Proper aquarium aeration can be challenging. As we all know rivers, lakes and oceans are the natural habitats for fish and other marine life. They all have large surface areas which makes the maximum provision of oxygen for fish survival possible. An aquarium does not have this luxury.
Let’s dive right in.
The Basics of Aquarium Aeration
An aquarium is not like a river, lake or ocean. It has a smaller surface area and there is limited movement of it’s inhabitants.
This makes the provision of an alternative means of oxygen for fish to breathe important. This artificial process of providing oxygen is called aeration. It’s a simple process of re-oxygenating the water in the aquarium tank.
The Aquarium Aeration System:
An aquarium aeration system is made up of a series of materials that increases the supply of air (thereby increasing oxygen concentration) they are:
– the air pump
– t-pieces
– rubber tubing
– clamp or regulator
– diffusers or airstone
Air pumps come in different shapes and sizes but the most popular ones are the Eheim Air Pump, the Fluval Q Series and the Tetra Whisper. Another popular one is the Tetra Whisper AP. The only downside with this model is that it only has one airline hose outlet.
Always place air pumps above the water level hooked to a non-vibrating material.
You can accomplish aquarium aeration in your tank by using the above listed aeration materials.
For small tanks you can achieve sufficient aquarium aeration by attaching a simple aquarium air pump to an airstone by means of a rubber air tube.
Blowing Air into the Water
The aquarium aeration system will be blowing air into the water which causes motion in aquarium tank and thus provides the necessary oxygen your fish need to breathe in the aquarium.
Sometimes people complain that the air pumps are too loud. A trick to keep the air pump quiet is to insulate it’s vibrations by placing the air pump on a large sponge.
When it comes to aquarium aeration I have even heard of some people who have buried the pump in cat litter. With an air tube running to the surface from the air inlet… but you don’t have to go to that extent. A large sponge should do the trick.
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