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what aerator do you recommend?
#1
Guest_lenrely_*
Posted 21 November 2012 - 10:21 PM
1. That I need a second powerhead for a 30G just to provide basic aeration. Baloney.
2. That the size of the tank determines the strength of the air flow. Baloney. All you need is working components to set up any configuration.
I had a very successful native tank which I was able to aerate using cheap little $8 air pumps off the shelf that were powerful enough to snake tubing all over the room, split up and power an undergravel system from the very bottom. I never reached the oxygen limit, it just wasn't an issue. Moving and having to start from scratch has led to this situation. In trying to recreate that setup I have found a powerhead by itself is not sufficient an aerator for more than a few small shiners from the creek, and some species it will not sustain at all. With 7 or 8 common, spottail, yellowfin shiners etc that seemed to be doing fine, I added just one more minnow and the oxygen "maxed out". They dropped like flies until I had just 4, and since then I haven't been able to add even one common shiner. I've kept more fish than this with just a working aerator by itself.
I've bought an older model like I used to have and even tried tracking down one that I gave away, and it's the same story. Someone recommended the Hailea brand which are not compatible with US electrical outlets, and the pumps bait shops use that are made of white PVC you have to hook up to a car battery, so I have eliminated literally every brand on ebay that is for tanks 30 gallons or less. I'd like to hear from someone who understands WHY so many models are too weak and what pumps are more than just two magnets rubbing together?
#2
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
Posted 21 November 2012 - 11:03 PM
If you want a piston or blower pump you will pay big bucks and have lots of noise. You may wish to look at the pumps that are designed to aerate septic plants - they are cheaper than the same type of pump sold for aquariums, and they work well in deep water.
Just curious, in your home setup, if you blow (lung power) through the airstone, does air move freely through it? You should be able to do this with ease.
Something is very wrong here, this just does not make sense.
#3
Posted 22 November 2012 - 08:25 AM
#4
Guest_lenrely_*
Posted 22 November 2012 - 10:14 AM
#5
Guest_michifish_*
Posted 22 November 2012 - 02:27 PM
#6
Guest_Abrams96_*
Posted 22 November 2012 - 05:03 PM
#7
Guest_gerald_*
Posted 23 November 2012 - 11:04 AM
#8
Guest_steve_*
Posted 23 November 2012 - 03:08 PM
#9
Posted 17 December 2012 - 03:42 PM
Since your setup contains stream fish, why not just use a powerhead and attach the airline tubing directly to it so that it draws air from above the water line and mixes it with the recirculating water. Not only will you get the water movement your fish desire, but you will also oxygenate it at the same time. This defeats the need for an airpump, airstone, etc.
Warning--if you go this route, be sure to put some sort of strainer/sponge over the intake. A small darter/shiner will inevitably get sucked into it.
Example:
[img]http://www.google.com/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://www.quickgrow.com/images_shop/41420_301_powerhead.jpg&sa=X&ei=RoHPUJCxGKex0AG20oGYDA&ved=0CAsQ8wc4gwI&usg=AFQjCNFb77iY-sMlTspwL8SGgLZEfsbG-A[/img]
#10
Guest_lenrely_*
Posted 17 December 2012 - 11:32 PM
#11
Guest_mangoverde_*
Posted 18 December 2012 - 01:30 PM
Wow, I wish I had thought of that sooner. There is a visible difference between this combination and the air tube that just comes with the powerhead, so I'll see if it's enough. I'm reluctant to share my most recent attempt because I'm increasingly at a loss to describe the problem. I field-tested a Whisper pump which was able to blow air through a 6" long airstone, brought it home and although it did make bubbles come out, I swear it did not have the same strength in my 30G that it did in the pet shop's 100 gallon mini pond. With the aerator and powerhead both running I added 5 common shiners from the creek, and over the course of 3 days watched them one at a time start gulping at the surface and then die. I could consider the difference in water temperature this time of year, but I can't equate this with the tank I had before that had big chubsuckers, redhorse, a carp, even a shad, with just a powerhead and cheap aerator. Is it because the tank was bigger? Having an 02 guage would make all this experimentation unnecessary, you can hold all equipment to one standard and not gamble.
If you have had issues with multiple pumps and it seems that the behavior of at least one of them appeared to be different from the pet store to your house, could you possibly have an electrical issue?
#12
Posted 18 December 2012 - 03:25 PM
#13
Guest_gerald_*
Posted 18 December 2012 - 04:24 PM
#14
Guest_lenrely_*
Posted 18 December 2012 - 06:04 PM
PS- I will post a pic but assume for a moment there is nothing to see. You submerge the stone and big bubbles come out of the junction instead of a torrent of little bubbles coming out of the stone. I use a multi-outlet so I tried removing it and didn't notice a change. My 3 golden shiners seem friskier with this configuration so I'll try adding one minnow at a time.
#15
Guest_zoonose_*
Posted 19 December 2012 - 12:20 PM
#16
Guest_pylodictis_*
Posted 19 December 2012 - 03:39 PM
I know it's far too simple a problem. Let me say this again, my old tank had everything this one has including greater depth and the airstones were stronger at the bottom of that tank than they are at the surface of this one. Gerard, after watching fish for years it's hard to put in words everything you can see in their behavior. Ammonia or gill parasites are not the cause of a fish that dies the same day it is introduced to a tank from the wild, just as shock is not the cause of death after a long acclimation or starvation within the first couple of days. The signs of O2 deficiency are a fish that normally hides or stays at the bottom changing its behavior as if it thinks it has to stay in the current even at night, this happening one fish at a time as the level adjusts to the population until it stops at the number it can support, and that number being consistent each time, happening to certain species while others remain unaffected, and occurring when there is a visible problem with the air flow. There are no beginner oversights here, I just don't have an O2 meter. Speaking of which does anyone have a good one?
PS- I will post a pic but assume for a moment there is nothing to see. You submerge the stone and big bubbles come out of the junction instead of a torrent of little bubbles coming out of the stone. I use a multi-outlet so I tried removing it and didn't notice a change. My 3 golden shiners seem friskier with this configuration so I'll try adding one minnow at a time.
Have you tried it across the home or somewhere outside of your house?
#17
Posted 19 December 2012 - 03:41 PM
Have you tried another airstone? Old ones get clogged up with calcium deposites and other organics. It may be so clogged that your pump may not be able to push any air through it.
Another thought--if you're collecting fish from the wild (depending on where in the country you are) you water temps, and subsequent levels of dissolved O2 are going to be much different than your ambient temp tank water. That added stress on the fish could certainly be enough to quickly lead to their demise. Have you checked the water parameters recently?
#18
Guest_lenrely_*
Posted 19 December 2012 - 06:14 PM
There is no mechanical filtration, which might sound odd but for the purposes of finding out what is wrong I'm trying to keep things simple. I use water from the creek for all water changes and cleanings. Several years ago I had a 20G turtle tank with such good biology there was NO visible waste and NO filtration, that was one step in my journey to recreate habitats using only wild elements, so the 75G I had much success with had no filtration either although it looked very much like pond water. Having to start from scratch and seek pet shop advice had been a bit unnerving.
I put things back the way they were to take this photo. Although the aerator on top of the tank works when combined with the powerhead as Nick suggested, you can see nothing is coming out of the airstones at all now. The second pic is of the same tank before this debacle. More fish, less water, no aerator needed.
![Posted Image](http://i.imgur.com/C8pdZ.jpg)
![Posted Image](http://i.imgur.com/rWW2S.jpg)
#19
Guest_gerald_*
Posted 19 December 2012 - 06:58 PM
Edited by gerald, 19 December 2012 - 06:59 PM.
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