Question on Air Pumps

[bielbugs]

I am new at this fish thing, but am having a blast! A question that I had after reading some posts on here has to do with air pumps. I currently do not have one for my 55 gal tank. Are they necessary? What is the best way to use/place them? Thanks!

[Abbeys_Mom]

If you have adequate filtration, then I don't think you do. I does help in a lot of ways though. I am sure other people here will have more info. I use aeration in my tanks mainly because I like the pretty bubbles :)

[sergo]

i have a 20 gal air pump for my 55 with 2 air stones and a 4" air bar. i also have a 3 way adjustable gate valve for control of the heads. i set it up for looks only and when i did have my bettas in it the females liked to swim around in the bubbles. i burried my heads under some bigger pieces of rock to help spread out the bubble pattern. it works like a champ.

[cocoa_pleco]

you dont need a airpump if your filter sprays water allover.

[Nautilus29]

I put air pumps in my 55g. Im sure it doesnt hurt the fish and the loaches love to play in the bubbles. I got 2 air wands that fit right along the sides of the tank and the bubbles go up both of the sides. They also help move the water around.

[cocoa_pleco]

I like air wands too. My fish play in it.

[Ascendant]

My goldfish dont....

[AuroraAustralis]

Air pumps are a good thing to have even if you don't use them all the time. I don't have airstones or wands in my tanks but I have 3 pumps all the same. They do come in handy sometimes for things like hatching brine shrimp, extra aeration when medicating or increasing the tank temp, running an emergency spare air driven filter (something I found very handy during an extended power outage once). I have on more than one occasion found that the ac/dc type is a fantastic thing to have in an emergency thumbs2:

[Drumachine09]

Airstones are good for surface movement, and it oxygenates your water, but should not be used if you have live plants.

[bielbugs]

I appreciate everyone's responses. Maybe down the road I will get one, but I've spent enough money for now. :14:

[newt0524]

hey

i think you can pickup an air pump, tube and stone for about $10. though its not neccesary, it is beneficial.

i have a question to add to this thread though, does oxygenating the water affect plant growth? just wondering

[Lady Hobbs]

Air pumps are pretty cheap. If you do get one, make sure it can run more than one line and it come with shut-offs if you don't want to use more than one line for now.

I have the Whisper and like it a lot.....two lines with shut-offs on both sides. I just bought an Aqua and hate it! It's loud as H*** with no shut offs.

[cocoa_pleco]

yeah. you get what you pay for. I bought a double pump that can support 2 hoses for 50 bucks... super quiet. before I bought a 5 buck single one and It sounded like a semi racing a train

[Lady Hobbs]

I paid a whole lot less for my Whisper two head power jets with shut offs. More like $20.