freshwater question???

Can you use surface aggitation from a powerhead to get enough co2 in the water,like in my reef tank?And/or could i use an old skimmer i have,i know it won't skim,but could that put enough oxygen in the tank??I'm finally starting my planted tank,and what i'm wanting to do is oxygenate the water without having an air pump or bubbles in the tank,or having to buy a co2 reactor?

 

i think breaking the water surface should do just fine i say go with the powerhead

 

I didnt get what you are asking, do you want to raise the o2 or the co2?

 

i have 3 FW tanks, and all of which have live plants growing in them. remember the nitrogen cycle, dependant on what you have in the tank the nitrates FEED a plant. where most of us get rid of that last phase of the cycle with a water change.

the one tank I have thats 55gal currently has ~12 anubis plants all flourishing well. i only have one 12k light on them and they flourish. i also have a pretty big bio load there of 15 cichlids. the tank balances itself pretty damn well. im not running anything more than a small 10gal air pump with a small stone in there WAY off to the corner. i personally dont like the appearance of bubbles in my tanks.

that said, i do not use CO2 or O2 injection into my tank. i do have a Fluval 305 with spray bar that creates AWESOME surface agitiation. that is also key for, well many reasons.

thats a bit into my luck with plants.... ive had pretty decent luck with minimal interaction.

id totally say YES to surface agititation in ANY tank. You never want stagnant water.

 

oh yeah, a perfect example.... my 5gal tank on my desk has 2 plants in it, 1 fish, and i havent had to change the water in it for 2 months now. its my little experiment. ive been religiously watching the water parameters. when the nitrates start to become present again... they're gone a day later and the plants seem perky

like anything else in life, and nature, its all about finding the balance.

 

Thanks everybody,that answered my question.I'll go with the powerhead option with no areator and see how it does,it's a new tank,so theres only a couple fish so far,just to get the cycle started but i'll monitor them and see how they do and then proceed to add slowly after the cycling is complete.

 

My mistake,i mean o2,i want to make sure that would give it enough areation