Aeration of water in an aquarium: methods and rules

Despite the fact that the fish live under water, they still breathe the same oxygen as we do. It dissolves in water due to the presence of underwater plants and direct contact of the water surface with the atmosphere. Nevertheless, in the aquarium, greenery may not be enough, and the container itself may be completely closed, while there may even be too many fish for such a small amount of oxygen. In order for pets to feel comfortable in such a situation, it is necessary to install an aerator in the aquarium.

Aeration of water in an aquarium is the process of mixing water, during which the liquid is saturated with dissolved oxygen bubbles. A device that mixes liquid and gaseous substances is called an aerator. The larger and more powerful it is, the faster and more intensively the liquid is saturated with gas.

Some inexperienced aquarists avoid additional costs, referring to the fact that in the wild there are no aerators, but there the fish feels great. It should be noted that there aeration occurs naturally: thanks to the waves and wind, currents, a significant number of underwater plants. In indoor conditions and in a close covered aquarium, only plants remain, and even then - if the owner is not too lazy to plant them.

Oxygen is needed for normal functioning of any kind of fish - there is not a single fish that could do without it in principle. However, some species of underwater inhabitants do not extract much-needed gas from the water, but float to the surface and swallow atmospheric air. Nonetheless there are few such fish among aquarium fish, therefore forced aeration is required.

In addition, the enrichment of aquarium water with oxygen is necessary not only for fish. An aquarium is an entire ecosystem and there are actually more inhabitants in it than you can see. For example, it necessarily contains aerobic bacteria found in the thickness of the soil and in the thick of plants. Their function is very useful, because they maintain biological balance, helping to break down the toxic waste products of the main inhabitants of the artificial reservoir. Yes, they also need oxygen for normal life.

If there are no currents and waves at all in the aquarium, atmospheric oxygen per day penetrates into the water only 2 centimeters - you can imagine what its share is in the bottom areas. To understand how bad this is, look at any swamp with stagnant water - life is unlikely to boil there, and if something lives, then it is usually not suitable for aquarium breeding.

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

You can not invent anything at all with special equipment, but instead maximize the conditions in the aquarium to the conditions of a natural reservoir. The aerator would create the same waves, but this is a technique, and without technical devices it is possible to increase the oxygen level only by planting an additional number of plants. Dense thickets with a relatively small number of inhabitants will help to do without even any aerators, but you must be sure that your pets do not suffer from a shortage of vital gas.

An indicator of the amount of the latter can be snailswhich many experienced aquarists breed specifically for this purpose. Unlike fish, these not the most mobile creatures clearly demonstrate whether everything is in order with the level of oxygen. They instinctively know that in the upper layers of oxygen there should be more than near the bottom and with the brewing oxygen starvation they try to move as high as possible - they climb onto the plants and the walls of the tank. In a normally aerated body of water, they would never have done so, because the bottom is a typical habitat for them.

For those who do not want to mess with plants and snails or are simply not sure if this is 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 won’t figure it out right away, so we’ll briefly consider all of them.

• Compressor. This mechanism pumps air bubbles under pressure into the water, causing the liquid to bubble characteristically. Such a device is quite efficient, but its operation cannot be called silent, which is why many beginner aquarists consider it possible to turn off the unit at least for the night. It is strongly discouraged to do this categorically, since we have already mentioned that plants begin to consume oxygen in the dark, which means that very little remains for fish.

• Spray guns. Typically, such a device is an integral part of the compressor, which works in tandem, being its nozzle. It is necessary to install sprayers in the ground - thanks to this, air bubbles are pumped to the very bottom and float to the surface for as long as possible. Due to this, the highest efficiency of gas dissolution in the liquid is achieved. Sprayers are connected to the compressor using hoses and connectors, it is reasonable to scatter them throughout the aquarium to make aeration as productive as possible.

• Soil filter. This unit is an alternative to the compressor, because it provides a similar effect with a fundamentally different method. If the compressor pumps oxygen deep into the reservoir, the filter constantly mixes the water flows, creating a flow. Due to this, the upper layer, saturated with oxygen, goes to the bottom, and oxygen-poor water comes in its place, which greatly accelerates the aeration process.

