I have an air pump that is supposed to be for a 10-20 gallon tank, but right now that is all that I have to use on my 46 gallon tank, is that bad for the fish? will they die?
2007-08-15 10:31:50 · 6 answers · asked by Trevor C 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
I have 4 gourami's in there which I know don't even need an air pump, but I also have a shark, neon tetras, guppy, mollie, pleco, glassfish and glass catfish.
2007-08-15 10:39:34 · update #1
A filter that creates ripples across the surface of the water will do more to add dissolved oxygen than an air pump, so if you have a filter, you have nothing to worry about.
The biggest difference you'll see with the air pump is that it won't have enough pressure to pump the air deep into your tank - the larger the tank the deeper it will be, and with increased depth comes increased water pressure, so you need a more powerful pump the push the air to the bottom. If you use the air pump to run an undergravel filter or air-powered decoration, you might find these don't work as effectively with a pump that too small. A decoration won't make much difference to your fish, but if you use an undergravel filter as the only source of filtration, this could harm your fish - not only won't the oxygenated water circulate to the bottom of the tank as well, it won't circulate the water through the gravel which is where the bacteria that convert the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate live - and these also rely on oxygen to stay alive. If your UG filter doesn't produce bubbles when the airstone is at the same depth as the UG filter plate, you'll need a different pump, or a different type of filter for the tank.
2007-08-15 10:47:54 · answer #1 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will not hurt them. all the air pump dose is move the water from the bottom to the top giving you a higher turn over rate.
This just means a better gas exchange witch is always good.
If you have a good filter you probly dont need the extra help but its not going to hurt anything have one on there.
2007-08-15 17:42:33 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it wont kill them, it certainly wont produce alot of air, but unless you have a heavily overstock tank, then you should be fine.
Remember that the gallons is just a guildline. i have a pump for 400 gallons, on a 72 with a spilter. It is fine for them.
But in the case of being under, unless your tank is really overstocked and you dont have open surface area, it will be fine.
2007-08-15 17:40:01 · answer #3 · answered by Coral Reef Forum 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As long as you have proper filtration, probably wont kill them, it would help to know what kind of fish you have also. With some fish over oxygenating the water can be as harmful as not enough oxygen~
2007-08-15 17:35:30 · answer #4 · answered by imalwaysright 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
um ya no air they cant breath. i would get a new one or get a second 20 gallon one
2007-08-15 17:41:08 · answer #5 · answered by Dory the Fish 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't have a lot of fish in there it shouldn't be a problem.
2007-08-15 17:37:16 · answer #6 · answered by greenfroggy489 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