Why does my new aquariam have so many air bubbles and why are real shells not recommended for tanks?

Question

This is a brand new tank with no fish in it yet.

Answer 1

The air bubbles are from gases coming out of the water. Those will go away in just a few hours and are nothing to worry about.

Shells and coral are not recommended for most freshwater tanks because they will dissolve and make your water high pH and quite hard. That's not good for many freshwater fish.

MM

Answer 2

Tap water is aerated at the pumping stations. They force oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide into the water to bulk it up a little, in order to cut down on how much you have to use. Some people like the flavor. After you let it sit a bit, you can wave your hand around to waft the bubbles out of the way, it won't be such a big deal when you're just adding small quantities, but it is a good idea to let the water sit a little before you add to the tank when you have fish.

Real shells are made of calcium carbonate. This can dissolve over time, and will increase the carbonate hardness of your aquarium water. this is why shells, and limestone, which is also made of calcium carbonate, are not recommended for aquariums... but the change is really not likely to be a huge deal. Of course, with shells you find, there could be some bacteria, or other diesease too, but you can soak them in a solution of about 20 parts water to 1 part chlorine bleach overnight, and then get rid of the bleach by adding lots of whatever you use to dechlorinate water, and letting that sit overnight.

Answer 3

I will take your second question first. Real shells will dissolve in an aquarium, thus causing the chemical balance to become imbalanced. In the ocean where real shells are plentiful, nature keeps things in balance. But in an aquarium you will be responsible for that balance, and there is no room for natural shells in most aquariums.

Your first question is easy. You say it is new and there are not yet any fish in it. As you put water in an empty tank, air will get trapped in the tank, also if you have put your gravel in the tank, air will get trapped in the gravel either. Especially if you have not rinsed the gravel WELL, you will continue to get air bubbles escaping.

Once your tank is well established and you have fish and the filtration system going, you should not see many unexplained air bubbles.

Answer 4

The reason we told people to keep shells out of their freshwater tanks was that calcium dissolves into the tank and changes the chemical make up of the tank. Some fish are effected by this in a very negative way. It changes the pH of the water.

Kev

Answer 5

air bubbles are normal at first set up. as far as shells in the tank goes, i have several and dont have a problem. as with anything i put in the tank i boil it first. i have a mix chiclid tank thats been set up this way for over a year and the ph level stays constant. i havnt had any problems. course every ones exp can be different.

Answer 6

The bubbles just stuck to the gravel and sides when the water was added and will dislodge and float up in time.
Real shells sometimes have bacterial residue.

Answer 7

Air bubbles ar enormal, they will go away, adn shells dissolve bit by bit which effects water params

Answer 8

Did you use tap water/the flaucet? If yes, its normal. Just oxygen bubbles. They'll go away in a couple days.

Answer 9

real shells have a lot of harmful bacteria built up on and inside them that could harm the fish. an have you checked your ph level in the water recently??

Answer 10

f you have your air pump and filters working well it will be ok in a day or so but wait a few days before you put the fish in.