• Water pump. This complex unit combines the operating principles of a compressor and a soil filter - it mixes water and pumps oxygen into it under pressure, passing it directly through the stream. The pump can be called "heavy artillery", it shows the highest efficiency, but at the same time its capacity should not be lower than a third of the volume of the aquarium.

• Hydrogen peroxide. It is possible to organize aeration, and urgent, even without electricity - just add hydrogen peroxide to the aquarium. No matter how much you use this liquid, the dosage will always be calculated correctly, since this substance is harmless - in the aquarium it breaks down into the same water and oxygen that we need. Peroxide is usually used either to combat harmful algae growing under conditions of poor aeration, or for urgent resuscitation of fish after oxygen starvation.

• Oxygen tablets. This is another solution that allows as soon as possible to raise the level of oxygen in an artificial reservoir without any electricity. Unlike hydrogen peroxide, this tool is considered not only a method of resuscitation, but also an option to solve the problem when it is not possible to use an electric device, for example, when transporting fish somewhere. Typically, one tablet contains 30 mg of oxygen. Given that the norm is 5-6 mg per liter, one tablet is enough for 5-6 liters of water, in which there is no useful gas at all.

• Oxidizing agents. These are the simplest devices that work exclusively thanks to chemical processes, without the need for power. In fact, this is a special container in which the already mentioned hydrogen peroxide is poured and chemical catalysts are added, due to which the peroxide begins to decompose into water and oxygen even faster. A feature of the device is that it does not let peroxide into water as such, releasing only the products of its decay - some particularly sensitive fish still do not like this substance.

• Hand compressor. Such a mechanism is an analogue of an electric compressor, but it works purely from the work of human hands. In fact, it is a hollow pear with two holes - one is located close to it and lets air in, the hose is attached to the other, thanks to which air will be pumped directly into the aquarium due to the pear being compressed by hand. This is another method that is often used in the transportation and sale of fish, which is especially popular because the craftsmen make the necessary device from improvised materials.

We have already talked about the benefits of plants (and their potential dangers at night), but the influence of “unusual” factors does not end there. For instance, too warm water is always poorer in oxygen than cool. This is due to the interdependence of the ambient temperature and metabolism in any living organism - in the heat all life processes occur faster, which means that more oxygen is consumed for 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 involved in this method, otherwise your tropical pets will simply freeze.

We mentioned above that the breakdown of the latter is done by beneficial aerobic bacteria, which require air to function. The ideal conditions for the reproduction of these microorganisms created in a groomed aquarium lead to the fact that the useful becomes harmful - the growing population begins to compete with your pets for the vital gas and another question, who will win without outside interference.

This question cannot be answered unambiguously, because it all depends on two factors: how much oxygen enters the aquarium without your participation and how much this gas is required for the normal functioning of the ecosystem. Calculating the flow rate by a theoretical method is difficult even approximately, because oxygen is consumed not only by every fish, but also by every plant in the dark and every invisible aerobic bacterium. therefore Experienced aquarists must measure the level of oxygen in aquarium water.

There are several ways to do this. We mentioned above that the problem can be identified due to the behavior of specially bred aquarium snails, but there are more accurate methods - for this you can buy a one-time test or a more sophisticated measuring device in the pet store. If 5-6 mg of oxygen falls per liter of water or the detected value is not significantly different in any direction, you can be congratulated - Your home ecosystem is currently functioning correctly and does not require outside intervention.

For this reason, it is important to understand the main thing: although the same compressor should work constantly, you need to constantly adjust its power taking into account how the conditions will change in the coming hours, constantly monitoring the dynamics of the level of oxygen in the water.

For example, at night, oxygen consumption will inevitably increase, and you should consider this point. Unfortunately, there is no formula that allows you to calculate how much more intensive aeration should work at night - you can only determine this experimentally by observing the reaction of your aquarium. If you do not have the opportunity to keep the water temperature constantly at one stable level, then you will have to make a discount also on heating the liquid.

Next, you can watch a video review of aeration methods for water in the aquarium.