Do I Really Need Aeration?
Posted by: GHarris in Fish Health, General Documents, Tank Maintneance, Tank Setup Add comments| Hot: |  | | | | |
When I first started out with aquariums I was unsure about everything and even though I wanted to do things right I was a little confused about the job and importance that every piece played. Take aeration for instance, I remember specifically asking the owner of the pet store that I was in if I really needed aeration, and what it did for the tank. The reply that he gave could have been correct and he was the one who worked in the pet store so I had no reason not to trust him. The reply that I received was that aeration was only to make the tank look good and I really didn’t need it for my fish to live. Now as a kid who was just learning about tanks and aquariums this sounded good to me, I wasn’t trying to win any contest for how good my tank looked, I just wanted happy healthy fish. The knowledge that one learns through experience is better than anything, so here are a few simple basic facts about aeration.
Fish need air to live- It is true that fish live underwater (just seeing if you are awake), but they breath air. When the water passes over their gills, the oxygen is “sifted” out of the water and passed into their “lungs”. Fish do not have lungs like we have but clean oxygen is EXTREMELY important. The water that the fish has already removed the oxygen from is now lighter than the rest of the water in the tank and so it rises to the surface (this is where you get the surface exchange of gasses). Once at the surface and the gasses are exchanged the water particles are the same weight as the rest of the water in the tank and they are recirculated. This process continues and you have the water circulation in your tank. This process is not an extremely fast one and if the original exchange was the only “bad” air in the tank it would not be so bad. However through the natural nitrogen cycle harmful chemicals are continously produced, circulated and removed from the water in your tank by the filtration system and the “good” bacteria that is growing there. The chemicals produced by this cycle are also in the water and are harmful to the fish. When you think about all of the water in your tank and then think about the top of the water, where the surface gasses are exchanged, the top is a relatively small surface area for this gas exchange to take place. If the only water movement in your tank is coming from a filter then that is not enough movement to effectively remove the harmful gasses from the water. Imagine living in a sealed room where 10 particles of harmful gas was added to the air every minute and only 5 particles of harmful gas were taken out in that same time. Eventually you would get sick and die from breathing in the harmful gasses. Its the same concept. Now take a air hose that pumps in clean air into that room and thats what an aerator does. It helps oxygenate the water that the fish lives in.
An Aerator infuses water with air- In addition to having a really neat affect on your aquarium, the aerator actually speeds up the exchange process. When all of those bubbles reach the surface they cause the water at the surface to move making the gas exchange happen faster. Also by bringing in fresh clean air into the bottom of the tank, “dirty” water particles that come in contact with these air bubbles have an underwater gas exchange with the air bubble and are cleaned. By starting this process from the bottom of the tank there is actually more clean water throughout the tank.
Water movement is very important and that leads into an entirly different article about wave makers, pumps and powerheads.
Suffice it to say that your fish WILL live without an aerator FOR A LITTLE WHILE. Once the gas reaches toxic levels your fish will die. Even with an aerator your aquarium water will need help, that is why you treat it with chemicals and complete water changes. You have to help the aquarium live and survive. An aerator is a great option and when you consider the amount of time that you will be spending working on your tank it only makes sense to get something that is going to help you out. Gredens has many aerators as well as many bubble stones and several bubble makers under decorations. Click hereto be taken to Gredens home page.