fauxfox Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Hey yall, I wanted to keep the flow down as much as possible for my bettas, so I placed the airstone in the HOB. I was wondering if my setup is effective or if I should just put the airstone in the tank? I've never seen anyone do it so I'm guessing there must be a reason. Video of my setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted November 16, 2020 Administrators Share Posted November 16, 2020 the way you currently have it setup, it can pull air into the impeller and cause cavitation. Also popping bubbles will put gunk on your blinds. Typically the way an air stone is added is to drill a hole in the lid and feed the airline through it, and you'd have it in the media compartment. This is easier to do on other filters, but not impossible on that aquaclear. Also know that the airstone will clog a lot faster being that all the gunk will be run by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBOzzie59 Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 My take. The HOB dumping back into the tank would provide enough oxygen for that setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fauxfox Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) Thank you guys for the replies.The HOB does indeed provide enough oxygen- at full flow. I will drill the aquaclear lid (that's genius) and place it in the media compartment and see how the gunk build up goes. Edited November 16, 2020 by fauxfox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted November 16, 2020 Administrators Share Posted November 16, 2020 I'd be a little careful, and ask this question. How do you know it provides enough oxygen? I rarely meet people who test for dissolved oxygen. Most people would say, there aren't that many fish in that tank. The reality is, the oxygen is consumed by plants at night and bacteria much more than fish. So You'll find that a couple hours before lights come on, oxygen can be dangerously low. I would doubt that a HOB, wouldn't let the fish live, but enough oxygen is a relative term. During forest fires, there is smoke in the air, and there is enough oxygen to breath, but long term it leads to problems. This happens in aquariums too, where oxygen can get depleted. This was my observations from doing all the testing I did with a DO meter. My conclusion was that an airstone even at super low flow provided essentially maxed out oxygen levels in our aquariums outside of extremes, like 1 airstone with slow flow to 10k gallons of water. This is the old video with bad audio and some lost footage as the testing took many many weeks with different setups. However the testing I did, in other fish rooms and my store it was a wake up call for me. I couldn't predict a single aquarium oxygen's level unless it had an air stone in it. In which cause I knew it would be high. Again, I think odds are for quite a while, your setup would be fine. However with a high plant load, and a water change where dechlorinator uses up oxygen, you could find your fish in a panic some random day way down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fauxfox Posted November 16, 2020 Author Share Posted November 16, 2020 1 Airstone maxing oxygen in 10k gallons of water is unfathomable. I watched that video yesterday after finding out low dissolved oxygen may have caused my recent columnaris outbreak. I'm glad I posted here for help instead of reddit because i don't think there are many master horticulturalists on reddit. I got the airstone way in there, on the sponge now, and no splashing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted November 16, 2020 Administrators Share Posted November 16, 2020 Should work pretty well. Also know that you can turn the pump down quite a bit on the oxygen as well. It doesn't take that much air to get lots into the water, if the air flow is any issue in the hob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RovingGinger Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Welp I think this thread just inspired me to go out an air stone in one of the few tanks that doesn’t have one yet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fauxfox Posted November 21, 2020 Author Share Posted November 21, 2020 On 11/16/2020 at 6:46 PM, Cory said: Should work pretty well. Also know that you can turn the pump down quite a bit on the oxygen as well. It doesn't take that much air to get lots into the water, if the air flow is any issue in the hob. I am looking into bleed valves now to lessen the flow so the stone won't get clogged as quickly and make too much noise. Thanks for the follow ups and taking initiative to make my setup in tip top shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJB Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Great thread. I was about to ask this very same question but found this thread with search. I'm doing the same with my HOB now. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly S Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 If you want oxygenated but relatively still water, I would think an air stone in a sponge filter might be ideal. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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