Types of aerators for aquariums

What is water aeration

Aeration of water in an aquarium is the process of movement of layers of liquid. Aquarium aeration saturates the aquarium water with oxygen. The movement of liquid begins with the release of small water bubbles from the aeration device. The larger the space of the device, the faster the liquid is saturated with gas.

In lakes and rivers, the aeration process occurs due to waves, currents, winds and the abundance of plants. In an aquarium, plants do this, although they are an unreliable supplier of O2, since they consume oxygen when there is a deficiency of carbon dioxide or in the dark.

Is aeration necessary in an aquarium?

There are no fish species that do not need oxygen in the aquarium. There are fish that breathe atmospheric air; they float to the top of the water and swallow it. But most inhabitants need O2.

An aquarium is a living world. It is home to not only human-settled pets in the form of fish and other aquatic organisms, but also aerobic bacteria that live in the soil and in plant thickets. These bacteria are not dangerous. They maintain biological balance. In an aquarium without aeration, the balance is disrupted and the inhabitants cannot exist normally.

In still water, the process of penetration of oxygen particles into the water column is very slow. Oxygen particles penetrate only 2 cm into the water per day. For fish in an aquarium, this is very little. Therefore, water must be independently enriched with O2. This is done using filters, compressors, and sprayers.

Is it necessary with plants?

The plants in the aquarium produce enough O2 to support a small number of fish. But for numerous settlements there must be a lot of plants. At night, plants also consume oxygen, leaving living inhabitants without valuable gas. The best solution would be to purchase aerating devices.

The role of oxygen in living nature

It has been known since elementary school that for living organisms on Earth, oxygen is an essential element of life, since living organisms breathe and absorb oxygen.

Entering the cells of the body of an animal or plant, oxygen reacts with the release of energy that goes into certain life processes and carbon dioxide (CO2), which is removed from the body, as it acts as a poison.

You can understand the mechanisms of respiration of fish and aquatic plants by understanding the reactions of dissolution of oxygen and carbon dioxide in water.

The amount of gases in water is proportional to the solubility indicators. Dissolved gases are present in water, coming from atmospheric air, or formed directly in the aquarium. Oxygen is formed as a result of photosynthesis, in the presence of living plants in the aquarium, and in the absence of plants - only from atmospheric air and due to aeration.

For oxygen, the diffusion coefficient in air is 11, and in water it is 0.000034 or 320,000 times lower! This means that the conditions for obtaining oxygen for aquatic organisms are much worse than for terrestrial ones.

Methods of water aeration

There are two types of water aeration.

Natural

This is growing plants or breeding snails. When plants grow, oxygen is released through photosynthesis.

Snails are an indicator of the amount of gas. When the liquid is depleted of oxygen, they are placed on the leaves of plants or on the walls of the aquarium. If the oxygen level is normal, the snails are placed on the bottom or rocks.

Artificial

This is the use of aeration equipment. Used: compressors and pumps.

Compressor

Compressors spray bubbles into the liquid, which enrich the liquid with O2. They must work in the aquarium continuously.

Is it possible to turn off the compressor?

Aquarium aeration devices must not be switched off. Many new aquarists turn off their water aeration compressors at night because these devices create a lot of noise. This is absolutely impossible to do.

At night, fish especially need aeration, because underwater plants stop releasing O2 and absorb it themselves. Aerating devices must operate continuously and continuously to saturate the water with oxygen.

Sprayers

Air nozzles are part of compressors. With the help of sprayers located in the ground of the aquarium, the air is distributed into bubbles that the compressor pumped from the outside of the aquarium. Air is supplied to the aquarium. Bubbles move layers of water. This helps saturate the liquid with oxygen.

Soil filter

Ground filters for aquariums perform a similar function to a compressor. Filters create currents. This promotes the movement of layers of water. The top layer of water, in contact with air, is saturated with oxygen and sinks to the bottom with the current. When purchasing and installing a ground filter, a compressor is not needed.

