Bubbles - Did I miss something

[chip.mcsweeney]

In my 55g I have now 7 danios (zebra and glofish) 3 black (they look more brown to me) kuhli loaches, a java fern that is growing new leaves at a surprising rate, and a few stems of what I believe to be Anacharis? <either way, I don't like it, I have never seen a plant before that can sprout new branches, and at the same time, have it's petal/leafy things turn brown, die, float away and get stuck in my filter. I have been reading up on aquarium plants, the java fern was my first and it did so well I added this thing (bad choice?). I would like to have a slightly heavier planted tank because I can see that my fish like it.

Here is where the confusion starts. The last time I set up a "real" aquarium, Undergravel filters were the way to go, you needed the air pump to get it all going, and after all, fish need oxygen, right?? Now I see CO2 injectors for plants, bubbling CO2 into the aquarium... doesn't that displace the oxygen? does it still aid in the ammonia gas exchange? do i even need bubbles anymore??? I read that bubbling air into the aquarium now takes too much CO2 out of the water and some plants don't do well.

Can somebody PLEASE give me some guidance here? Maybe I should just go back to corn, squash, peas, and beans...

[Wild Turkey]

fish need oxygen, right??

O'Course

I see CO2 injectors for plants, bubbling CO2 into the aquarium... doesn't that displace the oxygen?

Yes, but the plants produce oxygen during the day. At night though they use oxygen and produce Co2, so thats why a lot of people run airstones at night if they inject co2 (I recommend it as well). Generally, you dont want to exceed around 30ppm co2.

does it still aid in the ammonia gas exchange?

Well, Yes the nitrogen cycle requires oxygen at some stages, but if your fish are okay your bacteria is fine. If the fish need oxygen, they will all be up at the top of the tank trying to take in gulps of air. Gas exchange aids the process, but ammonia is used by the beneficial bacteria in the aquarium, not through gas exchange directly.

do i even need bubbles anymore??? I read that bubbling air into the aquarium now takes too much CO2 out of the water and some plants don't do well.

Well, if you have a HOB filter, usually no you dont need an airstone. If you run co2 though, its a good idea to have one on a timer to go on at night, and or run it during the day on a lower setting if you find you are injecting too much co2 (cant control it with a DIY system) which basically makes sure there is both co2 and oxygen available in the tank. A drop checker can help you estimate how much co2 is diffused into the water column, theyre about 10 bucks and really aid in getting the co2 stable between night and day with the addition of your air pump and a timer.

If you dont inject co2, then an airstone should actually provide more co2 (and oxygen) to the water column than nothing at all in most cases. Co2 is in the air, afterall.

Finally, if you run canisters, or in-the-tank power filters, you will want to run an airstone because the cansiter doesnt aerate the water like a HOB does.

My answers are in red, hope they help.

[chip.mcsweeney]

So this Tetra Whisper 60 gallon air pump that I have running all day full bore split between a 12 inch air stone, a 6 inch bubble wand, and the air-in part of my aquaclear powerhead 70(802)... I'm not even sure what the rating on the air pump means, there is no literature included as to how they get these ratings, is this based on a fully stocked tank, have something to do with the water pressure, or just an arbitrary number so you will buy a larger, more costly product?

the fish play in the bubbles--sometimes-- and the kuhli's play in the bubbles---when they are not in their cave(most of the day)-- I certainly don't want to take away a fish's only toy, but there are so many bubbles in the tank, 40% of the tank surface has bubbles unpopped, and as a result of the popping bubbles, I can't fill the tank all the way because of the bubble popping spatter hitting the hood and dripping leaving nice streaks down the front of my aqarium.

I would love to tone it down, but I don't want to suffocate my fish.

If I get this drop checker, which I most likely will, this tells me how much CO2 is in the water, but how about oxygen? do I just have to rely on the fish gulping near the surface? I gotta say, it may not be the best indicator since they are danios... if they see me, they go to the surface looking for food whether they have already been fed or not. There has to be a better way.

