Jun 14, 2009
Posted by Freshwater Aquariums in FAQ | 3 Comments
Does A Planted Aquarium Need Oxygen Supplementation During The Night?
I have a 20 gallon aquarium with 6 fish and one large plant. During the day there is plenty of oxygen in the water from the plant's photosynthesis, but do I need to turn on an aerator during the night?
Your aquarium needs a source of mild current so that the oxygenated water on the surface can mix with the oxygen poor water of the depths. It is necessary to maintain a slight current in order to prevent the water from stagnating. Stagnant, unmoving water is unhealthy for both humans and fish because bad bacteria can grow in it. A plant alone is not enough to circulate the water in your tank.
Think about the human body. You breathe with your lungs, just like the plant breathes for the tank. But without blood flow, the oxygen in your lungs would never reach the tissues in the rest of your body. Your poor feet would die and fall off. The aquarium is much the same. A slight current that disturbs the surface of the water is needed for vital gas exchange. You have your choice between method of water circulation, of course. You can have a pump, a filter, an aerator, a bubbler, an airstone, a waterfall, or whatever method you want. Just make sure that all of the water in the aquarium is moving for several hours a day.
For your situation, I recommend a quiet waterfall filter. Here is a picture of the schematics for one such machine. (see below) They are very quiet and make little to no noise if set up properly. Filling the water up to the level of the outpour tray eliminates splashing sounds. The water in the aquarium gets circulated with such a machine, and if you want, you can stick a carbon filter pad inside the waterfall filter machine and it will also boost your water quality.
Schematics: http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/3/7/7/0/8...
If your aerator is quiet and doesn’t keep you awake at night then yes, by all means, go ahead and use it. Oxygenating your water more will help your fish, as long as they’re able to sleep, too (not too strong of a current).
Aerator’s do NOT provide Oxygen. They just throw dry air in there with plenty of bad things. Plants hate aerators, so make sure you NEVER turn one on during the day. If you want, you can just turn it on during the night, when they’re sleeping, and somehow manage to turn it back off before the sun comes up (i recommend a timer) and that wouldn’t really kill them. But, I just think it’s better to just not use one at all.
Nope your good to go…
what your asking is right but only extensively planted tanks with pressurized co2 injection.
any filter that disturbs the top of the water negates any need for an aerator at all as proper gas exchange is happening already.
an aerator produces pockets of air that break the surface tension of the water allowing gases out and gases in.
that’s all it’s doing, its not actually pumping O2 into the water.
you dropping rocks in the water is doing the same an aerator is but just from the opposite direction.
A 15% weekly water change guarantees success.
good luck