I've Been Wrong About Air Stones All Along!
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- čas přidán 19. 10. 2019
- Patreon: / danielhiteshew
Here's a link to the paper I mentioned:
www.annualreviews.org/doi/ful...
I've been saying the column of bubbles made by an air stone is where most of the gas exchange happens, but it's really the breaking of the surface tension, from below in particular, that facilitates the gas exchange.
I love how you took criticism, examined your belief, did research, and changed your mind, and then published the results! Science!
Science!
It’s applaudable. Good research.
Then why do co2 injection ? wouldn’t the same happen
We need more CZcamsrs like this.
Its called adulting , grown man.
Takes a big man to admit they're wrong! Good video, as usual
How do you see.?
@@TheBobby416probably his eyes
The fact that you took the time to research it is awesome. Thanks for clarifying, Dan.
Love how I was just commenting on a year-old video of yours, you responded, and now there's a new video related to the topic! You are totally awesome!
The reason why bubbles work better than just chopping up the surface is because the gases exchange a little inside each bubble as they rise but if they don't reach the surface and pop to release the gas they dissolve right back into the water so it is essential that they reach the surface.
Does that mean i can raise my airstone right to the top, just below the surface? it would make the bubbles virtually invisible and the fish get the benefits of the air pump. i also have a filter inside the tank hocked to tubes with holes above the water for the waterfall effect
Thx for the video! I've been trying to understand exactly how my ph was dropping in the mixed reef tank for a month and now I finally understand. Thanks again, wish you the best of luck
This earned a subscribe for coming out when you realized you were wrong.
Ditto
same!
gregg horner same
Nope. Just here for the company.
i am in AQ hoby for a 35 years and here i am learning. Thank you 👍
Definite thumbs up for the video and humility. Great video Dan!
From now on, air bubbles in my tank will never look the same. Lol. That's the thing, we've got a faint idea and some gut feeling that it's good for the fish, especially that they seem to enjoy the bubbles, but it's great to know for sure that it's actually the bestest thing as far as gas exchange is concerned. Thanks! Don't worry, we all make those daft mistakes 👍
It's good to see an attempt to explode some of the Air Stone myths.
The 3 advantages of an Air Stone are: 1) Aesthetics.
2) Increase of Vertical Circulation of the Water Column.
3) Gas Exchange due to Surface Disturbance.
Listening to your video I heard the Sound of Trickling Water.
The biggest mistake I see in the use of Hang On Back Filters is allowing *"Waterfalling"* of the Returning Water from the Return Ramp.
This actually produces *LESS Surface Action* than having the Lower Edge of the Return Ramp submerged. A submerged Ramp Edge will generate better *"Wave Action"* across a greater area of the Surface.
You were hearing my waterfall tank.
Excellent information and thank you for the research. This has finally sealed the deal for me and my tank, along with my desire to keep Caridina shrimp. I also shared this to my FB Aquascaping group that I founded.
WHAT great start to the video.. the 1st 1min is golden, and can save so much time and pain in people's lives .. someone needed to hear that, and it will have such a deeper effect on their life outside of plants or fish tanks
The thing is with an airstine you can double or triple the surface area between the water and air (surface and bubbles combined compared to just surface) increases your gas exchange. Airstones increase oxygenation. If you can't have a rocky waterfall attached to your aquarium you need an airstone. when a bubble bursts it also flings small quantities of water into the air which oxygenates that water which then falls back nto the aquarium fully oxygenated. Actual waves on a shore cause the most oxygenation in our oceans, storms cause the second amount of oxygenations, whales and plankton also add oxygenation by swimming from the surface to depths to add ozygenation. In fresh water rivers it is rapids and water falls that add aeration to the water. Plants also add their partto oxygenation.
I love your desire to learn & questioned your belief & understanding of a subject as well as admitting you was wrong. Takes a big man to admit & search for truth. Great video.
Longer the better DAN,good info to learn/experiment
As someone who has posted a few papers in his days, just email the author for the paper. That 32 dollars goes 100% to the website and the authors don't see a dime. Its extremely flattering too be honest. Also, finding someone interested in something you found sooo interesting that you wrote a paper on it, is pretty cool and rare.
