Bubble in saltwater tank

jayfan

New Member
Just wondering why air stones or air strips are bad in a saltwater tank????? I just really like the way they look.... but have heard/read they aren't good.
 

pattycakes

New Member
supposedly bubbles to the fish can cause bloating i believe and it stresses them out...as for corals and inverts like a sponge if air gets in there matrix? or hole it will kill them maybe someone with more knowledge can explain more in detail
 

fibinotchi

Member
Bubbles popping at the surface cause salt creep all over the glass above and on everything which can be a pain and an eye soar. That is one reason to not have one.
 

pezenfuego

Active Member
Bubbles are absolutely horrible for a saltwater tank.
The above statement is completely and utterly FALSE!
This is my favorite SW myth. There are two things that bubbles can do that are bad. One is that if the air comes in contact with a sponge, the sponge may die. The other is that if they get in an overflow, they may cause a siphon break.
There are no negative effects to coral or fish whatsoever.
 

fibinotchi

Member
Hey idiot, why don't you make sure to identify which statement is false because my statement is above and completely and utterly TRUE!
 

don1234

Member
I heard that if bubbles get trapped in the fishes gills it could kill them. I've only heard that. But from experience the airstones produce bubbles that rise and when they reach the surface they burst causing salt to go everywhere, down the tank against the wall etc...I experienced that first hand. I had a bubble wand and I was constantly wiping evrything down until on SWF I read a post by one of the more experienced hobbyist explaining the whole bubble bursting salt creep thing. So I took the wand out and no more salt creep. There is still a litte from normal splashes and when water evaporates the overflow from my skimmer has further to travel back into the tank so it splashes a little.
 

bang guy

Moderator
If you've visited a fore reef you will know that there are trillions of microbubbles in the first several feet of water. Any organism that was sensitive to bubbles would quickly perish. Since this is the zone most of our animals thrive in I doubt that bubbles have any negative effect on the fish and corals we keep. Salt creep is a major concern.
 

pattycakes

New Member
hmm good point i seem to have been wrong...(negative ten points to the pattycakes...) but imo i think its unsitely? forgive my spelling
 

pattycakes

New Member
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego
http:///forum/post/3238664
Bubbles are absolutely horrible for a saltwater tank.
The above statement is completely and utterly FALSE!
This is my favorite SW myth. There are two things that bubbles can do that are bad. One is that if the air comes in contact with a sponge, the sponge may die. The other is that if they get in an overflow, they may cause a siphon break.
There are no negative effects to coral or fish whatsoever.
one question though i've heard it causes bubble algae is that true though?...
 

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by pattycakes
http:///forum/post/3239143
one question though i've heard it causes bubble algae is that true though?...
No lol. Algae and bacteria can produce bubbles from the decomposition of nitrates.
I always hated the term, "microbubbles." Micro is too small of a word. If the bubbles were truly "micro," we wouldn't be able to see them.
 

xcali1985

Active Member
Originally Posted by don1234
http:///forum/post/3238742
I heard that if bubbles get trapped in the fishes gills it could kill them. .
Why would this be any different than a fresh water fish? Not attacking you personally as ive heard it also, along with bubbles breaking on the fish eyes causing popeye. Fish "make up" are all virtually the same when it comes to breathing such, so I never understood why people feared this.
As far as this affecting corals also dont understand this as I have seen a reef wave comes in and there are tons of bubbles everywhere.
Once again if you over think a situation youll find someway to talk yourself out of it. There are reefs that are out of water for hours each day during low tides yet people fear air touching them in bubble form.
Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfOBqEPX6GM
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego
http:///forum/post/3239410
No lol. Algae and bacteria can produce bubbles from the decomposition of nitrates.
I always hated the term, "microbubbles." Micro is too small of a word. If the bubbles were truly "micro," we wouldn't be able to see them.
Microbubbles are visible, you're thinking of nanobubbles.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
You will get salt creep everywhere. All those little bubles bursting on the surface pop and spread salt with each pop. it will go up the wall, on teh outside glass, all over yuor light, skimmer, anything within popping distance.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
First lets understand that salt creep is what is left after evaporation of the mist of water the bursting bubbles create when we are talking about an air stone. Simple remedy is to use a fine screen set up like the one Henry has show in another post. Then periodically clean the screen
 

pezenfuego

Active Member
If you want bubbles in your tank, salt creep is very easy to remedy.
Salt creep can be potentially dangerous if it gets out of hand. Most people don't realize it, but salt can conduct electricity quite well. One of my LFS friends was talking about how he had a tank that had really bad salt creep. The tank was set up in front of an outlet. The salt crept all the way down a powerhead's cord and reached the outlet. He went to brush the salt off the cord and got a nice shock.
It really isn't that big of a problem lol, I just thought it was a cool story.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego
http:///forum/post/3239615
If you want bubbles in your tank, salt creep is very easy to remedy.
Salt creep can be potentially dangerous if it gets out of hand. Most people don't realize it, but salt can conduct electricity quite well. One of my LFS friends was talking about how he had a tank that had really bad salt creep. The tank was set up in front of an outlet. The salt crept all the way down a powerhead's cord and reached the outlet. He went to brush the salt off the cord and got a nice shock.
It really isn't that big of a problem lol, I just thought it was a cool story.
Your are right my young friend hence the need for drip loops on all your electric coards
 

ibanez

Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3239618
Your are right my young friend hence the need for drip loops on all your electric coards
A bit of periodic maintenance and cleanliness would remedy that problem too.
 
Top