# bubbles and sand ???



## amcline (May 4, 2008)

*air or no air in freshwater?*​
air with stones728.00%no air1872.00%


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## amcline (May 4, 2008)

ok *** noticed with my tanks when the airstones or bubble wands are under or in the sand it seems to make alot of sand float up and fall back down, witch (1) clogs filters (2) looks cloudy and (3) moves sand away from some types of stones,

i cant find any info on searchs so maybe some of you cichlid guys haveseen this?
or did you ditch the air and get more water flow for airation?

my 75 is more of the stone and plant setup so i dont want a decoration to put out the air, and adding air to my PWR head makes billions of tiny bubbles which end up making it look cloudy again. aparently the PWRhead just churns upthe bubble more,,,

i have a choice of pumps, and stones, and really like a 36" flexible black wand which i just installed to only one side of my pump, and it makes a huge curtain, but also when burried (to hide it) it picks up a crapola amount of sand... 
and i dont want to look at this black tube on top of white sand.
nore do i wanna see myprev setup of two 6" blue stones in plastic case above the sand,
these lil guys move the sand alot and will cover it up quickly anyway.

so,
Input ? Idea's ? questions?


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## BrianNFlint (Apr 1, 2007)

I have sand for substrate.. I also have 2 air stones in there but they are about 6-8" from the top of the tank so they do not stir up the sand.

Air stones do not actually put oxygen into the water. What they do do is cause surface agitation which aids in the exchange of o2/co2.

They do not need to be deep in the tank unless you are trying to hide..


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## a7oneal (Dec 30, 2004)

I get plenty of surface agitation with my filters, and don't use anything else. That's not to say others don't need it, but I've found that I don't... if you do use them, I wouldn't put them too deep into the tank.


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## xenergyx (Feb 4, 2008)

yeah I fought air tubes in my previous tank (suction cups coming off, tube growing algae, etc) so I decided against air in my 47g

I definitely think for larger tanks that direct surface agitation with a powerhead or filter outputs is the best method for a regular non-planted aquarium...

On the new tank I have 2 filter outputs below the surface of the water pointed up...
I also have a surface skimmer on top of that...

Haven't ran into any issues so far without the air, and the tank is nearly silent and nicer to look at IMHO...


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## amcline (May 4, 2008)

i was about to ask about that, the magnum350 outlet is below the surface, but i have a diffuser that kinda points up a bit, the powerheads are about 1/2 down the tank, on the back wall, so they done do anything to the surface, just creat a small current,.

how do you know if you have good oxygenation?


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## mstatdfield (Jan 20, 2008)

I don't like the looks of bubbles in my tank and my filters create good surface movement. Despite all this I still use a small air stone (about the size of a ping pong ball). Mostly because I have an air pump, so why not use it. It is installed with no suction cups, just below the surface of the water, and behind a group of floating live plants that collect around my filters intake tubes. As a a result it cannot be easily seen. For me this is the best balance between unsightly air stones and getting good oxygen exchange at the surface.

MStatdfield


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

What filters are you using?

If you filter either pull water from the surface, or return water towards the surface you do not need any airstone. If you like the look you can have them, but they are not required.

I have canisters on all my tanks (plus a sump wet/dry on the 75 only) and not a single air stone or air pump. I use the spray bars for surface aggitation. I only a small air **** to run a sponge filter when I have brand new fry in my fry tank..


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## amcline (May 4, 2008)

well i went ahead and put the long black flex tube across the back, 3 suction cups to the back glas about 2" up from the sand, and bent it back about 2" so the 350 wont suck in air, fits perfect and hides behind plants and rocks, but gives a nice bubble wall on the back, also where the mag350 outlet it it makes a wave effect all along the back wall.


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## brian93 (Sep 20, 2007)

have the bubble wand above sand but behind a rock etc. maybe you should lose the sand.


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## crabs (Apr 17, 2008)

I like having some bubbles in the tank, I have a small wand behind a rock about a inch off the sand and it doesnt seem to move the sand around.

I like it, however it is a little noisy, not a problem unless you are sleeping on the couch.


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## amcline (May 4, 2008)

oh i love the sand, we have several tanks we recently all went to sand. mine is fine now after getting the wand out of the sand, another thing i notice is the flow of bubbles looks to be keeping it cleean behide the stones etc. usually i would see a good collection of waste there that the normal water flow dont move.

so in this case its a win/win.

btw my pumps are all quiet. 
the most noise i get is either my mag350, or my wifes tanks when she leaves the water low and the filters just pour in, lol. maybe the ocasional buzz of a light running.

if you use a valve to restrict the air flow a bit, it makes most air pumps run quieter.


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