I have recently gotten into aquariums and I had everything set up fluval u3 filter and heater but for some reason the fishes didn’t look to happy in there so I got a small pump with an air stone and I have seen a big change in the fishes they are happy and swimming around the bubbles and they look more happy so yes I would recommend a small pump with an air-stone
So, I love the video! I've ran tanks for years without any air stones with undergravel filters. No carbon or charcoal inserts or anything. Fish and plants did great. The bubbles are bigger without airstones but I'm fine with that.
Thanks for the info and it does make sense. Stay humble mate and you have an awesome personality and thirst for knowledge. Good day
Great info. Thanks, Dan.
"Breaking the tension from below". Nice to know. I think that airstones accomplish both surface agitation and moving water from low in the tank (less oxygen content than water at the top) to the surface (ready for gas exchange). The added bonus of better surface agitation from the bottom is good to know. Regardless, your location for the airstone on your office tank, and the clear topwater stream going from one end of the tank to the other end before presumably curling down and around and then back over to the airstone before making its way up looked textbook to me.
As for gas exchange (CO2 for O2), most planted tanks want more CO2 for the plants and often hook up tanks/diffusers for that purpose. I'm thinking that getting enough O2 into the water is key and unless you diffuse too much CO2 into the water you're probably not going to have too big of a problem on that end. It does make me think that fish are helping the plants in more ways than one (Nitrogen) though.
Cool, informative Video. Thanks Dan. Cheers
Very good Dan! Interesting as to how this relates to air stones vs no air stones in sponge filter. Some say the finer bubbles with air stone fitted "increases the efficiency" Whereas, as you found out, the perhaps the bigger bubbles from just a plain filter that give greater agitation (and noise!) probably gives greater oxygen. Though, a more noisy tank!
My hat is off for you sir, for having the courage to admit, and even moreso, to make a video about your mistake. If more people were like you, we would be living in a better world.
This kind of attitude should be a model in every field, starting from education ending up in business and management.
First time on your channel, keep it up.
Fantastic! Thank you so much for all your work and dedication. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Kudos to you for not only admitting your belief was incorrect but also getting to the truth. And for sharing!
Absolutely fascinating. Looks like I’ll be changing out my small powerhead for an air pump and air stone in my Walstad method aquarium. My little bumblebee catfish is gasping a lot since my plants aren’t established and flourishing yet.
Keep in mind that running airstones in a planted aquarium will reduce the CO2 in the tank so the plant growth will be retarded with the introduction of an airstone.
It can be even worse if you have floating plants blocking the surface area.
Great video sir !!
I always thought the same thing as you did until about 3 years ago when I actually did my own research.I appreciate you making a video correcting yourself, takes a person of great character to do so. New subscriber here!
Great video, now have to take a pee from the water sound, lol
You just got another sub ... well done .. thanks for the knowledge !
Hi I’ve just watched your video, it was very interesting and thought provoking, I have had the very same discussion with my nephew on the same matter. At the moment I have a very power air pump on my 6 ft American cichlid aquarium which is approximately 400 lites. I have about 30-35 medium to large cichlids in it. The air pump has two air stones on it and it is running constantly, 24-7. Now an£ then I change the air pump with another as they can become very hot when running day and night. And the system seems to work well. However I have also got a wave maker on my tank to break the surface tension for gas exchange. The reason I have done this is to make sure that my aquarium water is circulated and it has good gas exchange, and that most importantly that my cichlids get enough oxygen. I also believe that the water temperature can make a difference in the amount of oxygen in the water. Hats off the you fellow fish keeper for your honestly and kanda. I believe that we all can keRn something from each other regarding the science of fish keeper and I also think it is prudent to keep and open mind of the subject. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights of the subject. Happy fish keeper. Many thanks from Denn, retired ex army veteran.
Cold water can dissolve more oxygen, but it doesn't necessarily have higher levels unless there is oxygen to dissolve into it. If you took two identical tanks with air stones, and ran one at 80F and the other at 60F, the colder tank would have a high DO (dissolved oxygen) level.
Bubbles work so well because they greatly increase the surface area, and the smaller the bubbles, the more surface area they have. 🙂
So do you run Nano air stones in your tanks?
@@cbcsucks2205 IDK I just use the ones from Walmart.
Takes a big person to admit they were wrong about something they said. Video is worth a like just for that alone.
There is research saying that there is gas exchange in the turbulance in the column of bubbles also
Good video.
Here's a question for you - are we better off without airstones at all?
At some point I didn't have a clean airstone for my tanks. So I just put open tubes in, and it worked out fine.
