air bubbles?

[fishcrazee]

I was wondering if using an air wand with an air pump is necassary... I was reading an article in the april AFM. It says bad things about air bubbles and was wondering if anyone uses them and has any bad effects. Also when you add RO/DI water to top off your tank do you add things in it like pH raisers or trace element buffers? If so what kinds and if not does this affect the fish, corals, or invertabrates? Thank you!

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Air bubbles are a bad thing in a reef tank. They tend to cling to everything and will stress the corals over time. The object here is to create flow throughout the tank so there won't be any stagnant areas for bubbles to cling to. This is achieved by the use of powerheads and HOB filters/skimmers to keep the water moving constantly, just like the waves in the ocean are constanly moving water over the reef.

Personally, the only thing I use in my top-off water is kalk. I only dose magnesium twice weekly to keep my levels up. Weekly water changes replenish all my trace elements. Been doing it this way for three years and have been successful so far. HTH.

 

[fishcrazee]

Thank you! that clears up the top off water problem but for air bubbles does that mean you still use a bubble wand? Cause it says when the bubbles pop it can cause saltspray and corrode your lights and stuff. Also for powerhead placement where is a good place to place them? And how many are needed in a 10?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

No, don't use a bubble wand. All you need are powerheads. You'll want to aim for turning 10x your water volume over per hour so two powerheads in either corner would be fine. In my nanos I've always used the micro-jet powerheads because of their small profile. There are two models available, both with adjustable flow. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... de=Maxijet