products
At Aquael, we do our absolute best to provide you with the best selection of aquarium products that you can buy. Among those is a selection of the essentials that you’ll need to make your fish tank function - including air pumps.
While they may not be the absolute bare necessity to get your fish tank up and running, an air pump will make your aquarium a far better environment for your fish, on top of looking much more exciting.
Because we are visual creatures, we usually attribute causes to things we usually see. That’s why it is a really common misconception that the bubbles that go out of filters are what is causing water oxidation. That’s not the whole picture, however. In fact, the amount of oxygen that gets dissolved through the bubbles is minimal, and most of the oxygen in the tanks comes from elsewhere. It is true that gasses dissolve in water. But the amount of time it takes for these gasses to dissolve in the water is quite substantial, and the short time the bubble spends travelling through the aquarium isn’t enough for it to oxidize the tank. Although, there are special finely-perforated aeration cubes that you can install in filters that cause the bubbles to come out as mist, with much more soluble oxygen.
Water aeration actually primarily happens due to the movement the bubbles and the air pump cause. As the bubbles travel through the tank, they cause the water surface to shake and move, and this brings the water in closer contact with the air outside. The water and air, as a result, mix more effectively and successful aeration happens.
Without an aeration internal filter, cascade filters, canister filters, and internal filters all work the same way – by causing an intense movement in the water and encouraging more contact between the water surface and the air outside. That’s why aeration doesn’t require bubbles, necessarily.
At Aquael, we offer a wide variety of air pumps for your aquariums, so that you have the freedom to pick one that’s the perfect fit for you. However, it may be hard to decide what type of air pump is appropriate for your tank. Here are some of the factors you should consider when picking out any of our air pumps for fish tanks.
The first thing you should look at is how big your tank is. This one is quite self-explanatory. After all, you won’t be able to fit in an air pump that’s bigger than half of your aquarium in there. However, having a pump that’s too small may also be an issue. In order to gain any tangible results, you’ll need an air pump that’s big and strong enough to handle all the water within your aquarium. If you have an undergravel filter, on the other hand, a powerful pump might prove to be detrimental, as the gravel can be blown off, making things messy.
Always check the recommended aquarium sizes on any of the air pumps you’re considering, as only with the appropriate size can you reap all the benefits of an air pump.
Decorations and objects, such as an air stone pump, within a fish tank may make the entire piece much more exciting to look at, but it’s also a factor that you need to take into account when looking for an air pump. The general rule of thumb here is that the more items you have in your aquarium, the stronger air pump you’ll need. Likewise, the less objects there are, the weaker and smaller the air pump should suffice. This is because a stronger air pump may result in a lot of disruption in the decorations in question, on top of simply not functioning properly due to the small area it can operate on. Some objects also require air pumps to be run, so make sure you pick an appropriate model for that.
When it comes to the objects that utilise the air pump, a big factor to consider is their quality. The bigger the resistance of the objects or decorations that will have air pushed through them, the larger the air pump that you’ll need. Air stones, for example, have greater resistance than small ones, so a larger air pump will be required.
Aside from the surface area of the tank, its height is also of immense importance. A tall tank (i.e. one that’s at least 18 – 20 inches tall) will require a specialised pump in the form of a deep water air pump, as providing oxygen to the areas down below is much more difficult in taller tanks.
Lastly, it’s also important to consider the noise that the air pump will make. There’s no going around it – air pumps will make noise. However, newer models have structures that allow them to stay quieter without reducing their performance in the slightest. The smaller your room, the more important this factor will be, so make sure you pay attention to that as you make your choice.
Check where you can buy
our products
