off on my airpump, i quickly broke the rubber thing inside in a few weeks. i suggest just to keep it on.