As for the plants though, I really love the look of a carpeted planting style, I love the little grass-like plants and would like to aquascape my tank. but the other question I forgot to ask in my last post is, when you get all those plants in there, how are you supposed to vacuum the gravel? relocate the plants every week? The thought of that makes planting an aquarium seem counterproductive.

I'm sorry i'm asking so many questions here, but This is the first time I've run my 55gal after the indian mudskippers in '97, they got sand, a piece of driftwood and maybe ten gallons of water to play in, and did quite well, until the bleach incident... lets not go there.

[Wild Turkey]

So this Tetra Whisper 60 gallon air pump that I have running all day full bore split between a 12 inch air stone, a 6 inch bubble wand, and the air-in part of my aquaclear powerhead 70(802)... I'm not even sure what the rating on the air pump means, there is no literature included as to how they get these ratings, is this based on a fully stocked tank, have something to do with the water pressure, or just an arbitrary number so you will buy a larger, more costly product?
This is a good question, im sure it varies a lot from company to company. I split almost all of my tanks off of two pumps and i still have excess air that im just letting out into the room, so im sure your whisper 60 is more than enough for a 55. How much air you will let in depends how much co2 you need to gas off, and usually its really not that much.I think you will be surprised by how low you can run the pump and still provide enough oxygen for fish( and you will have to if you want co2 to remain in the tank )


the fish play in the bubbles--sometimes-- and the kuhli's play in the bubbles---when they are not in their cave(most of the day)-- I certainly don't want to take away a fish's only toy, but there are so many bubbles in the tank, 40% of the tank surface has bubbles unpopped, and as a result of the popping bubbles, I can't fill the tank all the way because of the bubble popping spatter hitting the hood and dripping leaving nice streaks down the front of my aqarium.
I would love to tone it down, but I don't want to suffocate my fish.

You can definitely drastically reduce the air your pumping in and not have any worries about suffocating fish. If half of the surface is covered in bubbles and you havent been using anything that causes foam, sounds like you are running it on full blast.

If I get this drop checker, which I most likely will, this tells me how much CO2 is in the water, but how about oxygen? do I just have to rely on the fish gulping near the surface? I gotta say, it may not be the best indicator since they are danios... if they see me, they go to the surface looking for food whether they have already been fed or not. There has to be a better way.

IMO its a good idea to keep an eye on the fish for a few hours after changing anything as far as air or co2; but you'll definitely notice the difference in behavior, its a lot different than begging for food. The good news is, once u turn the air back on they are usually unaffected and recover very quickly. If you want to test your oxygen levels just to get an idea of what they are, you can get a liquid test kit for that, they just arent super-accurate. I have one but I rarely use it, Id say skip it if money is an issue at all, otherwise why not.

As for the plants though, I really love the look of a carpeted planting style, I love the little grass-like plants and would like to aquascape my tank. but the other question I forgot to ask in my last post is, when you get all those plants in there, how are you supposed to vacuum the gravel? relocate the plants every week? The thought of that makes planting an aquarium seem counterproductive.

Personally, I just vacuum the soil as best as I can until I cant anymore from the plants growing in. Its not really a big deal as long as you dont overfeed, since that nasty gunk that collects in there is great for plants. I give the whole tank (the tops and sides of the plants and leaves, etc) a very light vacuum every once in a while to deal with leaves and other unsightly debris. Since plants also use nitrate, the issue of it becoming a nitrate factory is somewhat lesser than in a non planted.

I'm sorry i'm asking so many questions here, but This is the first time I've run my 55gal after the indian mudskippers in '97, they got sand, a piece of driftwood and maybe ten gallons of water to play in, and did quite well, until the bleach incident... lets not go there.

We all make mistakes, but dont apologize for asking questions bud, thats what AC is all about

Edit: almost forgot, the AC powerhead, you want to hook the co2 into that, and it will give you better diffusion(more co2 in the water). I use one also and I love watching the little bursts of bubbles. They were designed for this purpose