In my mind, you are correct here...an air bubble is essentially a small air-water interface traveling through your water column, just like the water surface in your tank. I don't know why people keep suggesting airstones are useless in this regard.
Water aeration.
- Thread starter eon aquatics
- Start date
I've been doing this whenever I set up a tank now--mount a stone on the back wall out of sight hooked into a separate circuit.
You are absolutely correct in stating that the surface area of the bubble functions like the surface area at the top of the tank; that's why smaller bubbles are more efficient than large ones. A big bubble contains X amount of air; the same amount of air spread among a large number of smaller bubbles will have more surface area.
But the surface area of all those bubbles likely works out to a relatively small percentage of the area at the surface of the water...and yet the addition of aeration has a much more profound effect on the carrying capacity of an aquarium than just a few percentage points. It likely doubles or triples the carrying capacity of any tank, big or small.
If the surface are of the bubbles were the primary benefit of aeration, then an airstone added to a large tank would have an inconsequential effect, since the bubbles would be a tiny fraction of the surface area of that large tank. The effect would be much more noticeable in a small tank with a smaller surface area...but in practice, dropping a single small airstone in virtually any tank makes a huge difference. This seems to indicate, IMHO, that it is the water circulation created by the airstone that is the primary benefit.
Lol, no, of course they're not a "scam". Nobody questions that they work, we just debate the particular way in which they contribute to the aquarium.
What is an Air Stone?
Air stones are a useful part of any tank setup but what exactly are air stones and what do they do? We go into what makes an air stone and essential accessory for your home fish tank.
www.cdaquatics.co.uk
"An air stone is sometimes known as an aquarium bubbler and sits within your fish tank in order to diffuse air into your fish tank water."
"Air stones also help with water resistance which can be important for fish growth and muscle development."
Yes but consider the sheer number of bubbles, the time elapsed while the bubble is traversing the water column (compared to say the duration of a surface ripple), and also the surface agitation caused by the uplifting of the bubbles...lot of complex math there and I know you despise my over-complications but I can't help thinking airstones are just all around superior and more reliable...
For instance, I leave my tank unattended for 5-7 days pretty often these days. Frequently when I get back the filter socks have thickened a bit and the water level in my tank will have climbed nearly an inch. The way my nozzles are set there is dramatically more surface agitation when the water level is lower so I can't really rely on agitation for consistent aeration, though it is probably just an imagined problem for me and nothing major.
I've seen test strips that can give a rough measure of dissolved o2, but you would really need an electronic dissolved o2 meter to get any kind of accurate results I think...expensive little gadgets.
Lol, I don't despise your over-complications! Somebody's gotta do that and it sure ain't gonna be me!
As far as elapsed time in the water column goes, I think we can ignore that since at any given moment the number of bubbles in the column, and therefore their surface area, remains pretty much the same. I completely agree that the surface agitation and current created is a major benefit, in fact I said that I thought that was a more important component to airstones than the surface area of the bubbles.
I also agree wholeheartedly that airstones, especially when used to power sponge filters, are by far more efficient than water pumps for virtually any multi-tank set-up. For the guy with one tank, a simple pump that is dropped in and plugged in will probably do more per dollar spent and with less hassle. But I will never give up my airpump and air system; if I were forced to choose right now between using only water pumps or air pumps, and not both...there wouldn't be any contest. I'd switch to air-only in a heartbeat. It would require a bit of re-organizing to set things up, as moving water from one tank to another, or from a sump to a tank, is a bit more complicated with air but still very doable. And, of course, the 50-water-turnovers-per-hour crowd would suffer heart palpitations...but since in actuality we all have the choice, and can also choose both at once, everything is good.
I firmly believe that simpler is better; I guess if that is correct, I must be wonderful!
