Do I need another air pump for a 29 gallon aquarium?

Question

I have and underground filter (w/2 power heads), another power filter which hooks on the back of my tank (Marineland Emperor BIO-Wheel), an air pump on a decoration. Do I need another air pump? Or is this enough/too much? Several people have told me different things - now I am so confused! Please help!

Answer 1

Word of caution with your bio-wheel, they are noted for stalling quite often. With that said, sounds to me like you are fine.

Fish don't breath air, well they breath dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen does not enter your tank thru air pumps it can only enter the water thru movement. I.e. your filter exchange or power heads. Adding another air pump will do nothing but overload your outlet. REALLY.

I personally love the undergravel filter but I have never used it as a stand alone, I always ran it in tandem with another filter, like what you are doing.

Tanks aren't as complex as people think and there is a lot of BAD advice. DO NOT take advice from People's web pages. Most of these are missleading. Just like their 1" to 1 gallon rule. This is because they don't know any better and don't care to know any more. Be careful about chain petstores like Petsmart petco and walmart when it comes to fish or animals. These people only know what the teenager who quit the day before knew.

Find a good local pet store that relies on good advice and healthy animals to survive. These are the people who will help you the most. Scientific, university and other Biological web sites are also a good place for facts not fiction.

With so much bad advice on fish and pets in general, I can see why you are confused.

Your tank is fine the way it is. Just remember to check your water quality.

Answer 2

No, you don't need another pump. I wouldn't say you could have too much water movement (although you fish may be getting their exercise lol!).

Let's look at what each of these things will actually do in your tank.

1) Marineland BIO-Wheel - This is probably adequate for your tank as long as it is an appropriate size. Filters are rated in gallons per hour (gph). A filter should pass 5 to 10 times the volume of the tank through the filter each hour. For a 29 gallon (let's say 30, the math's easier) your filter should be rated 150-300gph. This filter will do a number of things - a) it will trap particles, b) charcoal/carbon will remove some chemicals, colors, & odors, c) the BIO Wheel is a place for beneficial bacteria to live - these bacteria break down ammonia (produced by the fish and toxic) and convert to nitrite (also toxic), then to nitrate (safe in moderate amounts). Plus, water exiting the overflow will create ripples in the water and promote good oxygen - carbon dioxide exchange at the water's surface.

2) An undergravel filter was once more popular, but now is used less. It works by using air (airstones & a pump) to draw water and fish wastes down through the gravel (where there are beneficial bacteria) and up through the tubes where the bubbles agitated the water's surface to promote oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange. This wasn't very efficient because the air pump/airstones didn't provide adequate water movement to clean the water well. Now, enter the powerhead which draws the water up through the tube faster. Now you have something that works almost as well as your hang-on-tank filter. Evidently you use one on each side of your tank.

3) Air pump on decoration - at one time, air pumps were "THE" way to oxygenate an aquarium. Until it was discovered that the bubbles rising through the water did little to add oxygen. Most of the oxygen enters at the surface and this is where the carbon dioxide is given off. Still, it did provide water movement, which did circulate water and oxygen through the tank. Nothing in the way of filtration (unless you used one of those little corner filters with floss and charcoal which were extremely undersized) and no bacterial action. Now, they're used mostly as decoration (bubble walls) or to power aquarium decorations, so they're more of a decorative than functional item.

Since your tank is a 29 gallon and is fairly tall, the use of both an external, hang-on-tank type filter like your BIO wheel and the undergravel filter can be combined to do more than either would individually. With a deep tank, it's hard for the external filter to reach the "gunk" all the way at the bottom. The undergravel filter will remove the "gunk" from sight by drawing it into the gravel. The powerheads will keep the water circulating well and keep lightweight matter stirred up to where your filter can remove it.

Too much? Well, if you are using the external and 2 powerheads, maybe. What you should do is check the ratings (gph) of all your equipment - the COMBINED gph should be the rating I gave you before for the tank (150 - 300). It won't hurt to be a little over, especially if you have fish that are considered "dirty" - eating a lot and producing lots of waste, like goldfish or cichlids. If you're very much over, you might want to consider only using one powerhead - especially if your fish are struggling in the current!

Also, regardless of all the filtration, you will still need to do water changes every/every other week!

Hope this clears things up!

Answer 3

Well, you haven't mentioned what gallons per hour all of these various filters pump, but I should think with all you have, you have plenty of filtration/aeration. A filter is the really important thing, not, necessarily, an air pump. A majority of the oxygen created by air pumps goes straight up to the top of the tank and when the bubble pops, the oxygen goes out into the air of the room. You need the oxygen in the water, which the filters do a better job of creating anyway. So, no, you don't need an air pump.

Answer 4

That is plenty. No need for another air pump at all. Some people will tell you to get rid of the undergravels, but personally I like them. No such thing as too much filtration, but there can be too much current or water motion so I wouldn't recommend you add any more to it.

MM

Answer 5

For every qeuestion in this category you'll hear 10 or more different answers. Some will say the undergravel is enough: Some one will say it's MY baby. I have a fresh tank w/ a decorative sponge form and an old back insert. AllI I do is keep it going for future generations. I (Iclean it every two-three years).

Answer 6

You can easily go to Petsmart or Petco and get more air tubing and a T valve kinda thing. You can split one air tubing to two, but you should be OK as you are.

Answer 7

do you need another air pump? for what purpose? if you mean to put oxygen in the water..then no.. oxygen in your water is exchanged at the surface so surface motion is all you need for good oxygen exchange. if you mean for other reasons you will need to specify. :)