There's way less back pressure without stones - hence a lot more airflow.
And there is more disturbance at the surface of the water.
Airstones lose efficiency due to clogging as time goes on.
No airstones means no loss of pressure, no airstones to buy, clean or change out.
Another possibility is mixing an airstone line with an open tube line. Maybe have the open line pumping out big bubbles at the bottom and the airstone in the bubble column a little higher up.
In terms of oxygenation and gas exchange are we better off without airstones?
Let me know what you think.
Air stones definitely improve the overall health of a tank. An open hose is fine as long as air bubbles are breaking the surface.
Fantastic report, now I gotta source of research to explain why air stones are your best friend in this hobby. Sure makes an undergravel filter a better solution that people think.
Thanks for that info, I was thinking of removing my air stone. Not any more, again thank you.
Excellent discussion on the topic and what a fantastic way to look at your original findings. It's why science works in Theories, not Proof's or Truth's. New evidence makes us all reconsider our original conclusions as we learn, both as individuals and as a species. Thank you for sharing what you learned, we got to learn with you :)
Dan. ..we all learn more and more about the fish 🐟🐟🐟world....each day...thanks for the vid...
I respect anyone that can admit they were wrong! Good job ✊🏾
Thanks I’m restarting a fish tank haven’t had fish for like 12 yrs forgot what I’ve learned so relearning everything. Petsmart told me to put an air stone in but in my mind wonder if it’s really necessary now I know
A few months ago I had a plant meltdown in the 240g. One of the resisters? Anubias. Now I want to add more. What I have has grown..but in a big tank you really need to rush things with more plants. The tank behind you with Anubias looks so nice. Anubias and any long grassy plant are complimentary.
2 cents!
That anubias is over 6 years old. Can't rush mother nature. Lol
Wow great vid! So airstones are very good for an aquarium. Maybe i should think of adding one. Thanks for this one.
Hey Dan
IMO from being in the field of Respiratory Therapy for 15 years. I really don’t think you were wrong at all. There is really no way to determine “where” the most beneficial gas exchange is coming from, from an air stone. Gas exchange relies on time, as well as partial pressure. The deeper the bubble is in the aquarium, the more pressure from the weight of the water is exerted on that bubble. So you could say that as a bubble rises the rate of diffusion decreases as it gets closer to the top. There are so many different variables created when using an air stone. You have injection of 21% oxygen from the atmosphere into a mechanism that creates tons of bubbles/surface area to facilitate diffusion whether that be from the bottom of the tank or on the surface. The oxygen content in that bubble is the same as the oxygen content on the surface. The difference is the contact surface area. It would be hard to say that bubbles pooping on the surface of the tank are what’s creating the most oxygen because we really don’t know the rate of diffusion from surface agitation compared to exposed surface area under increased partial pressure from being lower in the tank. Then you have the increased circulation of the water created by the air stone. Honestly really it doesn’t matter I guess. The point is that if we want an increased o2 content in our aquariums we can add an air stone. I wouldn’t say you were wrong though. Gas exchange is happening everywhere oxygen is coming in contact with water. Whether it be in the tank or on the surface. My two cents lol. Thanks for all the great videos keep them coming. I really enjoy your style Dan!
Yes, this video was just to clear up my mistake. My next one is going to be about how incredibly complicated "simple gas exchange" turned out to be. Lol I did do a bit of reading about gas exchange in pulmonary systems and was interested to learn about the surfactant our lungs produce to lower surface tension and prevent our lungs from collapsing when we exhale. Interesting stuff and it all adds to my cumulative knowledge.
Oh, you don't need to pay $30 for the paper; just get everything on Sci Hub:
sci-hub.tw/10.1146/annurev.fluid.30.1.443
I am acutely aware that a weird link seems spammy/fishy, and I apologize. I suggest Googling Sci Hub first, so you can find the link through the search engine and not have to click my link first (best practice for weird links).
Had a few tanks over the years and i think i only had bubbles at the beginning, was around 15, then i just used the water stream, have the water coming out the filter pointed or near the top. Was ok and looked neat.
Thanks for that explanation. You got a new subscriber. 😁
New subscriber you are honest very rare these days and this video made me subscribe
I use sponge filters in my tanks and air stones but a few tanks don’t have air stones will the bubbles from the sponge filter work be enough? Thanks
It should be.
