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How much air does my 29 gallon tank need HELP2007-11-24 23:34:46

I have a 29 gallon tank and just installed an under gravel filter. Is that enough air for the fish or should I be providing more air for them. All of the guppies are sort of going to the top and it seems like they might need more air. The bottom feeders are sort of just laying around on the bottom and they look stressed. I tested the PH of the water and it is fine.

Answers:

IMO I would take out the undergravel filter and put in a regular hob(hang on the back) filter. Undergravel filter's are junk, and will end causing you more problems. Food & poop get stuck underneath it, and it'll raise your ammonia levels because you can't clean under there- unless you dismantle the entire tank and remove the substrate-which is a big mess in itself much less with all the poop/food floating around that was stuck underneath the filter. With the hob filter, that'll be enough to "aerate" the water and allow the gas exchanges, no need for an air stone, those are more for decoration.

Also, don't worry about the ph, most fish now a days can adjust to any type of ph for the most part, the thing you need to worry about is the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. You need to test those more so than the ph. Should be ammonia 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, and nitrates less than 20 ppm. Buy a test kit for those.

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I would get a simple air stone and pump, wal-mart carries them cheeply. The under gravel filters really are not the best filters out there, if you can get one that hangs on the back it'll keep the tank cleaner and keep it aireated. So either a pump and air stone or a better filter.

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The air you pump into the tank isn't where the water gets it's oxygen. That air is just to keep the water moving, and most of the gas exchange takes place at the surface. If you have your filter going right, there'll be enough oxygen in the water.