Specialized pumps

Water aeration pumps are equipped with a filter device and channels for supplying oxygen to the aquarium. It is purged with air much better than a compressor. The throughput of the pump should be at least one third of the volume of the aquarium.

Hoses and connectors

Hoses and connectors are an additional attribute to the compressor or pump. They are needed to move and rearrange devices. A hose and a sprayer are attached to distribute the bubbles over a larger area throughout the aquarium.

Aeration without electricity

Suitable for transporting fish in the absence of electricity.

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a catalyst that, when released into water, breaks down into oxygen and water. It is completely harmless to underwater inhabitants. Peroxide is used to resuscitate suffocated fish and to destroy harmful algae on plants.

Oxygen tablets

Oxygen tablets are needed to quickly raise the oxygen level in the water. Another purpose is to transport fish in a short time. One oxygen tablet contains 30 mg of oxygen.

Oxidizers

Oxidizers work by adding hydrogen peroxide and a catalyst. A chemical reaction occurs, the result of which is the release of O2. They are used when transporting fish in conditions where there is no electricity or human intervention.

Manual compressor

Hand compressors are used when transporting fish for sale. Such compressors are powered without consuming electricity by pressing hands. The simplest manual compressor can be made from a rubber bladder from a bicycle or ball. Air is forced into the chamber and adjusted by pressing.

Ozonation

Ozonation is another type of aeration. Its peculiarity is that instead of air, ozone molecules enter the water. Ozone consists of O2, so ozonation is effective. Ozonation disinfects aquariums and eliminates turbidity. This is especially important before fish spawning. It is carried out only when there are no creatures in the water.

Overview of methods

During the development of aquariums, many methods have been invented to force the supply of oxygen into the water column, and this is very convenient - every aquarist has the opportunity to choose the best aeration option for himself, which would be both cost-effective and quite effective. Globally, all methods of aeration are divided into two large groups - natural and artificial.

Natural

You don’t have to invent anything at all with special equipment, but instead bring the conditions in the aquarium as close as possible to the conditions of a natural reservoir. An aerator would create the same waves, but this is a technique, and without technical devices, the oxygen level can only be increased by planting additional plants. Dense thickets with a relatively small number of inhabitants will help you get by even without any aerators, but you must be sure that your pets do not suffer from a lack of vital gas.

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An indicator of the amount of the latter can be snails , which many experienced aquarists breed specifically for this purpose. Unlike fish, these not the most mobile creatures clearly demonstrate whether everything is in order with oxygen levels. They instinctively know that there should be more oxygen in the upper layers than near the bottom, and when oxygen starvation is brewing, they try to move as high as possible - they climb plants and the walls of the container. In a normally aerated reservoir, they would never do this, because their typical habitat is the bottom.

Artificial

For those who do not want to tinker with plants and snails or are simply not sure that this will be enough, there is special equipment in the form of devices that provide aeration in one way or another. There are so many options for organizing the process that you can’t figure it out right away, so we’ll briefly consider them all.

When choosing a compressor, you must either accept constant bubbling or install the aquarium away from your sleeping areas.

It should be noted that the effectiveness of aquarium aeration also depends on how much attention you pay to the proper functioning of your home ecosystem.

We have already talked about the benefits of plants (and their potential harm at night), but the influence of “unusual” factors does not end there. For example, too warm water is always poorer in oxygen than cool water. This is due to the interdependence of environmental temperature and metabolism in any living organism - in warmth, all life processes occur faster, which means that more oxygen is consumed in the same amount of time. You can indirectly influence the degree of aeration by maintaining the correct temperature, although, of course, you should not get carried away with this method, otherwise your tropical pets will simply freeze.

In addition, it is important to promptly clean the aquarium from the remains of old food and regularly change the water to reduce its contamination with fish waste.

We mentioned above that the breakdown of the latter is carried out by beneficial aerobic bacteria, the vital activity of which requires air. The ideal conditions for the reproduction of these microorganisms, created in an unkempt aquarium, lead to the fact that the beneficial becomes harmful - the growing population begins to compete with your pets for the vital gas and the question is who will win without outside intervention.