Dan Hiteshew ok thanks
Thank you for doing this video Dan! I’ve been back in the hobby for about 1 1/2 yrs now. It makes me realize how much I didn’t know years ago, but I’m doing planted tanks now so there is a difference. I realize appropriate oxygen is very important for your inhabitants. My question is, how does this gas exchange effect a fully planted aquarium vs. a minimally or unplanted aquarium?
As long as you're not injecting CO2, then it won't matter. An air stone will ensure maximum gas exchange at all times. If you are injecting CO2, then the air stone will off gas all your added CO2 and will negate the effects.
I have three Fluval Flex tanks. I run my air stones in the accessory compartments in the back so they don't disturb the front water area. The 32gal has 2 such ante-chambers, so I run 2 stones. In my other tanks I make an air bubble dam with some pieced together plastic straws so the bubbles don't spread too far and splash foul my lighting or bubble onto the walls through openings etc.
What are your opinions on nano air stones versus regular air stones?
If by nano, you mean the tiny bubbles, I don't think it'll make a big difference unless you're running a small amount of air and want to maximize the gas exchange.
Your tank is beautiful. Do you use co2. I was debating whether to keep using air stones but you cleared this up very well as I kept getting conflicting information.
Thanks, and no, I don't use CO, food, ferts, or anything.
Awesome research Dan! Thats learning, you know something new everyday.. Good info you have there... Thats explain why my plants are much healthier in the one of my tank that has some air and water movement. (I use top filter for that particular tank) Now,I gonna put some air stones in my low tech tank to compansate for their lack of air exchange process.
wherever the so- called gas exchange takes place , the end result is an air stone does increase oxygen in the water.. It seems some are confused about this and clam an air stone has nothing to do with oxygen .
Question Dan:
Will a canister filter tube inlet a few inches from the bottom accomplish the movement of water from the bottom to the top as does the air stone?
I realize the air stone has bubbles popping at the surface which you have pointed out, so is it the combination of both? Bubbles popping and water moved from bottom to top the right combination for the gas exchange?
Thanks,
Excellent discussion
Yes, if your filter inlet is near the bottom, it'll pull water in and send it back out the spray bar or inlet at the surface.
Neat to consider. I have a 5 foot long cattle trough that I keep wild shiners in between fishing trips. I have 2 air pumps running 4 air stones. I also have a pond pump circulating water into a homemade filter in a bucket with a bunch of holes in the bottom, draining back into the tank. I always thought all that water constantly dripping back into the tank helped with oxygen levels, just wasn't sure.
It does, but the air stones you have provide a lot of aeration.
I run the 2nd air pump as a failsafe. I sometimes have as much as 8 dozen shiners at once.
@@ThatShinerGuy Wow. You need all the aeration you can get. Lol
Hello, Is it possible to keep only air pump in my 15 gallon planted tank and remove HOB filter? As the water change can clear out the fish wastes so why Both air pump and HOB water filter should run in the tank. Please advise with your recommendations.
As long as you have substrate or rocks and decor in the tank, an air stone will be enough.
You need surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow. The HOB filter provides a space for biomedia, but if the tank has gravel and stuff, that will be enough to deal with the nitrogen cycle.
Thank you!
Great video.
Thanks!
I love aquarium bubbles. It's the most relaxing sound ever.
Good that you looked into this as it's a very poorly understood area of knowledge.
I read an article by a proffesor of physics in a fish keeping magazine 55 years ago where he explained that most people don't understand and think that oxygen passes into water as the bubbles ascend.
He then said that it is the breaking of the bubble's surface tension at the surface that causes gas exchange.
If you are running an under gravel filter then you need the airstone well down the tube to pull water through the gravel but the nearer the airstone is to the surface the less backpresssure is on the airflow so more air comes out of the airstone creating more foam with greater gaseous exchange.
Don't push the airstone all the way to the bottom, find a position where you get plenty of foaming.
If the gas injected from your airstone has a higher DO level than your aquarium, some oxygen WILL dissolve into the water. It's just that most people's water has a DO level equivalent to the air around their tank. If something in your tank is decreasing the oxygen level such as anaerobic activity or decomposition, then adding an air stone will increase the DO levels.
I use to have issues with stones clogging and causing pump wear, I one day simply drilled a hole in my air stone to make it a weight and allow unrestricted air flow reducing noise and creating larger bubbles. Seems to work well.
