55 Gallon Build Thread! Will Need some advice/tips along the way!

Good Luck,

What is the air pump for, if you are putting it on your DT it will cause salt spray and a mess to keep clean.

Did you mean air pump?  Don't really use those for the marine hobby.  In fact, I would use them for fresh water either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by artemK 

I just wanted to give the water some air. I will take it out before I have fish in the tank to avoid any of the bubble accidentally getting into their gills. For now, its not making a mess, just keeps the water moving. I also got my second power head in, 1050 gph..that thing is a BEAST! So now I have total of 2 in there. One is 425 and the other is 1050 gph. that should be plenty of water movement for the tank.

As far as I know - that's a complete myth. The only problem with an airstone in a tank is the salt creep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 

 

As far as I know - that's a complete myth. The only problem with an airstone in a tank is the salt creep.

It is a myth. Gas bubble disease is caused by an oversaturation of oxygen in the water.

Here are some old posts of mine about air bubblers:

I think you maybe referring to gas bubble disease but I have to differ on the cause and here is why:

"Gas bubble disease, like Melissa said, is not due to air bubbles in the water, but actually dissolved gases (both O2 and N2). With many fishes, signs of GBD, will show up when the total dissolved gases exceed 110-130%. With some fishes, O2 levels of over 300% did not produce GBD. Usually, on smaller systems, this is due to the entraining of air on the intake side of a pump. The easiest solution to this is finding and fixing the pump, but having a trickle filter (dembolizing tower), water "fall" into the tank or sump or strong aeration in the tank or the sump will off gas any supersaturated dissolved gases. For this reason, as a protective measure, I have overflow drains, as opposed to siphon/suction tube, and aeration (usually in the sump) on all of my systems. This will also help off gas a build up of CO2 and the associated pH drop that some tanks experience when the lights go off. Also GBD will manifest itself in more than just the eyes, and unless the supersaturation is fixed, it is usually fatal in a very short period of time."

too lazy to put in my own words

The why not's of having a bubbler (once again too lazy):

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 

 

As far as I know - that's a complete myth. The only problem with an airstone in a tank is the salt creep.

I don't know about myth, but I other than the salt creep issue I doubt you'd ever see any sever problems from running a couple of modest air pumps. 

Just for kicks...http://www.oxyedge-chum.com/diffuser,_oxygen_bubbles.htm

Lol, I doubt that an air bubbler in a home aquarium can cause the water to turn so milky white that it would cause any fish mortality issues. That would be like turning your display tank into a protein skimmer and hoping the fish could live in it. LOL. Thanks for the reading material, 2Quills.

FWIW, I have a 1HP Air blower that  pushes enough air to bubble in 100 freshwater tanks. I'm thinking I could maybe rig it up on a couple of 6ft tall home made protein skimmers and get some pretty decent skimmate out of em'. Then again, that's all way way way in the future. lol

Well... I run an airstone in my tank... and have never had any problems. I have always knew it was a myth.... in fact I wanted to start a discussion about it! LOL.. thanks for having the discussion without me!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 

Lol, I doubt that an air bubbler in a home aquarium can cause the water to turn so milky white that it would cause any fish mortality issues. That would be like turning your display tank into a protein skimmer and hoping the fish could live in it. LOL. Thanks for the reading material, 2Quills.

 

FWIW, I have a 1HP Air blower that  pushes enough air to bubble in 100 freshwater tanks. I'm thinking I could maybe rig it up on a couple of 6ft tall home made protein skimmers and get some pretty decent skimmate out of em'. Then again, that's all way way way in the future. lol

I think you'd need a much larger tank with a lot of proteins to get some decent skimmate out of something like that.  Never the less, it would be interesting to see it attempted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelerjp98 

Well... I run an airstone in my tank... and have never had any problems. I have always knew it was a myth.... in fact I wanted to start a discussion about it! LOL.. thanks for having the discussion without me!

Perhaps you should.  I for one one love to hear why you think it's a myth.  I believe there can be situations where the addition of air stones could potentially be fatal.  But running only a few simple air pumps to help with 02 levels in a tank that isn't super saturated to the point where oxygen cannot be dissolved into the water column is not one of them.  But this is another discussion for another time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Quills 

 

I think you'd need a much larger tank with a lot of proteins to get some decent skimmate out of something like that.  Never the less, it would be interesting to see it attempted.

 

Perhaps you should.  I for one one love to hear why you think it's a myth.  I believe there can be situations where the addition of air stones could potentially be fatal.  But running only a few simple air pumps to help with 02 levels in a tank that isn't super saturated to the point where oxygen cannot be dissolved into the water column is not one of them.  But this is another discussion for another time.

Gemmy started a discussion for me!

http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388998/air-stones-cause-gas-bubble-disease-fact-or-myth#post_3434370

Yes, refractomers are much better than hydrometers, especially when performing hypo-salinity. I like the aquascape so far. I think that if you just continue a similar lr arrangement to the top, the tank will look really good!

Quote:

Originally Posted by artemK 

I was just thinking while looking at other peoples reefs. Incase of a power outage, and god forbid, if you don't have a backup generator or something of that sort, everything could potentially die in a day/night without power. Do you guys have anything for those types of situations? I know I would be more than pissed if all my handwork, time and $$$ just went bye bye.

I don't have a generator, and I have had my power go off for more than 24 hours. Really something to put oxygen into the tank is most important IMO. If the lights are off, that's not too big of a deal for a day. But, oxygen is very important, especially in reef tanks with corals, because some corals switch from photosynthesis (making oxygen) to respiration (using oxygen), and further deplete the tank of oxygen if there is no light. Unless the temperature drops EXTREMELY dramatically, then it's not too big a deal.

Many people are able to weather through power outages really well if it only lasts a day or two. A plastic or wooden spoon can be used to move the water around every couple of hours. Also, you can use styrofoam and blankets to try to keep the tank warm or cool. Another thing to consider would be a UPS or uninterrupted power supply connected to a koralia 4w powerhead. The UPS would keep the water stirring for quite some time while power is being restored. I've had 2,000g of water go stagnant on me for a few days because the pumps froze up. It's nothing to really worry about. I wouldn't do a battery air pump - bubbles don't add as much o2 to the water as water movement does.

When the power goes out and your UPS kicks on, aim your koralia powerhead ACROSS the water, not down into the water. The water moving across the surface will increase o2 a lot more then pointed from the surface down. Just a little tip. :D

good point snake!