What affects oxygen content

The oxygen content in the aquarium is affected by:

• Temperature. In a liquid with an elevated temperature, the amount of gas is always less than in a liquid with a lower temperature. Elevated temperature is dangerous by accelerating metabolism. With accelerated metabolism, aquatic organisms consume O2 more than usual at the moment when its deficiency is observed.
• Flora of the aquarium. Plants emit O2 in the light, but at night they also consume it.
• Bacteria. Aerobic bacteria living in the soil are beneficial for the microflora of the aquarium. But when there is leftover food or a large amount of waste, the bacteria are activated and actively multiply. A large number of aerobic bacteria will only cause harm, because it will cause a lack of O2.

DIY aeration

Pet stores sell a variety of devices that can purify the air. But there is an option to do aeration in the aquarium with your own hands.

To make a compressor for an aquarium with your own hands, you will have to purchase a power supply and a motor.

What you will need:

• Power unit.
• A small motor (for example, from a printer).
• Plastic cover.
• Candles.
• Rubber tube.
• Adapter.
• Balloon.
• A wooden stick (for example, from a lollipop).
• Hot glue stick.
• Several wooden blocks.
• Plywood.
• Wire.
• An elastic band (for example, from a bicycle inner tube or a ball).

How to make a compressor for aeration with your own hands:

1. Cut the balloon in half with scissors.

2. Take a plastic cover and drill 2 holes in it (3 and 6 mm) at the same distance. Sand rough edges.

3. We cut out a horseshoe shape from elastic band. This will be the valve of the device. The valve is glued with its legs to the inside of the drilled cover. The wide part of the valve should cover the 3mm hole.

4. We pull the cut out part of the ball onto the lid. The surface should be elastic, like a small drum. Glue with tape and trim off the excess parts of the ball.

5. Cut out a small rectangle from plywood. It must be proportionate to the motor. Glue the motor to the plywood.
6. Now let's make the base of the compressor. We take a piece of plywood and 2 bars. We glue the bars to the plywood in the form of legs and supports. We glue the prepared motor with plywood into the corner. At the bottom there is a connector for connecting the power supply.

7. We shorten the stick; it should be no more than 8 mm wide. Using an awl, we pierce holes on the top and sides. Insert a piece of wire into the hole on the side. It turned out to be an eccentric. We install it on the motor shaft.

8. Shorten the lollipop stick by 4 cm. Glue it to the candlestick. To attach it to the eccentric, drill a hole on the side of the stick and attach it. Attach the other end of the stick with glue to the center of the lid with the ball. Glue the cover onto the plywood.

9. Cut a 6 mm hole in the lid with the ball. Fix the adapter into the hole and attach the rubber tube.

The aerator is ready for use.

Tricks and secrets of aquarium aeration

But you need to know how to use it correctly, otherwise you can only cause harm and poison all the fish. In this article we will not dwell on this. If anyone is interested in this issue, information can be found on the Internet.

In conclusion, I will say that you should not underestimate the importance of aeration in an aquarium. Moreover, there is a large selection of equipment for it. You can find inexpensive and high-quality models.

When choosing a device, you need to compare its power, the volume of the aquarium, the number of inhabitants and their CO2 needs. Manufacturers usually indicate the recommended volume for each model.

And remember that only an aquarium that provides healthy conditions for its inhabitants can be beautiful.

Errors

• O2 does not enter the liquid from bubbles produced by the compressor. Oxygen is above the water, on the surface. In still water, gas saturation is weak. The formation of bubbles leads to the movement of water, the formation of water currents and good gas exchange of the liquid.
• As the temperature rises, you need to saturate the water more with gases or always maintain a constant water temperature.
• Many aquarists do not test for O2 levels in their water.
• It is important to equip tanks for raising fry with aerating devices. In these aquariums, oxygen is consumed by a large number of individuals under cramped conditions.

Aeration maintains stable gas exchange of water and destroys films on the surface of the liquid. Therefore, a tank equipped with an aeration system will be a reliable and safe home for underwater inhabitants.

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