Smart👍
Excellent video. Can you recommend a video (or advise) that explains how to clean fish air stones? I’m only finding videos that pertain to cleaning them for grow tanks. Peroxide is used etc. Thanks.
Personally, I just throw them away and replace them since they're so cheap. If you want to clean it, try soaking it in vinegar. If you have calcium build up, it'll reduce it.
Dan Hiteshew
That’s true. They are pretty inexpensive. I guess I’m just a penny pincher these days with everything going on. Thanks so much for replying.
I point the outlet on my FX6 up at the surface; works very good. Also using co2, no airstones.
New sub for truth! Good man for making this video!!
I love your voice. It's the most relaxing sound ever.
I’m only 15 and On a low budget, I have a betta in a 5 gallon tank with filter, I don’t have the stone but I have the air pump thing, can I just use that?
You could, but Betta fish can get O2 from the surface, so there's no need to worry about it.
Would a hangover filter be sufficient to oxygenate the water?
Mine always have been. I rarely use air stones.
So if we alternated between bubbling nitrogen gas and room air at the same flow rate through the same air stone, a dissolved oxygen monitor will read similar oxygen levels?
I have no idea.
I was finding sand over my plant leaves, so i took my stones out, now going to try a wavemaker instead.
Dan....I have no idea why people are suggesting that aeration through bubble diffusers doesn't oxygenated water...it certainly does. It is regularly used by water treatment plants and hatcheries to churn up water AND add oxygen. Read the info on any SUB SURFACE AERATION systems and it quite clearly says that the systems pump air to the bottom of a body of water and release it in the form of millions of bubbles and this both oxygenates the water as the bubbles rise but also churns up the water allowing for additional gas exchanges at the surface.
Air bubbles going through water create a HUGE amount of surface area allowing oxygen to dissolve into the water EXACTLY like it does when air and water met at the surface.
Suggesting air on top of water is any different than air UNDER the surface in the form of bubbles is simply wrong. Both are simply water and air mixes.
The air in your air pump is the exact same air that is on top of the tank, but rather than stirring the water through mechanical surface agitation to allow bubbles (and gas exchange) to occur, you are simply mechanically pushing air down into the water column and mixing it there rather than at the surface....or allowing it to mix as it rises to the surface.
Oxygen dissolves into water... Co2 rises in bubbles to the surface of water and enters the atmosphere. A bubble going from the bottom of a lake to the top is simultaneously releasing oxygen and picking up CO2.
This is EXACTLY the same thing that happens when you break the surface of water...air "touches" the water and oxygen dissolves into the water.
Pumping air into the tank is NO DIFFERENT than churning up the surface other than that whatever is in a bubble will pop and join the "earth's" atmosphere faster at the surface than if it has to travel up the column to the surface....but oxygen is indeed still released.
Saying MOST gas exchange takes place may not be accurate when considering a small stone in comparison with a churning aquarium surface...but it certainly adds oxygen to water to have bubbles passing through the water just as co2 adds co2 to water through a diffusor...which just makes tinier bubbles.
The Budget Aquarist I think all he was saying is that there were scientific studies done that showed gas exchange was more efficient when the surface tension was being broken from below. I don’t think you can discredit the scientists’ findings even if they cannot explain them.
@@robpshannonjr I understand exactly what he is saying and I appreciate you explaining it also. The bottom line though is that it is incorrect for people to suggest that oxygen does not transfer from a bubble as it passes through the water column on the way from the bottom to the top of the tank or lake or ocean. For some reason people have it in their heads that oxygen transfer only occurs at the surface and this is simply not true.
So what would be most effective a skimmer or air stones ?
Air stone, definitely.
Will a Fluval Sea Circulation Pump for example be a good equivalent to an air stone or should I have both if I can?
An air stone is better than anything. It's good to have circulation, but if you're going for gas exchange, there's no comparing to an air stone.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Thanks man I appreciate the confirmation, both it is, I'll have fast moving Odessa Barbs I figure the pump is a good idea
I think the the major exchange happens at the surface, a function of surface area and atmospheric pressure. But there is an exchange from the bubbles because they do give a limited increase the overall surface area.
The gasses in the bubble are under much higher pressure too.
So do you think you would get more gas exchange with an airstone rather than a filter spray bar? Youve really got me thinking now Dan lol.
Yes. You absolutely would get better gas exchange with an ar stone. No question.
Thanks!
Do you think an air stone in a sump would have the same effect with gas exchange as opposed to it being in the display tank? I plan to build a sump with a refugium and may move my air stone... I don't like so many bubbles in view.
