Bubble wands

Question
Hi. i have a 40 & 25 gal aquariums and I want to know is it really necessary to have a bubble wand or air stones? I have sponge filters and a bare bottom tank. I have 3 aqua clear filters on each tank. I have 4 goldies in one tank and 1 in the other. Thanks Mike

Answer
Hi Michael,

Airstones and bubble wands don't do anything special - they just circulate water. The bubbles bring water from the bottom to the top. This is helpful, but even better is agitating the surface by running a powerhead near the surface. While bubbles look nice and are certainly appreciated by fish, powerheads actually perform better and give you more "bang for your buck" - you can also hook them up to things like Quick Filters and sponge filters for additional filtration.

Goldfish are one of the commonly kept fish that really like well oxygenated water. They are also very messy fish, which produce lots of ammonia for their size. A sponge filter is a great addition to a goldfish tank because it holds lots of nitrifying bacteria, which prevents ammonia spikes.

Having 3 filters on each tank should mean there's plenty of circulation - you don't mention their size though. That's ok, just figure that you are shooting ideally for about 10 times water turnover per hour, with 6-7 times being adequate. For a 25 gallon tank that would mean ideally 225 gph (gallons per hour) with 150-175 gph being an acceptable gph. The same calculation for the 40 gallon - 400 gph is ideal, but 240-280 gph is still ok.

So the short answer is no - they aren't necessary. But when filtration/circulation is lacking, they are helpful...but not as helpful as a powerhead!

Take care,
Nicole