Do I need a bubbler ?

[Torino]

I have an air bubble thing and just wondering if i even need it ?

ive see lots of setups with all bubbles everywhere some has less some have more and some have none ?

how do i know if i need one?
i had it on before looks decent but loud

i have an ehiem filter

[fischkopp]

Air stones help to oxygenate the water. This is usefull if you have a high fish load, no plants or fish that prefer lots of oxygen in the water.

So it really depends on your setup whether you should keep the air blubbler thingy or not.

[Soeman]

airstones actually do little to oxygenate the water. They do however help somewhat to remove CO2 in heavily stocked tanks. For CO2 to get to toxic levels for most fishes though, the water would have to be quite stagnant and/or you need a CO2 injection system (and it would be very silly to have an airstone in a tank to which you are adding CO2).

If you are concerned about O2 or CO2 levels in the tank, your best option is to increase water flow at the surface. If you have a filter that hangs on the side of the tank, just keep the water level high and the filter outflow will create a current. Otherwise a powerhead would need to be aimed slightly upwards to break the surface.

[tim_s]

If you have no or little water surface aggetation I would use the air pump.
Most over hang type filters create enough that air pumps are not required.
I have 1 tank without an air pump and have had no trouble all the others have air pumps for decoration more or less.

[kennyman]

Bubblers actually circulate the water and were used to oxygenate the tank by creating flow. Diffusion in a stagnant tank is not good enough to replenish o2. Prior to the widespread use of high flow power filters the flow from a bubbler enhanced the natural filtration that occurs inside an established tank.

They were there for a purpose but not one many people can appreciate anymore. See that low carbon thread.