Do you need an air-pump? Do air-pump pumps oxygen?
- Nov 23, 2020
- Anshika Mishra
- 1087 0 0
Do you really need an air-pump in your aquarium?
Does an air-pump pump oxygen into the water?
Is it okay for the water to be completely still or do fishes need some water movement?
Why people set up air-pump?
When people set up a new aquarium they add air pumps for a lot of different reasons; the fish needs oxygen, the filter runs off of an air pump. And some people hook in air pump stones or one of the bubble wall simply because they feel like they have to or they think it looks cool but doesn't really understand what an air-pump does.
So, let us clear all of that up:
First things first, air-pump are not oxygen tanks but they do play a vital role in getting oxygen in your tank, it is just not coming out of the pump. When you have an aquarium with stagnant water, there is oxygen coming in, it is just not very much of it and the fishes started feeling stuffed inside.
The basic
Oxygen enters the aquarium through the water surface. The oxygen that comes in is absorbed by the fish from their gills and then they expel carbon dioxide just like we do. The carbon dioxide they expel gest absorbed by the plants or rises up to the surface of the water.
If the water is just sitting in there still, it is just happening very slowly.
Well, what water movement does is, it forces air to come in along with forcing still air to go out making it much more comfortable for the fishes in the aquarium. The surface agitation speeds up, oxygen coming in and carbon dioxide going out and this is known as, "the gas exchange".
What does an air pump do?
Yes, an air-pump forces air into the aquarium which is distributed throughout by either air stones or filters. Those bubbles rise to the surface and pop, when they pop they create that surface agitation and they speed up the gas exchange.
So, an air-pump is absolutely critical to keep the water well agitated and create a gas exchange. But do you absolutely have to have one? Does your fish die if you don't have one?
Well, the answer is no. As long as oxygen is moving in from whatever you have in your tank whether a powerhead or your filter. So, if you have a good strong filter that does really move the water and keep the water pretty oxygenated why would you want to have an air-pump? Here is why:
Dead spots
Most of our aquariums are square, we have a bunch of woods, rocks, and decorations that are causing all kinds of dead spots in the tanks. These are the areas where the water is sitting still, is it going to kill your fish to have dead spots? No! but it is still something that you want to avoid.
If you have a dead spot in your tank then that is the area where you are going to have a lot of build-up of uneaten food and fish waste because you probably can't get back there while doing your maintenance behind some rocks or whatever.
So, when it keeps building up, it is going to become a problem. If you add an air stone, it can break-up that dead spot and allows all that leftover to be swept out and picked up by your filter.
You might be a Betta keeper and these fish do not like a strong current, they do not like blown away all over the place. So, you are either going to have a really small filter that dos do not move the water a lot or you are going to have a larger filter that turns the current down. So, you will not have a lot of movement in your tank.
Adding the water stone will allow more surface agitation which is going to allow more gas exchange.
Air-pumps are great for creating water movement and promoting that gas exchange but there are a couple more things too that they are good for.
Powering filter
Sponge filters are a very efficient way to exchange your filter and it also doesn't only need to be on small filters either. With sponge filters, you get an efficient filter while also pushing those bubbles in the tank to get that surface agitation.
They can be the difference between life and death for your fish
Have you thought about what will happen to your fishes in a power outage in your house? You can have an air pump that hooks up its power via USB cord, in normal circumstance you can use it as a normal pump but if the power goes out you can hook them up to a USB power storage device as you have used for your cell phones, or even to your laptop. You can also use a battery-operated air-pump.
Having pumps like this can serve different purposes; if you lose power you can hook them to your sponge filter. But there is another great use for both of these types of pumps and that is if you are transporting fish long distances.
Air-pumps play a vital role, they make your aquarium healthy along with making it look cooler.
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