Question about aeration

Hi,

I posted pictures of my tank in another thread, but here it is again just for reference:



My question is about aeration. There's no filter, bubbler, or waterfall in this tank. It's really just a large body of water with lots of duckweed, java fern, and java moss. I blow bubbles in the tank everyday for a few seconds with a turkey baster. Is this enough aeration for the water? Or would I require a bubbler/airstone? I'm really uneducated about these things so I need a bit of guidance. There's no newts in there right now and I'm trying to figure everything out before putting them in.

Thanks!

That’s a nice looking tank, Tom. How much water is in there? Air stones are a good idea, especially if you don’t plan to have a filter. Aeration of the water creates movement which helps to prevent films forming on the surface and increases the oxygen content in the water – with more oxygen more beneficial bacteria will grow you’ll have a healthier tank. That said it’s not essential. It’s more important to get into a routine of doing small, frequent water changes. Have a read of: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml for information about maintaining healthy water.

What sort of lid do you have on there? Small newts will easily scale those walls so you’ll need something newt proof.

Thanks for the advice, Mark. There is almost ten gallons of water in the tank (it is a 25 gallon standard). I do plan on having weekly water changes to keep the water moving. I'll keep a close eye out for film on the water. If the daily turkey baster bubbling isn't enough, I may just invest in a pump and airstone.

Oh yeah, I have an all-screen lid with a fluorescent light fixture sitting on top. The newts can have some nice rock climbing adventures on the walls, but no way I'll let them get out. :-D

hi Tom..its not the amount of water that really matters its the surface area ,with an air stone the surface is constantly changing with the upsurge from the bubbles which helps oxygenate it ,the bubbles do very little on their own to add oxygen.

I agree that an airstone would be benficial. When you add the airline tube into the tank, don't pass it under the screen lid. See:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/escape.shtml

Thanks for the info, Ian and Jen. Upon both of your recommendations, I successfully installed an airstone into my tank.

I passed an airline tubing through the top of the tank. There was already a hole on the top, so I passed the siphon through it and covered it up with electrical tape.


(sorry for the blurry photo)

I then had to drill a hole into the foam (I wish I had done this earlier in the process) so that the tubing could be more or less transparent. I got a little primitive and used a chopstick to drive a hole of suitable size for a siphon. Following that I connected the airstone and put it in a corner of the tank.

Here's a picture of the airstone in action:


(once again, sorry for the blurry photo... but hey! the leaf litter background finally shows!)

And finally, here's a video of the airstone in action:

http://www.dailymotion.com/tomthlee/video/x28cx8_newtarium

The water remains very still throughout the tank. The bubbles stay in the corner. Is this OK? I could move the airstone if need be. However, I'd rather not have a current throughout the tank because fire-bellied newts aren't a big fan of currents in the water.

Also, do I have to keep this bubbler on 24/7? It does make a bit of noise. Although it isn't overbearing noise (I can watch TV just fine), it is noticeable at night when there's no sound. My mom sleeps down there, so if I could turn it off at night that'd be great.

Hope to hear from you guys soon! Thanks.

by all means turn it off at night ,as i said the benefit of an air stone is its constantly turning over the surface of the water which greatly improve the oxygenation of the water ,as water takes oxygen in through its surface the larger the suface area the better oxygen content..

It's good that the airstone doesn't agitate the tank much, that's ideal. I agree with Ian that you could turn it off at night. A simple electrical timer could do it for you, so you don't have to remember to turn it back on in the morning. In fact, you might be able to run the light on the same timer.