aeration?

weasertt

weasertt

Member
when i came home today I noticed my fish were all swimming near the top. It almost seemed like they were gulping air. Its like they were eating off the surface. The guy at my LFS told me I didnt need an airstone but now im wondering if thats what the problem is? I did a small water change to try and add some oxygen to the water. One of my damsels looked a bit pale. Anyone have any idea? and should i get an airstone?
 
escape2thewater

escape2thewater

Active Member
Its very rare to see anyone running an airstone in a sw tank. I would look into your flow, like turnover rate. Clean your filters, pumps & overflows. It makes a world of diffrence in my tanks. Also do a full check of all of your water params. If there is a buildup of ammonia, NO2, or NO3 it can be lethal to your fish because they cannot breathe or causes poor circulation. If anything is out of whack then do some water changes and find out what is causing it.Good luck.
Escape
:happyfish
BTW, how long has the tank been running?
 
laust

laust

Member
why is it, that saltwater tanks do not have airstones or air pumped in like in freshwater tanks? i know if you had an airstone, you'd have to switch it out once in a while, due to salt build up, but i dont think that really answers my question
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Originally Posted by laust
why is it, that saltwater tanks do not have airstones or air pumped in like in freshwater tanks? i know if you had an airstone, you'd have to switch it out once in a while, due to salt build up, but i dont think that really answers my question
It could be harmful in many ways.
1. Bubbles could get lodged into the sensitive gills of the fish and cause an abrasive rubbing, not good.
2. They can also work there way into the eye of a fish causing popeye and also the abrasive could lead to something worse.
3. They usually cause salt spray that can get onto your lights, hood and all around. If the salt creeps up into the electrical area of the lights it could cause a path into the tank making it a deadly place for fish or even your hand, causing a path to ground that could kill.
4. The lost salt from the saltcreep caused by the bubbles can lower your salinity, and if you don't keep up with it your inverts will start to die off first.
Get yourself a protien skimmer and that should add all the oxygen you need for your system.
Nuff said?
Thomas
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Originally Posted by laust
why is it, that saltwater tanks do not have airstones or air pumped in like in freshwater tanks? i know if you had an airstone, you'd have to switch it out once in a while, due to salt build up, but i dont think that really answers my question
It could be harmful in many ways.
1. Bubbles could get lodged into the sensitive gills of the fish and cause an abrasive rubbing, not good.
2. They can also work there way into the eye of a fish causing popeye and also the abrasive could lead to something worse.
3. They usually cause salt spray that can get onto your lights, hood and all around. If the salt creeps up into the electrical area of the lights it could cause a path into the tank making it a deadly place for fish or even your hand, causing a path to ground that could kill.
4. The lost salt from the saltcreep caused by the bubbles can lower your salinity, and if you don't keep up with it your inverts will start to die off first.
5. They are not efficient like powerheads, water pumps, and/or protein skimmers are at creating water movement in an aquarium. All of these are much better at helping with oxygen and other gas exchanges at the water's surface.
6. They do not move water fast enough or in adequate volume for what a tank usually needs for good all round, vertical and horizontal, water circulation. This situation can also contribute to a low or insufficient GPH (gallon per hour) tank water turnover time.
7. They clog up.
8. They wear out quickly, and usually need replacing often.
9. They can give off irregular air flow.
10. Air line hoses can get pinched or kinked, which weakens or cuts off the air flow.
Many times the air pump chosen to run air stones is inadequate, resulting in low air flow pressure.
11. Some air flow pressure is lost the longer the distance the air has to travel through the clear tubing from the air pump to the air stones.
12. The deeper the tank water, the farther the air has to be pushed downhill to reach the air stones, resulting in loss of air flow pressure.
Nuff said?
Thomas
 
aufishman

aufishman

Member
Originally Posted by weasertt
when i came home today I noticed my fish were all swimming near the top. It almost seemed like they were gulping air. Its like they were eating off the surface. The guy at my LFS told me I didnt need an airstone but now im wondering if thats what the problem is? I did a small water change to try and add some oxygen to the water. One of my damsels looked a bit pale. Anyone have any idea? and should i get an airstone?

How old is your tank and what are the NO2 levels? Nitrite toxicity can be a problem. Nitrite binds with hemoglobin in your fishes' blood and prevents it from picking up oxygen. Symptoms of nitrite toxicity would appear similar to those of poor DO (your fish are functionally anemic) NO2 toxicity can be reduced by chloride (which probably doesn't help you much in a marine system). Another possibility could be elevated levels of nitrate which inhibit nitrobacter, thus would lead to build up of NO2 in mature tanks (I'm talking about a lot of NO3 500-1000+ mg/L). None of this should be a problem if you are performing routine partial water exchanges on a mature system (which I know can be a pain, but needs to be done at least once a month - esp in small systems).
 
weasertt

weasertt

Member
the tank is only about 3 weeks old. i was just approaching the end of my cycle when this happened. last time i checked my water it was
nitrites .25
nitrates 10
ammonia close to 0 right between 0 and .25
ph 7.8
 
aufishman

aufishman

Member
Well, it's not excess nitrate, that much I can tell you
nitrite toxicity varies a lot depending on the species of fish. Some are very sensitive ( salmonids are very sensitive 0.2-0.5 mg/l) while some can tolerate much higher levels (think fish who live in slow, stagnant water -bass, catfish, lots of cichlids- up to and over 100 mg/l). At any rate, your tank is very new. You shouldn't have too many fish in it right now (I normally keep a couple damsels in any new tank for at least 6 weeks before I start adding more fish). I'd definitely recommend a water exchange. Adding supplemental aeration in the form of a diffuser isn't going to hurt anything (it will rule out the possibility of low DO causing the problem). Just keep in mind the smaller the bubble, the more surface area for gas exchange. Gas supersaturation can cause problems, but you aren't going to create that type of environment in an aquarium with a bubble wand (the only time I've seen gas supersaturation was in a large system (15,000 liters) that had a pressurized pump with a bad seal that was sucking in air). The salt creep thing is an issue, but you'll just have to be more vigilant in keeping your equipment clean & maintained.
 
weasertt

weasertt

Member
today one of the damsels was dead, but the others are swimming around fine. that could just be the cycle taking its effect i think. But im hopinh it will be over soon. I saw a hippo tang i would really like to add when its done. and possibly a humu humu trigger. maybe ill try putting in a small airstone just to be safe. and another question. If i buy LR thats already in an established system i dont have to cure it right. I can just add it directly to my tank?
 
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