That's a good question. I'd like to say yes, but that's only because it seems to me like it would. I don't really know for sure that it would. (I hate bubbles too)
It's not going to work as well since air stones work better in deeper water.
@@aquariumiconoclast1613 so I'll build my sump as deep as possible... Or dedicate a whole chamber to gas exchange. Thanks for the reply.
This is the first time this actually makes sense to me🏓
Indeed it is , for me also.
I love your planted tank in the background. I hope those are real plants.
Yes, I sell my excess plants too if you're interested. danielhiteshew@gmail.com
do you switch the air stone off at night?
In the tanks that I have one, I keep them on 24/7.
You were wrong. You acknowledged it. We need you to run for president. LOL
Lol In THIS country?
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly . LoL! No, only Psychopaths desire search positions of power.
When I watched your other video, I realized that either Cory or you were mistaken. I also knew you would eventually find out whatever the truth was and correct it.
I really wish we had people like you in Leadership.
Thanks for sharing your hobby. I love it.
Brilliant.
It's not hard to reason why rising bubbles have a greater exchange. The bubbles are pulling water that is farther from the surface and is at a higher CO2 level. As the bubbles and the water column break the surface . It releases the CO2 and because the rising column is also pulling oxygen rich surface water down into the water. Circulation so it's turning the water over from bottom to top and top to bottom
Hmm I was sneaked by a Science class...Coool!! So, let me grasp what I just comprehended.
H2o bubbles rising from under the surface (think of the flat plain of surface as a plastic sheet) "Break" the surface. What I am coming up with here is that some of the Oxygen gas inside of the bubble does not escape because of the "snap back" of the surface tension and that portion of gas is trapped under the surface and is then incorporated into the water.
In essence what we are coming up here with is this: The surface of water is a "lid" that prevents large scale gas exchange...Water remains H2o because of the "Lid" and an air bubble breaks the surface releasing some gas and some gas is trapped when the surface recoils and becomes unbroken again. (under the lid)
What about plants and airstones? ( Is it bad for the plants?).
If you're injecting CO2 you want to avoid an air stone.
I don't know. But I do use airstones.
Ice can evaporate even at the same temperature. So the reason list pressure , and chemical makeup for release of water in gas form. So why not?
Scientific papers "how to keep the knowledge pool out of the hands of the average person". I applaud your approach to challenge what you think you know, well done.
Yeah, the "for profit" model applies to every damn thing.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/13/scientific-publishing-rip-off-taxpayers-fund-research
Respect! Today everyone’s a critic! I was a pro skater and learned most from my mistakes/slams and others pointing out flaws! That goes with everything I’m ok at. Can’t ever be right if you aren’t capable of being wrong sometimes! God bless
It kind of makes sense, if you have water at the bottom of the tank it’s probably holding less gas than water at the top that’s already been in contact with the air so it has a greater potential for change. But if that’s the case then something like an under gravel filter with a powerhead agitating the water on the top with water from the bottom of the tank would work just as well and something like A waterfall that took water from the bottom of the tank and bashed it around in the actual air or even more so a fountain would be your greatest level of exchange. Fully test you would need to set up multiple identical tanks with identical water and test each way. I do kind of question your idea of CO2 and oxygen exchanging with each other, because there’s a huge amount of CO2 in the air now, our air is not pure oxygen so as we enter dogs and cats and neighbors and everything else emits CO2 around it in our houses that air that the water is exchanging with is already full of CO2 and that’s easily proven by growing your plants out of water they grow 10 times faster because they have so much CO2 then they do if they are submerged. A way to test that would be measure your CO2 levels in the water and then use a simple air stone blowing air from the house into that water. I’m not sure if it’s a significant enough difference but there should be some measurable level of CO2 exchange if that were the case. I’ve seen tanks with and without air stones with and without plants and there’s no one way that you must have, but air stones have always worked for me. Currently I have an air stone in the tank but I also pump water out of the tank into a window box planter full of lava rock which increases my water surface by about 50%, I have the top of the tank water of course and then the window box filter also has moving water in it with A surface size of about half of my tank. I have turned my air stone off and I didn’t notice any difference in the fish behavior but I really wasn’t paying that much attention, once I put the new pump on I just left it and the fish don’t seem to really notice any difference or behave differently but if water surface is the big exchange increasing that water surface it’s going to make a huge difference, any kind of waterfall or fountain if you had an outside pond would probably do much more than an air stone alone. None of this testing is actually scientific though so as far as someone following advice, an air stone is always a good idea and you’re not going to go wrong but keep your surface moving also and of course living plants are awesome too, but all have been proven to work well.
