Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Mervyn on November 01, 2012, 05:00:29 PM
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Hi all,
As above has anyone used one? The reason I ask is that I got mine today and the tank is full of tiny,tiny, air bubbles. I have tried adjusting the thing even till just before it closes the hole completely.
It is not a major problem, it just makes the tank look as though it is full of minute particulates. The advantage of course is that I can see the tank circulating.
A funny thing did happen though. I noticed that the top had popped off the tube and I hunted high & low. Stuck my arm right down into the tank scrabbling about,dislodged a couple of plants. Then on the point of completely losing it >:( I noticed it floating on the surface in the corner of the tank. DOH I should have realised that it would be a floater. ;D
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The air diffuser is a venturi device that fits on the output of your pump and pulls air from above the surface and mixes it into the outflow. The little bubbles are what you get. The claim is that it helps to oxygenate your tank. If the pump output is rippling the surface, that's all the oxygenation you need. Any air diffuser or air pump is just a bauble. You may like the effect, in which case, by all means, retain it; but it is not necessary.
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Thanks for your advice.
To be honest I am not sure I like the thousands of tiny bubbles.
The noise does not bother me.
The only other thing I am concerned about is as the "outflow" exits from a smaller diameter tube, whether the "current" may be a little too much for when I put fish in after the cycle.
I realise that it needs this for the venturi action but is it going to affect the fish? I will be stocking with smallish community fish.
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The fish will soon learn where the worst current is and avoid it. Some fast swimming fish seem to like trying to swim up the current, from people's comments.
I have never used the venturi on filters that have one for more than the odd day or two. I found that the bubbles bursting at the surface spashed water onto the underside of the lid. For tanks where the lid overlaps the outside of the tank you can end up with water running down the outside of the tank. This isn't a problem with Rios, but very wet flaps are a nuisance if you need to lift them off.
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Thanks Sue,
I will leave it running for now....after all I have paid for it. :P
If I think the fish (when the time comes) don't like it I will take it off.
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Funnily enough, the email saying you had replied arrived just as I was reading a post on another forum - about a shoal of rummy nose tetras that were surfing in the outflow of a filter ;D The description was of a large shoal of 17 tetras swimming up behind the spraybar then into the jets from it. Someone else mentioned having 2 externals in the same tank, one with a spraybar and one with a normal tube. His fish ignored the spraybar but contantly rode the current coming from the tube.
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;D