What sort of angel is that on your right at the 2:25 mark?
If it's on my right, it's a German Blue. The long finned one on my left is a "mixed veil" from Petsmart.
Still confused...wouldn't it make sense that dissolving still brings in more oxygen because the concentration of oxygen in atmospheric air is still much higher than in tank water (25% vs 25 ppm)? as in, it would saturate the ability of gas to dissolve in water and force more oxygen into this increase in dissolved gases.
It probably would, but I'm not sure and I didn't want to muddy the waters any further. Nitrogen and CO2 are dissolving into the water too, so while the O2 may increase, I'm not sure how the increase in other gasses affects it, so I didn't bring it up.
Dan Hiteshew I always imagined that they would dissolve proportionally eg 70% nitrogen, 25% oxygen, 1-2% co2. But apparently oxygen is twice more soluble than nitrogen while co2 is most soluble of all: www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gases-solubility-water-d_1148.html
I'm no expert by any means, but it seems like the underneath water movement would cause currents all the way from the bubbles' origin point.
So if the air stone is on the substrate, there is a current from any bubbles that escape it, that takes gas from the bottom of the tank, all the way to the top and would at least help the co2 levels, if not oxygen levels...
I wonder if you had a wavemaker or something like it on the base of the tank that made a big "bulge" of water if it would be as effective as the bubbles...
Im gonna subscribe for that
I was rught after all then.lol You did make me think though.
Is this a remake of a clip you did 4 years ago?
No
What if you ran a pressurized O2 tank with reg/bubble counter and injected pure O2?
Diffusing pure oxygen will quickly supersaturate the water with oxygen while diffusing nitrogen will deoxygenate the water.
Not sure why you'd do that, but it wouldn't make the tank "extra healthy" or anything.
You can saturate the aquarium with oxygen by having a very heavy plant load- this happens when plants start to pearl. The problem is at night when the plants stop photosynthesizing: they use up oxygen and release CO2 along with the fish. This is why it’s advisable to have lots of surface agitation at night if you’re overstocked with fish as well as have a very heavy plant load. For this reason I run my air stone on a timer…Increasing surface agitation oxygenates the water and gases off extra CO2 so efficiently that injecting O2 is not worth it. The only benefit that I can see is if you’re also injecting CO2. It would allow you to bump up the amount of CO2 for the benefit of the plants while ensuring that the fish get sufficient O2.
Author:Think Fish Last updated: 15 June 2013 06:40
Water has a capacity to carry a set amount of dissolved gasses; the amount of these dissolved gasses in the water depends upon a number of factors, and has a direct effect upon the fish.
Gas exchange takes place at the waters surface whereby gasses are either released into, or absorbed from the atmosphere.
Although other gasses are involved, the most important in the aquarium are oxygen and carbon dioxide. Oxygen is used up in the aquarium during respiration by fish, and even more so, by bacteria. The oxygen that is used up will be replaced by gas exchange at the waters surface from the surrounding air.
The amount of oxygen that is transferred is dependant upon the surface area of the water; a larger surface area results in more places where gas exchange can take place. Circulation of water at the surface, and throughout the aquarium will increase gas exchange by taking oxygen-rich water away from the surface, and replacing it with lower-oxygen water.
The gas exchange in an aquarium can be increased by agitating the surface with air pumps, or water pumps (including the filter), which both increase the surface area and increase water circulation.
Gas exchange also works to remove gasses from the water if they become in excess, this is often the case with carbon dioxide. Although carbon dioxide is useful for plants, for other organisms it is a waste product created through respiration and too high a level can become dangerous and cause respiratory problems.
Excesses of carbon dioxide are released from the water via gas exchange at the waters surface, which again is increased by surface agitation and water circulation.
Gas exchange is not limited to the aquariums water and the atmosphere and takes place in a number of different areas, such as in the gills of fishes.
the surface of a bubble is no different than the surface of the water, gas exchange is still happening there based on the relative saturations of the water and gas. This is how CO2 injection works.
Makes sense. Surface area is surface area, whether it's a bubble that pops at the surface or the surface itself.